That Jazz - Monkey Max Music and File Download

Chapter 6: The Golden Era of Big Band Swing: The 1930s and Beyond
lead his ensemble through two more years. She brought emotional
depth to beautiful and romantic lyrics, but her earliest vocals have an
innocent charm that sometimes boarders on childish cuteness. Ella was
the 20th century’s greatest and most prolific jazz singer, winning 13
Grammies and selling more than 40 million albums.
Fitzgerald continued her career through the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, and
while her voice began fading, some of her music is strong, especially the
1974 Ella in London, re-released on CD.
� Helen Forrest (1917–1999): She possessed smooth, innocent, emotionally
transparent vocals with Artie Shaw’s band (where she replaced Billie
Holiday) and with Benny Goodman and Harry James. I’m head over
heels for Helen Forrest!
� Billie Holiday (1915–1959): Her vocals were shaded with the dark emotions
of a life troubled by heroin addiction, depression, and racism. Her
best recordings derive from mostly small groups, especially when her
voice teamed with Lester Young’s saxophone. (Check out Young in “The
Rise of the Soloist: Musical Improvisers and Singers” earlier in this chapter.)
But Holiday also lent her hypnotic and seductive sound to the
bands of Count Basie, Benny Goodman, and Artie Shaw. Holiday
recorded the haunting song “Strange Fruit” in 1939 — the “fruit” being
black bodies that hung from southern trees after lynchings. This song
was a bold statement from a black performer some 25 years before the
Civil Rights movement.
� Jimmy Rushing (1903–1972): Rushing delivered a blues-infused voice
that fit with the Basie Band’s rootsy, driving brand of jazz. Like Basie,
Rushing’s early experience included a stint with Bennie Moten’s band.
� Sarah Vaughan (1924–1990): Born in Newark, New Jersey, Vaughn had
an abundance of the jazz singer’s essential gifts: a fine voice with a phenomenal
range and the ability to spark a song’s lyrics to life with her
personal emotional stamp. Her voice rivaled the voices of the world’s
finest singers, even in opera, and spanned more than four octaves and
was capable of infinite subtleties.
Vaughan also developed a recognizable sound all her own. Her throaty,
smoky low end covers a tenor sax’s territory, but she also handles high
passages with silky sophistication. When you listen to her, notice how
her voice keeps company with a range of instruments. She also makes
subtle use of dynamics (changes in volume) and space (best defined as
the number of instruments playing at once).
113