I’ve been a jazz lover for 20 years and count among my favorite female vocalists Sarah Vaughn, Carmen McRae, Betty Carter, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Nancy Wilson, Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson, and more.
Problem is, I’ve never been able to acquire an appreciation for the Queen of Jazz–Billie Holliday. To my ears, her voice is warbly, and lacks resonance and range. In other words, she seemingly lacks the qualities typically associated with great vocalists. I will readily concede that she gave songs tremendous emotional depth and soul, but otherwise, I simply do not appreciate her as much as I want to–especially in her later (tortured) years.
Please educate me.
I’ve been a jazz fan for many years also, and Billie Holiday is my favourite vocalist. I just like her. No matter where I am, when I hear her voice, my response is the same: I am deeply moved by the emotions she conveys, and at the same time impressed by her mastery of the medium.
For me, she’s an example of a musician’s singer: her phrasing had an impact on almost all jazz singers after her, both male and female. She might not have had a voice with as much power as Sarah’s or Ella’s, but she had a unique, immediately recognizable style that felt very “modern”, if you allow me that word, in the sense that Charlie Parker sounded very modern next to other sax players who were his contemporaries. This is apparent especially when she sings certain standards of her era that were really not very interesting musically, and manages to transform straw into gold. Even in her latter years, with her voice badly damaged from alcohol and drug abuse, she could still sing those tunes just right, hitting each note like a study in living dangerously, and yet so “right”.
I do enjoy most of the singers you mentioned in your post, tsunamisurfer, and had the privilege of hearing Ms Dianne Reeves in concert in Montreal some months ago. She is a tremendous singer and comes across on stage as a warm and vibrant woman. I was moved when she spoke to the audience and tried to share with us her gratitude for the debt she felt she owed to Billie Holiday.
long time jazz fan checking in. i, too, had the same problem with lady day, until, one day, i didnt. tsunami, check her out singing ‘fine and mellow’ in ken burns jazz #9. (just skip the annoying wynton marsalis parts and youll like the rest). her face…
You said it all in your OP: her emotional depth and soul are tremendous. In every one of her songs that I’ve ever heard, I’ve been moved by the feeling it contains, that her voice conveys. Ella did some great things with her voice, and she had her emotional moments, but Billie sang with everything she had, every emotion in her heart - at least that’s what it sounds like to me.
“Lady in Satin,” widely recognized as her most tortured recording, is my personal favorite. God, when she sings “I’m A Fool To Want You” and “You’ve Changed,” I know what kind of pain she’s talking about. I could not care less how raspy her voice is - she gives such depth and life to the words. She makes me feel what she’s feeling. She breathes her own pain and emotion into the lyrics and rips my poor heart to shreds.
To paraphrase John Dryden, “I admire Ella; but I love Billie.”
And when she uses technique it’s to make the song and its feelings stand out.
Unlike, for example, Sarah Vaughan or Cleo Laine who draw our attention to themselves and their undoubted skill.
But if you don’t get it don’t sweat it. I still don’t get Mabel Mercer**. Hasn’t affected my life none!
Redboss
MoodIndigo1 Even in her latter years, with her voice badly damaged from alcohol and drug abuse…
& therein lies her charms…
But seriously, I don’t think it possible not to ‘get it’ after listening to “Strange Fruit” 2 or 3 times in a row…
My son is 3 3/4. Ma Pinky sings dozens of lullabies, from Hush Little Baby to the Grateful Dead’s “Ripple,” but when asked, he requests “Come Rain or Come Shine,” & he’s only heard Billie’s version.