Sunday, April 2, 2017

The Girl Singer

The girl singer, and sometimes "the canary": that's what the female vocalist--Ginny Simms, Helen Forrest, Jo Stafford, Peggy Lee, Helen O'Connell--was called in the Big Band days.

You couldn't get away with that now. And this month, April, has been declared Jazz Appreciation Month, with particular appreciation for Women in Jazz.

So here comes our appreciation for: Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae, Lil Hardin Armstrong, Betty Roche, Susannah McCorkle, Ivie Anderson, Eleanor Collins, Rosemary Clooney, Helen Merrill, Janis Siegel,  Sophie Milman, Astrud Gilberto, Diana Krall, Blossom Dearie, Helen Humes, Lil Green, Anita O'Day, Annie Ross, Dinah Shore, Sylvia Sims, Sheila Jordan, Maxine Sullivan, Esther Phillips, Lee Wiley, Nina Simone, Shirley Horn, Carol Sloane, Joya Sherrill, Jackie Cain, Irene Kral, Teddi King, Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Pearl Bailey, Ernestine Anderson, Betty Carter, Kate Hammett-Vaughan, Bessie Smith, Mamie Smith, Ma Rainie, Alberta Hunter, Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson, Dinah Washington, Nancy Wilson, Melody Gardot, Norah Jones, Phoebe Snow, Karen Young, Cheryl Bentyne, Velma Middleton, Stacey Kent, Ethel Waters and Ricky Lee Jones. And, among non-singers: Mary Lou Williams, Carla Bley, Marian McPartland, Helen Keane, Marjorie Hyams, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Joanne Brackeen, Renee Rosnes, Melba Liston, and Ingrid and Christine Jensen.

And could we sneak in the Dixie Chicks?

1 comment:

  1. A daunting list indeed - which could only be given the more lustre with the addition of vocalist Phoebe Snow (whose albums are graced by killer sidemen) - and a pair of Island girls from Cedar, Ingrid and Christine Jensen, joining their schooldays pal Diana Krall in the instrumental jazz category.

    ReplyDelete