Rod's favorite jazz vocalists and some choice tracks

Sarah Vaughn

The venerable jazz vocalists that most people know have been condensed into a small number of women and Frank Sinatra. Everyone is familiar with the name Billie Holiday, but only a modicum of folk can respect her voice, vocal phrasing, and the overall richness she brought to the jazz vocal genre. Ella Fitzgerald is another jazz vocal legend that had an influence on every female vocalist from Aretha Franklin to Christina Aguillera. As I’m typing, I’m listening to Sarah Vaughn, a jazz vocalist legend who, unlike the aforementioned ladies, isn’t AS recognized by most. Below are some choice cuts I recommend:

1) Sarah Vaughn, “Jim”: In this particular track (which is a sweet ballad about a guy named Jim who doesn’t give Sarah the love she deserves) we’re allotted the opportunity to experience Sarah’s phenomenal range. Clifford Brown’s soft, open horn, eight measure trumpet solo is as warm as a neat serving of scotch and compliments Ms. Vaughn’s vocal phrasing well. I sometimes close my eyes and pretend its 1954 and I’m sitting in a smoky jazz club in Harlem watching Sarah Vaughn perform and trying my best not to get emotional in front of my date.


2) Anita O’Day, “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To”: Anita O’Day had a crackly and sultry voice that sounded as though she smoked a carton of cigarettes before she got on stage. In this track with Billy May’s Big Band, she exhibits her crisp elocution though her range is not that of the aforementioned Vaughn.


3) Eartha Kitt, “St. Louis Blues”: I can’t listen to Eartha Kitt without thinking of a cat (and for those of you not hip to Ms. Kitt, she was Catwoman before Julie Newmar on the 60s psychabilly version of Batman). Ms. Kitt had a distinct vibrato that’s also evident in her most famous song “Santa Baby”.


4) Dean Martin, “Powder Your Face With Sunshine”: “Dino” was one of the members of the 60s group of “swingers” known as the Rat Pack. When the Pack would perform on stage, Dino was the lively drunk who would walk on stage with his drink and a massive grin. Dean Martin’s off stage persona was completely different. Martin rarely drank (he’d bring a glass of apple juice on the rocks on stage most of the time) and was a devoted family man. Like his fellow Rat Packer, Frank Sinatra, Martin was a medium range crooner with a timber that was unmistakable.


5) Blossom Dearie, “When Sunny Gets Blue”: Blossom Dearie was a well known lounge act in her prime (which was the 50s and 60s) who also had several radio hits. “When Sunny Gets Blue” is a perfect example of her tone: girly, upbeat, and lively.


6) Norah Jones w/ the Charlie Hunter Quartet, “When The Day Is Done”: People give Norah Jones (whose nickname among a number of music critics is “Snore-a Jones”) a lot of grief for making music that sounds too similar. Though I agree in some cases, in most, these critics are wrong…very wrong. Jones is a contemporary artist who is taking the jazz vocalist torch and proudly running with it. She understands jazz is a living art form and is capable of being protean. “When The Day Is Done”, a collaboration with Berkeley guitarist Charlie Hunter and his quartet is proof of her abilities. Her smooth tone and vocal phrasing hark back to the ladies of early jazz.


7) Chet Baker, “Let’s Get Lost”: Like many of his contemporaries, Baker was an extremely talented man with many demons. Unfortunately there were many cases where his demons prevailed. “Let’s Get Lost” is a low tempo ballad where Baker not only croons, but plays the opening trumpet solo and a stellar trumpet solo during the song’s bridge.


8) Diana Krall, “Peel Me A Grape”: Krall is another contemporary jazz vocalist/pianist whose talents are lambasted by music critics. But critics ignore Krall’s striking vocal range and phrasing, and not to mention her stunning good looks.


9) Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm”: Ella’s exciting, rich, and girly voice juxtaposed with Armstrong’s craggy “growl” are genius. This particular track always give me goosebumps.


10) Nina Simone, “Don’t Let Me Be Understood”: I got in an argument the other night with some friends about the greatest female jazz vocalist of all time. I’d committed a sacrilege when I said “Nina Simone is good, but…meh, she wasn’t great…certainly not in my top five”. I’m here to apologize (and yes, internet apologies DO carry more weight) and say that alcohol can make one say things they don’t always intend to say. Simone’s soulful voice sends chills down my spine with every note she utters. Her music wasn’t the straight-ahead, big band themed music of her contemporaries and predecessors, but it was stunning nonetheless. Simone’s ballads (especially the track “But Beautiful” which I’ll also mention to make up for my blasphemous comment the other night) remind me of the all consuming feelings I felt when I was in love (a long, long time ago).