[Dixielandjazz] Jazz or Ballad singers?

[Patrick Cooke]

Jazz singers.....or ballad singers masquerading as jazz singers?
   I haven't heard any on the list of Brit singers you mentioned, Jerry, so
I can't say about them.
    Over here we've had true jazz singers, and a number ballad singers who
hired jazz players to accompany them.  They then make a recording, and
though the guys are playing very good jazz accompaniment, the singer is
still just singing a straight original melody ballad.  I have bought some of
these records just to hear the back-up group.  It was worth being bored
through the vanilla vocal to hear the players take their choruses.  The
amazing thing is that these vocalists start being referred to as 'jazz
vocalists.'
      Pat Cooke
----- Original Message -----
From: <Jazzjerry at aol.com>
To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 05, 2003 2:08 AM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Jim Beebe / Croakers


> Kaye,
>
> I think you are being a trifle unfair to Jim Beebe. I like Jim, cannot
stand
> Cleo Laine's singing. I think she has murdered many a decent song in the
name
> of 'Art'. If you listen to her earlier recordings it is evident that she
is a
> very talented lady and could turn in a nice vocal performance. However
over
> the years her talents have been directed to this stange, and to my mind
> exceedingly unpleasant, 'vocalese' which to me absolutely ruins any song
to
> which it is directed. She might have a very wide vocal range but so had
Yma
> Sumac(SP) and she wasn't a jazz singer.
>
> Just in the same way as I cannot abide the upper note trumpet screeching
of
> the likes of Maynard Ferguson I avoid listening to Ms Laine's efforts
> particularly when the aim seems to be effect rather than substance.
>
> And Judy I certainly agree with you following statement, "The
>
> imitators sound just that; self conscious "ooblings" sometimes tacked on
to
>
> the end of an otherwise fairly traditional rendition.  If Cleo Laine is
>
> responsible for encouraging the imitators, she should be sentenced to a
week
>
> listening to out of tune trombones". There are some very good young
British
> jazz singers around at the moment such as Clare Teal, Joan Viscant, Diane
> Nahlini (plus yourself of course) but equally there are those who follow
the
> Laine path. Their albums are usually easy to spot when the arrive in the
> store. The back cover usually has at least one Art Council logo and the
> personnel listing states "Minnie Bannister - Voice" rather than 'Vocals"!
>
> It would seem that discussions on vocalists on the DJML usually manages to
> provoke more steam than almost any other topic and probably more than any
> other topic in jazz the liking or disliking of any particular singer is a
> very personal matter.
>
> Nearly as steamy as the string bass versus brass bass discussions of a few
> years ago!
>
> Cheers,
>
> Jerry,
> Norwich,
> U.K.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Dixielandjazz mailing list
> Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
> http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/dixielandjazz
>