Vocal Jazz

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Probably the easiest genre to define of all as the title says it best. Obviously here is where you will find vocalists who sing in a distictive jazz style, or styles I should say because although there is a similarity of delivery in the jazz nuances of these listed singers, the performing era and genre style of singers you will find here ranges from Billy Holliday to Doris Day and on to Norah Jones.

vocal jazz top albums

Showing only albums and live's | Based on members ratings & JMA custom algorithm | 24 hours caching

ROBERTA FLACK First Take Album Cover First Take
ROBERTA FLACK
4.93 | 3 ratings
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FRANK SINATRA Watertown Album Cover Watertown
FRANK SINATRA
4.69 | 6 ratings
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FRANK SINATRA Come Dance With Me! (with Billy May And His Orchestra) Album Cover Come Dance With Me! (with Billy May And His Orchestra)
FRANK SINATRA
4.58 | 8 ratings
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BOBBY MCFERRIN The Voice Album Cover The Voice
BOBBY MCFERRIN
4.75 | 2 ratings
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FRANK SINATRA It Might As Well Be Swing Album Cover It Might As Well Be Swing
FRANK SINATRA
4.63 | 3 ratings
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FRANK SINATRA My Way Album Cover My Way
FRANK SINATRA
4.50 | 6 ratings
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FRANK SINATRA A Swingin' Affair! Album Cover A Swingin' Affair!
FRANK SINATRA
4.53 | 4 ratings
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JONI MITCHELL Mingus Album Cover Mingus
JONI MITCHELL
4.50 | 4 ratings
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FRANK SINATRA Come Fly With Me Album Cover Come Fly With Me
FRANK SINATRA
4.44 | 6 ratings
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FRANK SINATRA Come Swing With Me! Album Cover Come Swing With Me!
FRANK SINATRA
4.47 | 4 ratings
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NORAH JONES Come Away With Me Album Cover Come Away With Me
NORAH JONES
4.40 | 6 ratings
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CASSANDRA WILSON New Moon Daughter Album Cover New Moon Daughter
CASSANDRA WILSON
4.45 | 3 ratings
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This list is in progress since the site is new. We invite all logged in members to use the "quick rating" widget (stars bellow album covers) or post full reviews to increase the weight of your rating in the global average value (see FAQ for more details). Enjoy JMA!

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vocal jazz Music Reviews

MARILYN SCOTT Nightcap

Album · 2004 · Vocal Jazz
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Matti P
For now, Nightcap is the only album of the American vocalist MARILYN SCOTT (b. 1949) that I've listened to, but she's definitely worth further listening. This album was produced by George Duke who naturally plays the piano and keyboards. The other [to me] well known musician is drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, but there's no doubt about the whole Los Angeles -based combo being seasoned top musicians. Guaranteed, the album sounds damn good.

The 8-piece set list favours standards -- although not necessarily the most worn-out ones, on the course of the whole album. Often such orientation towards well-known evergreens feels very tired to me, but Marilyn Scott and the arranger George Duke have brought new spark to familiar songs. For example Irving Berlin's 'Isn't This a Lovely Day' has a rare freshness in it, with a lovely flute participation. Even 'Smile', the heavily circulated Charles Chaplin evergreen, doesn't make me feel I've heard it too many times. Duke's piano in it is so rich, and the vibes are the cherry on top. Hoagy Carmichael's 'Stardust' also works nicely, although I'm not fond of the Toots Thielemans-type harmonica. But admittedly a few more unfamiliar songs would have improved the album.

Sorry, I forgot to deal with Marilyn's vocals. She is an excellent singer with a natural and yet nuanced expression, and her voice is clear, warm and deep. A step towards the likes of Patricia Barber in that matter, although not in that low register.

Marilyn Scott's version of the Jerome Kern standard 'Yesterdays' is sensually playful, not moody like I've heard it sung many times. Again the flute is crucial. The double bass and a guitar also have solo spots. The final piece 'If It's the Last Thing I Do' (Sammy Cahn/Saul Chaplin) wasn't familiar to me. A beautiful jazz ballad with some livelier moments amidst the dreamy slowness.

I'm saving my favourite last. I don't know if 'Here's to Life' is a minor standard, I've heard two versions of it. But boy, I truly fell in love with this passionate and thoughtful performance. Not only Marilyn Scott is at her emotionally deepest here, the detailed arrangement with the great use of dynamics makes the piece so gorgeous it gives me goosebumps. This one really should have ended the whole album!

JERI SOUTHERN The Southern Style

Album · 1955 · Vocal Jazz
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Matti P
Nebraska-born granddaughter of a German immigrant JERI SOUTHERN (1926-1991) was vocalist and pianist who recorded her discography mainly in 1954-1960. First I'd like to cite Finnish writer Harri Kalha from his book on early generation female jazz singers:

"Southern sings quietly and with a tender articulation, a bit like singing to a child; you get an image she's talking personally to you. Restricted 'talk singing' was a new thing, suitable for an ordinary voice with shades of grey and beige. The voice filled with warmth and intelligence belongs to the series of 'motherly wise' voices. Or actually it's a sisterly voice, since she quitted singing at the age of 34."

I quite agree on my countryman's description, although one must not take the 'quietness' too literally. Indeed Jeri articulates very accurately and the tenderness is definitely closer to a motherly affection than to the seductive sensualism of the likes of Julie London.

The Southern Style is Jeri's second album. Being primarily a pianist with classical studies, she uses a small amount of backing musicians; the rhythm section is not present on each track. The song material leans on the Great American Songbook composers such as Hammerstein, Arlen and Porter, but happily the 12-track set avoids feeling too worn-out or often heard.

'I'll Take Romance' is a romantic slow-tempo ballad and 'Let's Fall in Love' a lively tune. On both styles Jeri is completely at home as a pianist, and why not as a singer too. The latter contains a lengthy piano solo with a groovy rhythm backing. 'One Day I Wrote His Name Upon the Sand' is an interesting track especially for the arrangement. The bongos add dynamics, and there's also, like on several tracks, either the upright bass played with a bow or an uncredited cello.

The set keeps on shifting between slow ballads (the majority) and faster songs such as 'The Gypsy in My Soul'. I prefer the slower ones, they are not too sweet and perhaps they better demonstrate Jeri's nuanced finesse as a musician. On the final track 'Scarlet Ribbons' Jeri's vocals are accompanied by acoustic guitar only. Now, this was my very first listening of her. Not necessarily a major personal discovery to dwell deeper into, but a relatively positive acquaintance anyway.

HOLLY COLE Blame it on my Youth

Album · 1991 · Vocal Jazz
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Matti P
The first release of the Canadian vocalist HOLLY COLE (b. 1963) was a 4-song EP Christmas Blues (1989), and also a live recording Girl Talk (1990) preceded this proper debut album. The trio bearing her name consists of herself on vocals, pianist Aaron Davis and bassist David Pilch. Often one hardly notices there's no drummer, although I believe a nuanced, elegant percussion would have improved the album. As for Cole's singing, it has both expressive, nearly ballsy power and late-night sensuality. In low notes she slightly reminds me of Lotte Lenya.

The 10-track set consists of already existing songs only, actually more of the rather old ones than contemporary music. Despite that, the whole feels fairly fresh and timeless. 'Trust in Me' originates from the 1967 Disney film The Jungle Book; I'm not familiar with the original performance but I would have never guessed from this sensual low-key version that it was a Disney movie song. There are some old musical numbers too, such as 'If I Were a Bell' from Guys and Dolls, or 'On the Street Where You Live' from My Fair Lady. A guest appearance of a bass clarinet adds personality to the latter, while johnny Frigo's violin spices up 'If I Were a Bell' and the Fats Waller standard 'Honeysuckle Rose'. These additions are nice but I'm really pleased of the spacey, thoughtful sound of just vocals, piano and bass.

My least fave song here is 'Smile', partly because the Chaplin song is so endlessly recorded, partly because Holly Cole stretches her vocals a bit too much on it, as she tends to do occasionally. Among the highlights, in addition to the opener 'Trust in Me', is 'Purple Avenue' written by Tom Waits. Four years later Holly Cole recorded a whole album (Temptation) of Waits' songs. A happy choice is also 'Calling You' from the film Bagdad Cafe. It suits very well for Cole's voice. The final song 'I'll Be Seeing You' originates from around 20's/30's but feels fresh.

Three stars is enough for this album. The sense of timelessness could have been easily increased by leaving the most worn-out evergreens out and choosing more of the contemporary pieces suitable for this trio.

GRETCHEN PARLATO In A Dream

Album · 2009 · Vocal Jazz
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Matti P
In my previous review I mentioned the groundbreaking 1963 album Getz/Gilberto [as the starting point of Astrud Gilberto's career]. The American jazz vocalist GRETCHEN PARLATO (b. 1976) has said hearing that album at the age of 13 was a turning point for her. She drew influence from bossa nova in general and João Gilberto's vocal style in particular. She earned a bachelor's degree in ethnomusicology/jazz studies at University of California, L.A., and in 2001 she was accepted into the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance as the first vocalist ever admitted into the program. Parlato has also earned several awards. Especially after her second album In a Dream she was hailed as a rising star.

Against all that, I feel almost sorry for not being particularily charmed by this album, or Parlato's voice -- which I think is quite similar to Emma Salokoski from Finland, whom I also seem to like less than the critics. Admittedly Parlato has a sensual and disarmingly light way to sing, but to me it also sounds very thin and lacking of depth, especially on higher notes. I guess it's a matter of taste.

Featured musicians are equally young bright hopes such as keyboardist Aaron Parks, bassist Derrick Hodge and drummer Kendrick Scott. The album's soundscape is modern, playful, often even quirky, and yet pretty intimate, elegant and gentle. Parlato's butterfly-light vocal stylings are always in front, and the musical backing, even at its quirkiest, mainly stays as her humble servant. The dreamy title track and 'Turning into Blue' are among my favourites (they are also the ones co-written by the vocalist herself), but I'm not fond of some sonic details on several tracks.

The opening track 'Can't Help It' (orig. by Stevie Wonder) features scatting and mouth pops by guitarist Lionel Loueke, and also 'Doralice' is backed by percussive human voices. A couple of pieces, such as basically instrumental 'E.S.P.' (Wayne Shorter), contain sound effects of a little child playing, which I find rather irritating.

Speaking of the album in general, I'd welcome more of a certain jazz groove in the playing, the kind you hear on 'Weak', in which electric piano and drums are deliciously strong. So, even if this album didn't really hit my own taste, I give it 3½ stars for personality and fresh musical approach, and for not being a usual bunch of well-known standards.

LISA EKDAHL When Did You Leave Heaven

Album · 1995 · Vocal Jazz
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Matti P
The Swedish vocalist LISA EKDAHL (b. 1971) has a distinctive child-like voice which I find rather charming. She debuted with an eponymous, Swedish-language album in 1994. Most often she has sung in her native tongue, but there are also recordings in English. She is perhaps more interesting, and certainly more convincing and personal, as a pop singer with jazz leanings than as a jazz singer per se. This is her second album, a collection of more or less well known standard pieces of American Vocal Jazz. As such it's definitely not the most recommendable album from her, but at least we have an opportunity to evaluate how she can compete with the greats like Julie London, Sarah Vaughan or whoever who has recorded these songs earlier.

She's accompanied by The Peter Nordahl Trio (Nordahl is a pianist) plus some tenor sax here and there. Ekdahl and an acoustic jazz trio is a pretty nice combination to start with. If one isn't familiar with the chosen song already, like is the case for me with the opener 'When Did You Leave Heaven?', everything is fine. It's the thoroughly well known classics such as 'Cry Me a River', 'Lush Life' or 'I'm a Fool to want You' that reveal Ekdahl's striking lack of maturity as an interpreter of them. 'My Heart Belongs to Daddy' could be thought to fit for a childish voice, but nah... One remembers too well the sinful heat of Marilyn Monroe to be excited by Lisa's lukewarm version.

'Love for Sale' has a joyous feel in its fast tempo, and in it Ekdahl comes closer to her own territory between pop and jazz. But still, I'd rather listen to Swedish-language songs written by/for her. 'Blame It on My Youth' featuring a piano solo is among the album highlights.

Let's go with friendly 2½ stars, mainly for the good trio. Sad to say, Lisa Ekdahl pales in comparison with the glorious past when it comes to the evergreens of the Great American Songbook, and the innocent personality she manages to bring to the table doesn't necessarily fit the songs. But I don't see a reason to be as merciless as All Music Guide's 1½ star review: "[her] thin, girlish, mousy voice might work on bubblegum pop, but it's hardly appropriate for standards..." or "It's most regrettable that RCA Victor chose to record someone who should have stuck to commercial pop".

vocal jazz movie reviews

JONI MITCHELL Shadows And Light

Movie · 1980 · Vocal Jazz
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Slartibartfast
Joni Mitchell meets The Pat Metheny Group.

What can I say? This was my real introduction into the music of Joni and what a place to start! She had really entered a new phase and the tracks offered span from Court And Spark up to Mingus (and of course, the song Shadows And Light, exclusive to the live album).

The concert was an outdoors affair at the Santa Barbara County Bowl. The liner notes say that "this concert catches Joni at the height of her artistic excellence." Having explored her albums after and before this era, I can wholeheartedly agree with that. Jaco Pastorius, who had a reputation at that point of being erratic in live situations, seems to be in a good mode. The camera work is good and the concert is now available on DVD with 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio all of which make for a show worthy of revisiting from time to time.

Artists with Vocal Jazz release(s)

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

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