10 favorite female jazz vocals

[walkin]

Billie Holiday-I Wished On The Moon
Anita O`Day-Tea For Two
Ella Fitzgerald-I Can`t Get Started
Sarah Vaughan-What Is This Thing Called Love
Abbey Lincoln-Softly As In A Morning Sunrise
Susannah McCorkle-It Never Entered My Mind
Eden Atwood-Deep Purple
Helen Merrill-You`d Be So Nice To Come Home To
Tierney Sutton-Without A Song
Dinah Washington-There Is No Greater Love

[Brothers McGivern]

Originally Posted by Bev Stapleton

OK, I've had a think:

Norma Winstone - Tea For Two - an unbelievably sexy interpretation of a song I'd never paid much attention to before.

Monica Vasconcelos - great version of Insensatez on the As Meninas album.

Tina May - Time Will Tell - brilliant performance of the Bobby Watson tune with nice lyrics.

Claire Martin - a great version of Up from the Skies.

Stacey Kent - Isn't it a Pity - a Gershwin tune I never knew until I heard this version.

Christine Tobin - a lovely Little Girl Blue off her standards album.

Jeanette Lindstrom - an eerie version of Trains and Boats and Planes; sort of Bill Frisell meets Bacharach

Maria Pia de Vito - Tears for a Traveller off Colin Towns MasK Orchestra's 'Nowhere and Heaven'

Ivy Anderson - Jump for Joy, one of the most life-enhancing recordings I know. Great Johnny Hodges too.

Maxine Sullivan - The Ladies in Love with You, effortless swing from Maxine in her latter days.

Rene Marie - The Surrey with the Fringe on Top - see Norma Winstone comment.

Karrin Allyson - her amazing wordless version of Naima on the Coltrane album.

Tierney Sutton - Spring is Here reduced to total despair.

Joni Mitchell - Blue Motel Room off Hejira; nice and jazzy.

And a few extras:

Billie Holiday - You Go to My Head

Ella Fitzgerald - Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered off the Rogers and Hart songbook.

Helen Merrill - People will say we're in love (rather alot of Rogers here!)

Diana Krall - When I grow too old to Dream (I'm not too proud to like her...when not swamped in strings).

Lee Wiley - Oh! Look at Me Now

Peggy Lee - Fever!

I haven't heard all of these versions, but just taking into consideration the ones I have heard this is a great list. I'm not keen on much of what I've heard of Tierney Sutton but I'll check out "Spring is Here."

I'll add some off the top of my head:

"Autumn in New York" - Sheila Jordan

"Key Largo" - Sassy

"How Could You" - Billie Holiday

"Wagon Wheels" - Betty Carter

"Manhattan" - Ella (not the most profound song on the R&H collection, but it possesses an irresistible sense of fun, adventure and - heard today - nostalgia)

"Love Look Away" - Susannah McCorkle

"The Look of Love" - Shirley Horn

"I Only Have Eyes For You" - Rene Marie

"Too Late Now" - Roberta Gambarini

"Ela e' Carioca" - Gretchen Parlato





Mike

[RonF]

Originally Posted by page

No Tierney Sutton, Randall?

I'll have to think about this, a bit hard with rock coming from the radio at work
The ones I can name now:
Eva Cassidy - Autumn Leaves
Marjorie Barnes - You Don't Remember me
Nina Simone - Wild Is The Wind
Melody Gardot - Our Love Is Easy
All songs that bring tears to my eyes and make my heart skip a beat and these singers touch my soul singing. At the moment Melody is my number 1, but this can change depending on my state of mind.

Nice, Page, about Tierney and Melody. There are some very talented "living" vocalists, too.

[escher]

Abbey Lincoln - Straight ahead
Leena Conquest - Corn meal dance
Fontella Bass - Theme de yoyo
Jeanne Lee - The seagulls of Kristiansund
Mahalia Jackson - Come Sunday
Nina Simone - I love you Porgy
Lorez Alexandria - Baltimore oriole
Julie London - Cry me a river
Mary Margaret O'Hara - What Are You Doing New Year's Eve
Betty Carter - Caribbean sun

[page]

Originally Posted by page

No Tierney Sutton, Randall?

I'll have to think about this, a bit hard with rock coming from the radio at work
The ones I can name now:
Eva Cassidy - Autumn Leaves
Marjorie Barnes - You Don't Remember me
Nina Simone - Wild Is The Wind
Melody Gardot - Our Love Is Easy
All songs that bring tears to my eyes and make my heart skip a beat and these singers touch my soul singing. At the moment Melody is my number 1, but this can change depending on my state of mind.

I'd like to add:

Nina Simone - He needs me
Billie Holiday - I'm a fool to want you

Still not sure about any order I should put them in. They all raise the hair in my neck. No one sings those songs like they do.

[Cali]

In no particular order:

KEY LARGO - Sarah Vaughan
MY BABY JUST CARES FOR ME - Nina Simone
SKYLARK - Aretha Franklin
THIS BITTER EARTH - Dinah Washington
AVEC LE TEMPS - Abbey Lincoln
CRAZY HE CALLS ME - Billie Holiday
I'VE GROWN ACCUSTOMED TO HIS FACE - Lorez Alexandria
DON'T GO TO STRANGERS - Etta Jones
I'M OLD FASHIONED - Ella Fitzgerald
YOU GO TO MY HEAD - Shirley Horn
LAST WINTER - Carmen McRae
YOU'VE CHANGED - Billie Holiday*


* I could make a list of 10 by Billie, alone.

[Ianant]

Top Ten Lists are crazy but here goes:

1) Nina Simone – Wild Is The Wind

2) Sarah Vaughan – To Say Goodbye off the Copacabana album. My favorite album from her by degrees. (I have never heard her sing any song better than she did “To Say Goodbye.” I have never heard bass in a woman’s voice resonate like this. This is her at her best, when she is mature and she has that bottom end in earnest. What is more is she is singing bossa nova here and forget scatting, rather she makes vocalizations like a cuica on the opening track, etc. so being a bossas man I am totally blown away.

3) Nina Simone – (Not a vocalist, but rather a would be classical pianist who began singing after it was demanded of her when she applied for a job at some joint whose name I can’t recall. Not a vocalist but I know of no other who conveys emotion in song with such gravity).

4) Ella Fitzgerald – (Several. From the perspective of the voice is an instrument, she was the best).

5) Billie Holiday – (Several. Not much of a range but her melancholy emotional tone is second to none.)

6) Annie Ross. Probably one of the most underrated singers ever and she is one of the best ever. Well, her main successes came with Dave Lambert and Jon Hendricks, not as an individual act. She is in the vein of Ella, however, a hardcore talent, bending the voice in every which way like a great instrumentalist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anrXYEAkg8U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVE8b...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmAKPHYJMwc

7) Peggy Lee. (Not much range but it doesn’t mater. Probably shouldn't be on a top ten list of jazz singers but rather old school pop. Anyway, she had one of the most beautiful, feminine and sexy voices ever. Exceedingly sexy, and she was pure eye candy, and pure class. Uh, I love Peggy Lee. I totally dig her.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdqvX-n25gs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_lnE...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ_7geZJAA0&NR=1

Peggy swinging:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ee_I...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8wOJ...eature=related

Those are my favs. Everybody else I like comes after these six.

[page]

Originally Posted by page

I'll have to think about this, a bit hard with rock coming from the radio at work
The ones I can name now:
Eva Cassidy - Autumn Leaves
Marjorie Barnes - You Don't Remember me
Nina Simone - Wild Is The Wind
Melody Gardot - Our Love Is Easy
All songs that bring tears to my eyes and make my heart skip a beat and these singers touch my soul singing. At the moment Melody is my number 1, but this can change depending on my state of mind.

Originally Posted by page

I'd like to add:

Nina Simone - He needs me
Billie Holiday - I'm a fool to want you

Still not sure about any order I should put them in. They all raise the hair in my neck. No one sings those songs like they do.

A few to add to my list, still not reached the 10 yet:
really takes my breath away:
Eden Atwood - You leave me breathless
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tG2FvZt2w0
Barb Jungr has to be on my list too. Just have discovered her since she was kindly pointed out by Tenorman in another thread. Not sure which song yet since I haven't heard that many of her songs but she is so fabulous I will choose this one from her hand for now:
Barb Jungr - What lovers do
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpoeFRuuG3Q
So stunning, in my top 3 I should think.

[page]

Originally Posted by page

No Tierney Sutton, Randall?

I'll have to think about this, a bit hard with rock coming from the radio at work
The ones I can name now:
Eva Cassidy - Autumn Leaves
Marjorie Barnes - You Don't Remember me
Nina Simone - Wild Is The Wind
Melody Gardot - Our Love Is Easy
All songs that bring tears to my eyes and make my heart skip a beat and these singers touch my soul singing. At the moment Melody is my number 1, but this can change depending on my state of mind.

Originally Posted by page

I'd like to add:

Nina Simone - He needs me
Billie Holiday - I'm a fool to want you

Still not sure about any order I should put them in. They all raise the hair in my neck. No one sings those songs like they do.

Originally Posted by page

A few to add to my list, still not reached the 10 yet:
really takes my breath away:
Eden Atwood - You leave me breathless
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tG2FvZt2w0
Barb Jungr has to be on my list too. Just have discovered her since she was kindly pointed out by Tenorman in another thread. Not sure which song yet since I haven't heard that many of her songs but she is so fabulous I will choose this one from her hand for now:
Barb Jungr - What lovers do
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpoeFRuuG3Q
So stunning, in my top 3 I should think.

Still not at 10 yet, but getting there:
Abbey Lincoln - Throw it away
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2OO3vuk3r4
Stunning. I've heard Fay Claassen sing it and fell in love. I don't have a recording to show from her but she's getting close to this, still it is Abbey's, 'she can't loose it since it belongs' to her! I'm going to give it a try too though.

[Ber]

I'd add;

Alicia Olatuja (the olatuja project)- Sumo mi 'Nearer' (Yoruba lyrics)
Billie Holiday - Tenderly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_OHkBKAYyQ

[page]

That is a wonderful lady B! Thanks for pointing her out. Still thinking which one should be my number 10, maybe I'll be back within a year this time.

[Extrapolation]

Admittedly I listen to very little jazz with vocals, but Abbey Lincoln's album Straight Ahead is fantastic. My favorite performance by her is probably "Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do" from the album Newport Rebels by the Jazz Artists Guild, which included Dolphy, Mingus, Roach, Roy Eldridge, Booker Little, Benny Bailey, and Jo Jones. There's another take issued on the Dolphy compilation Candid Dolphy.

[justHerb]

If you told me I could only listen to one artist for the rest of my life and that artist was Ella Fitzgerald....well I'd be ok with that.

[NewJazz4Mike]

Originally Posted by justHerb

If you told me I could only listen to one artist for the rest of my life and that artist was Ella Fitzgerald....well I'd be ok with that.

I know what you mean. Years ago I bought her complete Song Book box set, and at first I didnt care for a lot of it. Some of it seemed less jazzy that some of her other albums, I thought the arrangements were kinda dated and sappy. But something about her voice and style just won me over and over time I've come to love just about all of her music. I can put them on now and just listen for hours.

[Evie]

Originally Posted by Jazzmoose

I demand that Nina Simone's name be mentioned in this thread!

Nina Simone:
Love Me or Leave Me
My Baby Just Cares For Me
The Other Woman