Need help with Jazz

Some further suggestions:
Betty Carter. Always underappreciated. Massively musical, a "dark" voice but lots of fast tempos. Her nickname was Betty "be-bop" Carter. She also kills, KILLS on ballads.
My favorite for upbeat Betty Carter is
LIVE WITH THE AUDIENCE. Simply brilliant throughout.

Also, for upbeat vocals with orchestra, you can't beat Ella Fitzgerald sings
The Gershwin Songbook. Or the Cole Porter songbook. Or the Irving Berlin songbook. Ella Fitzgerald's numerous live albums tend to be quite lively as well, if you prefer her with a piano trio.

If you're ready for some gorgeous downbeat jazz vocals, you must listen to Shirley Horn. A balladeer with exquisite taste and class and intimacy. Her late work with orchestra includes
HERE'S TO LIFE--breathtaking, including Miles Davis
and Horn with piano trio (she's a fine fine pianist) I LOVE YOU, PARIS

Klipshking - the album that I recommend is not a critical favorite, and is probably often overlooked. But Ella Fitzgerald's "Ella Abraça Jobim" is most excellent, and is in my top five favorite female jazz vocal albums. And you don't need to be a huge fan of Ella to enjoy this one, because it ain't all about her. For one, the sound quality is extremely good, considering its 1980 dating, and even better than a lot of current recordings. Secondly, there are several tasty guitar solos by Joe Pass on the album. Third, it is Jobim's music, and the interpretations are fresh. Fourth, the album is currently selling on Amazon for $8.25. I regularly use cuts from this CD as a reference or when I want to "stretch out" my system. Go for it.

Try Rachelle Ferrell (first instrument). You may also like Deedee Bridgewater.

Great idea from Edorr.

One of the Rachelle Ferrell CDs also has tremendous SQ - (sorry, I can't recall the title off the top of my head). You might want to do a little research on that. Her music kinda bumps up against the funk/r&b genre and it would seem to be right up the alley you describe.

Marty