Search results
Feb 7, 2013 · 50 Great Jazz Vocals is a crowdsourced list of the 50 most popular jazz vocal recordings of all time, as determined by the listeners of NPR Music, Jazz24.org and KPLU in Seattle.
- Joey Cohn
- "Strange Fruit" by Billie Holiday.
- "Lush Life" by Johnny Hartman.
- "God Bless the Child" by Billie Holiday.
- "How High The Moon" by Ella Fitzgerald.
- Jackie Paris
- Madeleine Peyroux
- Mose Allison
- Dakota Staton
- Cab Calloway
- Helen Humes
- Leon Thomas
- Cassandra Wilson
- Andy Bey
- Etta Jones
A child tap dancer born into a musical Italian-American family from New Jersey, Carlo Jackie Paris started his music career leading a jazz trio in which he played guitar and sang. He toured with Charlie Parkerin the early 50s, a decade in which he recorded several albums and won a clutch of awards. Paris’ career tailed off dramatically from 1962, b...
Originally from Athens, Georgia, Peyroux’s relocation to Paris, France, as a teenager, where she busked as a street musician singing and playing guitar, helped to shape her distinctive brand of bohemian-esque retro jazz. There are perceptible echoes of Billie Holiday in Peyroux’s phrasing and tone, but via a series of consistently fine albums, she ...
A noted singer-songwriter from Tippo, Mississippi, Allison found a unique niche for himself in the jazz world with his often witty and elegantly wrought tunes infused with a piquant blues flavor. Though no vocal gymnast, Allison’s voice was light in tone, conversational in its approach, and, with its southern lilt, stands out from the crowd enough ...
After winning DownBeat magazine’s Most Promising Newcomer accolade in 1955, this Pennsylvanian chanteuse signed to Capitol Records and lived up to her early promise by delivering a classic LP in 1957, The Late, Late Show, which made the Top 5 of the US Pop charts. Though her declamatory, athletic style, with its clear enunciation, is indebted to Di...
One of the originators of scat singing, this charismatic, flamboyant bandleader from Rochester, New York, is best remembered for his classic 1931 song “Minnie The Moocher.” In its chart-topping wake there followed a slew of further swing-driven hits characterized by humorous lyrics peppered with witty wordplay and hip street argot.
Starting out singing gospel music in her local church in Louisville, Kentucky, lithe-voiced Humes was precociously talented and made her first recordings when she was 14. She recorded with Harry James before Count Basiespotted her singing in Cincinnati’s Cotton Club venue in 1937, while seeking a replacement for a departing Billie Holiday. Humes al...
From Miles Davis’ hometown of East St Louis, Illinois, Thomas was steeped in the blues but, uniquely among this list of the best jazz singers, went on to be part of the avant-garde vanguard. He cultivated an unusual and idiosyncratic vocal style in the 60s, defined by yodeling and tremulous ululations. Though he recorded first with Count Basie, Tho...
With her sultry, smoky-hued voice, Mississippi-born Wilson started her career as part of saxophonist Steve Coleman’s experimental M-Base collective in the 80s, but really blossomed when she signed with Blue Note in 1993, where her unique style and striking reconfigurations of classic rock and pop songs took her music to a wider audience.
Still recording today, New Jersey’s Bey is an original voice in jazz – John Coltraneonce called him his favorite singer – who has plowed his own unique furrow over five decades. Though nominally a lush, resonant-voiced baritone, Bey’s voice is said to extend four octaves in range. Among those he’s collaborated with are Max Roach, Gary Bartz, Stanle...
Hailing from South Carolina, this southern song siren, who had a hint of Billie Holiday in her slightly nasal tone, cut her first record as a 16-year-old in 1944, but it wasn’t until 1957 when she released her first LP. Adept at performing both swinging uptempo material and ballads, Jones was a versatile vocalist whose most commercially successful ...
- Charles Waring
- Ella Fitzgerald. We begin with Ella Fitzgerald, who is truly one of the greats—you have to be to earn such a title as the First Lady of Song. One of the most popular female jazz singers in the country, Fitzgerald won 13 Grammy awards and sold more than 40 million albums in her lifetime.
- Frank Sinatra. Even those who know little about jazz know the name Frank Sinatra. Born in December of 1915,Sinatra was the child of immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey.
- Billie Holiday. Billie Holiday, less formally known as Lady Day, was a famous American jazz and swing music singer. Though her life was cut short due to heart and liver problems from drugs and alcohol, she had quite an extensive career that spanned four different record labels.
- Louis Armstrong. Jazz singer Louis Armstrong was one of the most influential jazz artists of all time. His five-decade career included playing the cornet, singing catchy jazz hits, and appearing in Hollywood films.
- “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday.
- “Lush Life” by Johnny Hartman.
- “God Bless the Child” by Billie Holiday.
- “How High The Moon” by Ella Fitzgerald.
Mar 4, 2024 · Check out our pick of 15 of the best male jazz singers of all time or our round up of 15 essential female jazz singers for your record collection. Join us for a countdown of some of the best jazz singers in history, from the early 1930's vocalists through to the modern day greats.
People also ask
What is 50 great jazz vocals?
Who topped Jazz24's list of the greatest jazz vocal songs?
What are the 50 best jazz vocal songs of all time?
Who is the best jazz singer?
Listen to 50 Essential Jazz Vocal Standards on Spotify · Compilation · Various Artists · 2014 · 51 songs.
