Jazz Singers: The Ultimate Guide

by Scott Yanow
 

How brave of Scott Yanow to publish his book! Everyone familiar with jazz singing will quibble in some way with either the choices he has made or the opinions he has expressed. For instance, Ruth Olay, one of my favorite vocalists from the ‘50s, is absent and so is my favorite Kenny Rankin album recorded with arranger/conductor Don Costa. However, the multi-talented Ann Hampton Callaway, often overlooked by jazz critics, is given much deserved credit.

The feisty Yanow doesn't shy from controversy but invites it by naming “Ten Songs That Should Be Avoided” and listing his “Jazz Singing Giants” with a request for readers to argue among themselves over his selections.

In the introduction Yanow explains his motivations and decision-making processes. He admits to erring on the side of inclusiveness by including singers in the first decade of their careers. Thankfully, he also covers hundreds of deserving singers who are mainly known regionally. So if you’re traveling, take the book with you and catch some fine talent along the way.

Published in 2008, the book features 521 singers profiled through the year 2007, sketches of 198 more singers, 55 instrumentalists who have sung during their careers, a section for jazz vocal groups, a list of singers on film, and recommended reading on jazz singing. And in his introduction he includes a brief history of jazz singing. That is a lot of helpful information.

 Yanow’s writing sparkles, so there is nothing encyclopedic about the book. And regardless of the stature of the singer, if his/her life is interesting, space is allowed for it. As much as you think you know about a particular singer, Yanow often comes up with a surprising tidbit.

How did he go about such an enormous task? He sent out a questionnaire to all the living artists he was able to track down. For those who did not respond, he researched past interviews, and, in a couple of borderline cases he decided that they were not interested in their careers and left them out.  Furthermore, in the case of every singer he evaluates their best CD’s with enlightening information—quite a job, requiring thousands of hours of listening.

 There are more than the average number of typos but considering the number of entries, there are few errors of fact. Overall, Yanow has done a terrific service to the art of jazz singing by compiling this information in such scintillating prose. He brings all of his years of listening to and writing about jazz to The Jazz Singers, which is, indeed, The Ultimate Guide.

–Sandra Burlingame
 

You can purchase an autographed copy of this book at www.scottyanow.com.

Singing Jazz: The Singers and Their Styles

by Bruce Crowther and Mike Pinfold

Crowther and Pinfold’s book, published in 1997, follows the development of jazz singing from the beginning to the end of the 20^th century. And with such diverse material to cover—show tunes, blues, gospel, bebop, and soul, all of which have contributed to the jazz lexicon and new equipment that has expanded the possibilities of jazz singing—the book is a cornucopia of information. Also included are 200 short biographies with recommended recordings, photographs, a general index, an index of song titles, and a bibliography that serves as a recommended reading list.

Within each chapter are biographies of artists appropriate to the topic, explanations of particular styles, and enlightening commentary by contemporary artists. While the authors devote an early chapter to jazz singers, ultimately they throw up their hands at a precise definition of the art form, offering instead numerous inclusive options and stylistic categories as markers for listeners to explore.

The book is well organized, giving a clear picture of how our uniquely American music broke from European roots to include black musical forms and, in the heyday of Tin Pan Alley, resulted in some of the most memorable music ever created. Today’s artists continue to stretch the boundaries of the art form—Jay Clayton with her poetry and digital delay and Bobby McFerrin who incorporates a multitude of sounds into his solo performances.

Students will find the book useful and get a reality check as well. From the early days of on-the-job training with big bands to the jazz education programs of today, singers of all persuasions talk of their experiences and influences and offer advice on topics such as building repertoire, developing technique, getting gigs, and the necessity of self-promotion. Some interesting asides include vocalist/educator Mike Campbell discussing the making of his pop album where he recorded multiple takes of the songs, line by line, then selected the best lines and put them together. “To me it wasn’t making music,” says Campbell. “To me, making music means people playing together and communicating.”

The explosion of rock music in the ‘60s and ‘70s affected all aspects of the music industry, and “the interlacing of the jazz and popular strands…all but disappeared.” The repository of popular song was not being replenished. “Who can remember more than a tiny handful of the songs written for the smash-hit musical shows of the last quarter century?” ask the authors. Jazz musicians found the new music less inspiring and difficult to personalize. As pianist Oscar Peterson said, “[It] has no holes in it.”

Even though many entries in The Great American Songbook are approaching the century mark, singers keep returning to them for their rhythmic, harmonic and melodic richness. In the end the authors contemplate a future for jazz singing that includes a worldwide organization; more promotion by record companies; and “a living research source for jazz singers.”

–Sandra Burlingame
 

Jazz Singing: America’s Great Voices from Bessie Smith to Bebop and Beyond

by Will Friedwald

Let’s get this out of the way now. Friedwald can be opinionated and indiscreet, calling Diane Schuur “an awful singer,” Oscar Peterson “a cocktail pianist,” and dismissing all Manhattan Transfer albums. Such statements can invalidate opinions as being personal rather than scholarly. And he points to Nat Cole’s recording of “Lush Life” as “the most luscious of all lush lives,” although its composer would not agree. David Hajdu in Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn reports that the usually unruffled Strayhorn was furious over Cole’s recording because the arrangement took liberties with the composition and Cole messed up the lyrics.

That said, Jazz Singing is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the history of jazz singing and its major practitioners. The central thesis of the book is “jazz’s effect on popular singing,” but this is really a means of avoiding the term “jazz singer” which has yet to be precisely defined by anyone. And it opens the door for Friedwald’s discussion of hundreds of interesting “jazz-tinged” vocalists.

What Friedwald does do well is chronicle the singers and styles that have developed during the 20^th century and influenced the course of jazz-influenced singing. He cites Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby as the first to successfully combine elements of both black and white music and appeal to general audiences. He describes the swing bands as ushering in the era of “…art and entertainment at their most convergent,” pointing to the influence of the microphone and juke box as well.

The book is rich with biographies of big band singers, vocal groups, and lesser known but influential singers. In tackling the big talents such as Billie and Ella with whom we’re familiar, he focuses on their styles, influences, and impact on others. He also evaluates specific recordings within the text in addition to including a Selected Discography.

Friedwald covers the subjects of crooners, bebop, vocalese, the cool school, and hard bop and gives credit where it’s due to peripheral jazz singers such as Kay Starr, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Buddy Greco. A delightful chapter on “others who sing” includes singing horn players Jack Teagarden and Chet Baker, singing songwriters Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer, singing dancer Fred Astaire, and others.

Since the arrival of rock and roll he says, “… records remain one of the more profitable areas of the children’s toy industry.” However, vocalists such as Tony Bennett, Abbey Lincoln, and Carmen McRae weathered the maelstrom, and Betty Carter and Sheila Jordan as well as younger talents such as Cassandra Wilson point to the future. The book, published in 1990, does not include singers who have come to the fore since then. However, the information that Friedwald has compiled in a very readable format is as useful today as it will be for future generations of readers.

–Sandra Burlingame