One of the most beautiful interpreters of the song is Jazz singers. The human voice’s abilities are extraordinary because one could imitate another person or instrument or sing several octaves on the piano. The human voice can also interpret emotion in a way only a human can. Jazz instruments can express emotion, but the natural gift from within the human voice is conveyed in various ways.
For example, each singer has his or her own style they were born with. Some of them may not be the best singers that Simon Cowell would compliment. However, there are many Jazz legends, and people like them who have their own unique style. The Jazz singers who have this quality have been heard in many clubs and recordings in the past.
These Jazz Legends have helped make Jazz music popular, especially with the use of the voice. There are four different types of Jazz singers that made it in the world of Jazz music. One style is the well-known crooner sound from singers such as Ivie Anderson, Harry Connick Jr., Mel Torme` Michael Buble`, Tony Bennett, Billy Eckstine, Mildred Bailey, Michael Kaczurak, Sathima Bea Benjamin, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Johnny Hartman, Bing Crosby, and Nat King Cole. The crooner sound’s signature element is a voice with a smooth and sophisticated resonance made for the microphone as clear as a radio announcer speaking voice.
Another Vocal Jazz Singer style is the soulful, bluesy sound with Singers such as Diane Schuur, Nina Simone, Bessie Smith, Etta James, Della Reese, and more. The soulful sound of a voice is the skill of ornamentation of the voice running up and down the scale with ease. Bluesy and soulful is also a depth in the voice range that sounds as if it comes directly from the soul. Jazz music Virtuoso’s who can do anything from vocalese to scat to ballad to fast and complex in perfection. The Jazz singers of this category are Ella Fitzgerald, Phoebe Snow, Eva Cassidy, Ernestine Anderson, Betty Carter, Cab Calloway, Sammy Davis Jr., Eddie Jefferson, Bobby McFerrin Jr., Jon Hendricks, Slim Gaillard, Rachelle Ferrell, Annie Ross, Etta Jones, Dame Cleo Laine, Sarah Vaughn, Carmen Mercedes McRae, Mabel Mercer, Nikoletta Szoke, and Nancy Wilson.
The Virtuoso can croon a ballad and articulate it uniquely. The virtuoso Jazz singer can also be strong and sassy and scat in great complexity with ease. There is no doubt that the virtuoso Jazz singer is the total embodiment of what Jazz is all about. The last type of vocalist has an ethereal appeal that seems to come out of another place with uniqueness in sound and suitable to the world of Jazz.
The unique style of Jazz singers is a sound that one doesn’t usually hear. For example, the uniqueness can come from the sound quality of the voice or by doing something that sets the Jazz singer on a different plane. Singers of this category are Amos Leon Thomas, Billy Holiday, Lee Wiley, Blossom Dearie, Shirley Horne, Rita Reys, Eartha Kitt, Anita O’Day, Ray Reach, Ethel Waters, Monica Zetterlund, Jimmy Rushing, Louis Armstrong, Cassandra Wilson, Al Jarreau, and Dennis Rowland. Each one has a particular sound of raspy, lush, high pitched, yodeling, vibrato, or gift of humor.
There are also the average Jazz singers who deserve to be in the spotlight also for having what it takes to make it successfully in Jazz.