Queen Latifah Jazz

by | Aug 3, 2018 | Audio, Vocal

A “Queen” of rap and hip-hop featured on a jazz website?  What’s wrong with this picture?  Not a thing if she really can sing … and not only has a voice but impeccable phrasing!  Whether soft or swinging, Queen Latifah is a pleasant surprise when she turns her attention toward more standard fare.  She is another wonderfully talented musician from that magical [Newark] New Jersey corridor of spectacular performers, and a shining example of tunes and talent crossing over between jazz and other musical genres.

Close Your Eyes

by Queen Latifah | The Dana Owens Album

Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars

by Queen Latifah | Trav'lin' Light

Li’l Darlin’ – Count Basie / Lambert, Hendricks and Ross

by | Aug 18, 2017 | Audio, Big Band, Vocal Group

Listen carefully to “Li’l Darlin'” both by the Count Basie Orchestra, and by Lambert, Hendricks and Ross with Joe Williams.  The first thing that struck me when I heard these two versions of the song, is that you almost have to listen twice to tell which is the instrumental and which is the vocal.  That’s how precise LH&R’s style and phrasing was!  Here they are side-by-side.  What do you think?

Li'l Darlin'

by Count Basie Orchestra | Basie

Li'l Darlin'

by Lambert, Hendricks and Ross | Sing Along With Basie

Black Coffee – Chris Connor

by | Jul 28, 2017 | Audio, Big Band, Vocal

Chris Connor didn’t just sing a song, she owned it!  Born in Kansas City to a musical family, she was originally trained on the clarinet but made her first on stage appearance as a singer … and a singer she remained forever more.  Her easy going manner and distinctive ability to get ‘inside’ a lyric became her trademark.  Although she performed with big name big bands, including the Stan Kenton Orchestra, Chris preferred smaller groups and established her lasting reputation touring internationally as a solo performer leading her own trio.  She was one of only a handful of white vocalists considered to be, incontestably, pure jazz singers.

Black Coffee

by Chris Connor & Maynard Ferguson | Double Exposure

Summertime – Sir Roland Hanna / Bob Brookmeyer

by | Jun 23, 2017 | Audio, Orchestral, Quartet/Quintet

To celebrate the arrival of summer, here are not one but two unique treatments of the Gershwin classic.  Summertime was originally an aria composed by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, and Ira Gershwin. Through the years, the song has became a truly solid jazz standard.

Summertime

by Sir Roland Hanna | Quartet Plays Gershwin

Summertime

by Bob Brookmeyer | Out Of This World