There are four jazz clubs in my city.
At least 80% of their programming is bands fronted by female vocalists.
My contention is that the history and development of this music was made by horn players and their gifts for improvising.
The contribution by vocalists is minimal by comparison.
Maybe the club owners think they will attract women by this approach,
but genuine jazz lovers and players will stay away from what appears to be a trend toward low grade cabaret.
What do others think of this trend ?
At least 80% of their programming is bands fronted by female vocalists.
My contention is that the history and development of this music was made by horn players and their gifts for improvising.
The contribution by vocalists is minimal by comparison.
Maybe the club owners think they will attract women by this approach,
but genuine jazz lovers and players will stay away from what appears to be a trend toward low grade cabaret.
What do others think of this trend ?
I'm kinda into low grade cabarets. Sleazier the better.
As there are several rock styles there are also various Jazz ones. Just that. As always happens, there are trends and one of them might get to be more popular than the others; not meaning better.
Also, many times less is more (complexity wise)
Also, many times less is more (complexity wise)
My collection does include Ella Sarah Carmen and Betty Carter of course
all excellent performers
My question :
Did Miles, Dizzy, Coltrane or Bill Evans have a female out front trying to sing the Songbook ??? Nope.
The big bands had vocalists sure but the audience was there to hear the horn players....
Yes jazz is complex but an audience has always been there.
Ya need to hear the words ???
Tune in to the myriad country stations and have your fill of whining lyrics !!!!
all excellent performers
My question :
Did Miles, Dizzy, Coltrane or Bill Evans have a female out front trying to sing the Songbook ??? Nope.
The big bands had vocalists sure but the audience was there to hear the horn players....
Yes jazz is complex but an audience has always been there.
Ya need to hear the words ???
Tune in to the myriad country stations and have your fill of whining lyrics !!!!
Dizzy, yes, for sure. I saw him with several different female vocalists over the years (I probably saw Dizzy more times than any other musician of any genre). Only saw Miles once, pure instrumental. Never had a chance to see Coltrane. Bill Evans interested me more as a composer than as a performer.
I find it remarkable that you would say that - the life and expression that is injected by a good female jazz singer adds enormously to the experience, and sound - Australia has spawned some excellent talent in this category, to this day ... what I find especially inspirational is that they are very young, yet seemingly have the vocal wisdom of decades of performing ...
+1 I'm biased as a big fan of Libby Hammer who like many .au female jazz singers has the ability to move to almost anywhere on the emotional spectrum, and also has great comic timing.
There is also a time and place issue. Once it was clarinets and banjos; then horns and bigbands; then bebop/free-jazz. Then came rock and roll.
Fast forward fifty years and jazz as an income earning event sits somewhere between the string quartet (as background music); '50s rock (as dance music) and cabaret/musical theatre (as light entertainment).
While there will be a need and and an audience for The Serious Artist, we are at a time where the lyrical, euphonic and humourous is what we want.
Perhaps as an antidote for our work-life-unbalance; the evening news and the incessant white-anting of our self-worth by the accompanying advertising.
“You normally have to be bashed about a bit by life to see the point of daffodils, sunsets and uneventful nice days.”
― Alain de Botton
Don´t know the artists in your town, but intentions are easy to detect.
If those female singers are young, VERY hot, clad in minimal clothing, very sexy, and to boot do not sing very well, well, then your "Cabaret" suspicion is confirmed.😀
But the image and memory I have of most female Classic Jazz singers is that of not exactly beautiful matrons, middle aged or beyond, who might be a friend´s Mother or Granny, sometimes "dressed in tents" .... but with an incredible, warm, expressive voice which often brings tears to my eyes ..... and it´s clear they were hired by the voice and expression, not the looks 🙂
And sticking to instruments, I love big bands, but prefer small Jazz ensembles, based around a killer Piano player, maybe with a warm Sax but not trumpets which I sometimes find shrill and aggessive.
Or fast and clean Guitar players.
So as you see, Jazz is a very wide and generous form of Music and can take many shapes ... all good 🙂
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