The best female jazz vocalists are a special breed of artist. A jazz vocalist doesn’t just lay some vocals down over the track, and simply being a good singer is not enough to make you a good jazz vocalist. Female jazz vocalists know how to play with the band, how to get the most out of the drummer and bassist, and how to play the tune by heart, by feeling, not just by memory. Here are three of the best who ever did it:
Ella Fitzgerald
Obviously, right? The first lady of song and one of the best female jazz vocalists was known for, among other things, her tremendous improvisational abilities. Listen to Ella do some scat singing, and you’ll find that she was as capable as any trumpeter or saxophonist when it came to inventing new phrases and riffs on the fly.
Billie Holiday
“Lady Day” is a jazz geek’s dream, playing with tempo and composition in innovative ways that still leave singers and instrumentalists scratching their heads. Holiday stands as the perfect example of the secret ingredient, whatever it is, that sets a performer apart. There have been plenty of singers at Billie’s level of talent, but few with a voice so captivating.
Nina Simone
Some people would contest the inclusion of Nina Simone on a list of best female jazz vocalists. She was maybe too hard to categorize, but isn’t that what jazz is all about? Simone was one of the best songwriters that ever lived, one of the most soulful, captivating pianists, and a tremendous talent on the mic.
Evaluating a jazz talent is tricky. We can go on about their technical ability, their range, the way they innovated on the form, but at the end of the day, you can’t put it into words, you’ve got to hear it for yourself to see why an artist is so beloved.
Los Angeles-based Sylvia Brooks has become a big name on the West Coast jazz scene since her 2009 debut, Dangerous Liaisons. Her new CD, The Arrangement, sees Brooks venturing into songwriting with influences ranging from Lennon/McCartney to Hank Williams.
