Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

You are here: MacNN Forums > Community > MacNN Lounge > The best big band/jazz singer?

View Poll Results: Who is/are your favorite Jazz/Big Band singer(s)?
Poll Options:
Louis Armstrong 6 votes (33.33%)
Nat "King" Cole 5 votes (27.78%)
Frank Sinatra 10 votes (55.56%)
Ella Fitzgerald 7 votes (38.89%)
Dean Martin 4 votes (22.22%)
Tony Bennett 3 votes (16.67%)
Bing Crosby 3 votes (16.67%)
Mel Torme 2 votes (11.11%)
Harry Connick, Jr. 2 votes (11.11%)
Michael Buble 0 votes (0%)
Etta James 3 votes (16.67%)
Other (Please Post) 3 votes (16.67%)
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 18. You may not vote on this poll
The best big band/jazz singer?
Thread Tools
Jawbone54
Posting Junkie
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Louisiana
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 26, 2009, 05:08 PM
 
I'm becoming one of the "poll guys" in the Lounge. I don't know why. I just enjoy it.

Anyways, as usual, if you think of someone left off the list, then feel free to complain about the omission and list your favorite singer who was irresponsibly left unrecognized by my meaningless poll.

I've always loved this type of music, but can't put my finger on why. It definitely has a timeless quality to it, but there's something just "pure" in the style.

I always come back to Ol' Blue Eyes, so I gave him the nod with my vote.

Also, "Jimmy loves the Velvet Fog!"
     
Dakar V
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: The New Posts Button
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 26, 2009, 05:10 PM
 
Polls are Top Ten lists' older brother.
     
Doofy
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Vacation.
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 26, 2009, 05:10 PM
 
I'd vote for Frank. If there was a poll to do so in.
Been inclined to wander... off the beaten track.
That's where there's thunder... and the wind shouts back.
     
Jawbone54  (op)
Posting Junkie
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Louisiana
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 26, 2009, 05:11 PM
 
There's your poll.

Have at it, fella.
     
Dakar V
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: The New Posts Button
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 26, 2009, 05:11 PM
 
Also, IBTP
     
Doofy
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Vacation.
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 26, 2009, 05:12 PM
 
Originally Posted by Jawbone54 View Post
There's your poll.

Have at it, fella.
Thank you kindly sir.

Originally Posted by Dakar V View Post
Also, IBTP
Toilet paper?
Been inclined to wander... off the beaten track.
That's where there's thunder... and the wind shouts back.
     
Jawbone54  (op)
Posting Junkie
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Louisiana
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 26, 2009, 05:14 PM
 
Also, allow me to highly recommend Sinatra: The Life from audible.com. I just finished it.

It's a great book that details every aspect of Frank's character, from the mob-connected, easily-tempered thug to the extremely generous and loyal friend to the womanizer who never fell out of love with Ava Gardner.

There will never be another Sinatra.
     
Doofy
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Vacation.
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 26, 2009, 05:14 PM
 
..Annnnd you had to put Ella, Louis and Bing up there.

No competition, so I voted for them all.
Been inclined to wander... off the beaten track.
That's where there's thunder... and the wind shouts back.
     
Jawbone54  (op)
Posting Junkie
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Louisiana
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 26, 2009, 05:16 PM
 
Originally Posted by Dakar V View Post
Also, IBTP
I blame the patriarchy?

Yes, I know it's "in before the poll."
At least it wasn't "itsie bitsie teenie peenie."
     
lavar78
Professional Poster
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Yorktown, VA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 26, 2009, 06:01 PM
 
Ella. The end.

"I'm virtually bursting with adequatulence!" - Bill McNeal, NewsRadio
     
Spheric Harlot
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: 888500128, C3, 2nd soft.
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 26, 2009, 06:08 PM
 
Depending on the mood, Peggy Lee's "Black Coffee" is simply untoppable.


Also, Bobby Darin should probably be on that list.
     
Dakar V
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: The New Posts Button
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 26, 2009, 06:34 PM
 
Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot View Post
Also, Bobby Darin should probably be on that list.
I was thinking that too, as I just happened to plow through his greatest hits today.
     
richwig83
Mac Elite
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: London
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 26, 2009, 06:46 PM
 
Your actually asking two questions there.... in my eyes the best big band singer and the best jazz singer are two very different things!
MacBook Pro 2.2 i7 | 4GB | 128GB SSD ~ 500GB+2TB Externals ~ iPhone 4 32GB
Canon 5DII | EF 24-105mm IS USM | EF 100-400mm L IS USM | 50mm 1.8mkII
iMac | Mac Mini | 42" Panasonic LED HDTV | PS3
     
subego
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Chicago, Bang! Bang!
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 26, 2009, 07:11 PM
 
Al Jolson beats Danny Thomas, Jerry Lewis, and Neil Diamond hands down.



What?
     
BigBadWolf
Forum Regular
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Los Angeles
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 26, 2009, 07:23 PM
 
I'm shocked that you do not have Billie Holiday up there.
     
besson3c
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: yes
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 26, 2009, 07:50 PM
 
Is this poll about the best big band singer or the best jazz singer? They are two different things...

My favorites: big band: Frank Sinatra, jazz: Ella Fiztgerald. Billie Holiday is great as well.

Other singers worth being on your list:

- Anita O'Day
- Joe Williams
- Sarah Vaughn
- Diana Krall
     
richwig83
Mac Elite
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: London
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 26, 2009, 08:40 PM
 
Originally Posted by besson3c View Post
Is this poll about the best big band singer or the best jazz singer? They are two different things...
Is there an echo in this forum..
MacBook Pro 2.2 i7 | 4GB | 128GB SSD ~ 500GB+2TB Externals ~ iPhone 4 32GB
Canon 5DII | EF 24-105mm IS USM | EF 100-400mm L IS USM | 50mm 1.8mkII
iMac | Mac Mini | 42" Panasonic LED HDTV | PS3
     
besson3c
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: yes
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 26, 2009, 09:26 PM
 
Sorry about that!
     
AKcrab
Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Wasilla, Alaska
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 26, 2009, 11:52 PM
 
     
subego
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Chicago, Bang! Bang!
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 27, 2009, 12:00 AM
 
^

Originally Posted by subego View Post
Al Jolson beats Danny Thomas, Jerry Lewis, and Neil Diamond hands down.

I've already trademarked this gag.

And I do mean gag.
     
Jawbone54  (op)
Posting Junkie
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Louisiana
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 27, 2009, 01:03 AM
 
Originally Posted by richwig83 View Post
Your actually asking two questions there.... in my eyes the best big band singer and the best jazz singer are two very different things!
Originally Posted by besson3c View Post
Is this poll about the best big band singer or the best jazz singer? They are two different things...
Yes, they are.

But what they DO have in common is that both genres have some of the best, pure VOICES out there. That's what I'm focusing on...not the genre.
     
richwig83
Mac Elite
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: London
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 27, 2009, 07:33 AM
 
I voted Frank and Ella... no one comes close (IMO) to those two in terms of their voices and the way they phrase things...!

The best singer alive today in my eyes is Harry Connick Jnr... not only has the got a fantastic voice he is one of the best arrangers out there, just check out Song ive Heard!!
MacBook Pro 2.2 i7 | 4GB | 128GB SSD ~ 500GB+2TB Externals ~ iPhone 4 32GB
Canon 5DII | EF 24-105mm IS USM | EF 100-400mm L IS USM | 50mm 1.8mkII
iMac | Mac Mini | 42" Panasonic LED HDTV | PS3
     
Doofy
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Vacation.
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 27, 2009, 08:36 AM
 
I had to sit through a two hour Neil Diamond gig once (to keep a girlie happy). I think I'd rather have my toenails slowly pulled out rather than do that again.
Been inclined to wander... off the beaten track.
That's where there's thunder... and the wind shouts back.
     
WhaMe
Forum Regular
Join Date: Sep 2000
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 27, 2009, 08:54 AM
 
Nina Simone
     
osiris
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Isle of Manhattan
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 27, 2009, 10:44 AM
 
Originally Posted by Jawbone54 View Post
I always come back to Ol' Blue Eyes, so I gave him the nod with my vote.

Also, "Jimmy loves the Velvet Fog!"
Osiris is getting upset 'cause you didn't make Ol' Blue Eyes #1 for best big band singer.
What the hell is a Velvet Fog anyway? That doesn't even make sense.
"Faster, faster! 'Till the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death." - HST
     
Dakar V
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: The New Posts Button
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 27, 2009, 10:47 AM
 
Actually, it's Velvet Frog.
     
osiris
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Isle of Manhattan
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 27, 2009, 10:57 AM
 
Like that helps.
"Faster, faster! 'Till the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death." - HST
     
Paco500
Professional Poster
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Berkshire, UK
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 27, 2009, 12:31 PM
 
Nina Simone, or Paulo Conte
     
Jawbone54  (op)
Posting Junkie
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Louisiana
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 27, 2009, 12:35 PM
 
Originally Posted by osiris View Post
Osiris is getting upset 'cause you didn't make Ol' Blue Eyes #1 for best big band singer.
What the hell is a Velvet Fog anyway? That doesn't even make sense.
Yeah, I voted for Frank. I just mentioned the Velvet Frog.

"I think that's the tops!"
That was undoubtedly my most deeply buried Seinfeld reference of all-time.
     
besson3c
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: yes
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 27, 2009, 01:24 PM
 
Jawbone: I'm intrigued by what you've said about these singers being "pure"...

I think that the best artists in a certain genre sort of define our perceptions of that genre, and that these genres can be sometimes limited by what I call the "emotional range" of an artist. This may be why many artists feel like they are being confined being stuck into a particular genre.

The half-baked emotional range idea of mine is that Simon and Garfunkle or John Denver are probably not going to be expressing emotions of violent rage or oppression like a cliché version of punk rock or gangsta rap or something, that is sort of outside of their range. This isn't to say that an artist could *not* succeed outside of their range, or that a genre is limited to this range, but I think that it is natural that every artist succeeds within a particular range and in doing so forms preconceptions and associations both for their own music, as well as they genre they represent.

What I'm wondering is if what you were hearing is sort of an emotional musical range that has fallen out of vogue in pop music and music we are exposed to today (not to insinuate that you listen to pop music exclusively), and therefore seems refreshing and a nice contrast to you when you are in the mood? This is what is particularly intriguing to me... Without offending anybody's musical sensibilities, I find that much of what is played over and over again on top 40 or whatever is lacking in emotional range. After a certain point all of these songs sort of sound the same to me. I wonder why it is that emotions such as a sort of reverence for the beauty of nature, a sweet old fashioned melancholy, feelings of peace, empathy, child-like joy, of a certain flowing and perpetual energy that you might find in some Folk music, etc. seem rarely explored in most pop music today?

Granted, I'm sure you can come up with many examples where this is not true, I realize that this generalization is flawed in many ways, but I do feel that overall the range of emotion that is expressed with pop music as a whole is limited. I have a hard time understanding how some people can be happy not branching out and exploring other emotions being expressed in music with their listening? There is so much out there, so much being expressed. Granted, it may take some training to be able to hear the subtleties and more complex emotion being expressed in a piece of classical music, for example, in a way that relates to modern times, but there is still a lot of music expressing more simple emotions that could be accessible to far more people.

So, Jawbone, am I sort of on the right track here? Is what is appealing to you sort of the difference in mood and emotional vibe with this music that contrasts the other stuff you listen to?
     
osiris
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Isle of Manhattan
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 27, 2009, 01:33 PM
 
Sérgio Mendes
and the variations of Brasil '66, '77, '88

But perhaps we're just splitting hairs now.
"Faster, faster! 'Till the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death." - HST
     
ghporter
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: San Antonio TX USA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 27, 2009, 10:06 PM
 
I love multi-option polls. My choice of "favorite" big band or jazz singer depends on the music, the band, and a lot of other things. Some of Frank's stuff from his early days was atrocious, but he presented it wonderfully ("Mama Will Bark" comes to mind. Shudder!). Mel did smooth like nobody else. Tony is still putting tons of emotion into his singing. Louie was, well, Louie. Etta, Ella? Great! The only one I didn't choose was Michael Buble, because I have only heard a little of his work and I really can't see any of it as either "big band" or "jazz." Niel Diamond's singing is pretty darn great, but "Jazz Singer" is only figurative-watch the movie (Olivier was magnificent in it!). I think Brian Setzer has done plenty of "big band" work without getting the recognition he deserves, has has Lyle Lovett (and his Large Band), though Lyle's stuff is not the same sort of music most people think of as "big band" or "jazz."

So my answer is "yes" and "all of the above plus a bunch more."

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
   
Thread Tools
 
Forum Links
Forum Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Top
Privacy Policy
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 03:47 PM.
All contents of these forums © 1995-2017 MacNN. All rights reserved.
Branding + Design: www.gesamtbild.com
vBulletin v.3.8.8 © 2000-2017, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.,