“Donʻt Worry ʻBout Me”-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP8ooqhg5qw Ella Fitzgeraldʻs voice even with the grainy quality of the audio is quite smooth in this recording, like a long piece of silk fabric with some waves here and there where she incorporates her vibrato into her singing. The way that the saxophone and orchestra just melt together exemplifies that sort of night-clubby kind of feel when love is in the air. Itʻs quite easy to see the jazz aspect of the song with the saxophone solo playing in front of the orchestral background. Ella Fitzgeraldʻs lead singing role resembles that of Armstrongʻs soloist approach to jazz music as well as the elongated notes and lazy pace; I wouldnʻt have been surprised if I heard this song in a 1930ʻs night club.
In her live performance of “Summertime” I could really see how wide of a vocal range Fitzgerald had. She goes from mid-range notes to low notes and then extremely high notes which I thought was extremely impressive. This song is much different from the other songs that I’d heard from her due to the fact that the pacing was much slower paced and sorrowful rather than the upbeat swing jazz she’s most known for. The delicate piano and tenderly played drums make the song sound like a grieving lullaby or a blues song right out of the cotton plantations. Fitzgerald’s vocalizations come deep from the heart and sound like painful wails, only adding to the feeling of sadness and grief.
“Don’t Explain” (live performance in 1959)-https://youtu.be/0MWRheQtvmA
It seems that Billie Holiday sang this song very late in her life, because although she’s only in her forties when singing this song she sounds quite old and weathered. The minor notes of the piano intro and slowly played orchestral accompaniment creates a sort of solemn feel to this tragic love song. I can tell that she didn’t have as wide of a vocal range as other female jazz singers, but she still made good use of what she had and was able to perform the song well. The sound of the audio matches well with the lyrics of the song, capturing how one who knows their significant other is cheating, but they still love them even though it hurts.
One of Fitzgerald’s earlier songs, “A-Tisket-A-Tasket” shows some of her early girlish charm, a far cry from the more sensual air she would be surrounded by in later years. As an adaptation of a childhood nursery rhyme, many people might not have taken her too seriously despite Fitzgerald’s masterful singing. It seems a very good example of a woman who hasn’t quite found her sound or sense of self yet as an artist, but still has the skill and potential to go far.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgJsQoCeOfo “Flying Home” This song is made up completely of scat singing. It would have been immensely popular with her jazz peers, the scat fits perfectly yet still feels dischordiant enough to be interesting. It showcases her ability to improvise and sing songs that would appeal to an older audience. Flying home feels very different from ATAT, it’s original and shows Fitzgerald’s development as an artist since then.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WP1p3mUKDw “I’ve Got a Crush on You” “I’ve Got a Crush on You” is a sensual love song that I typically think of when I think of Ella Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald’s singing is still deep and smooth with a happy air to it, but unlike in her earlier years it sounds more lady-like rather than girlish. This is a good example of Fitzgerald's style as a culmination of her years of experience with more mature vocals and a more established style.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFUS4RhMYJs “My Funny Valentine” Ella Fitzgerald’s recording of this show tune shows her understanding of Hart. Unlike in other recordings, such as Frank Sinatra’s, Fitzgerald takes time to go through each word and each note to really sell the message of the song. The song is about someone singing to their less than perfect lover, a projection from Hart who never thought he could be loved, which I think Fitzgerald can relate to. According to the film, she was turned down by clubs and bands on multiple occasions, despite the fact that her singing was spectacular, because of her looks. I think that it’s for that reason that she is able to connect to this song so well and truly understand it in a way that others could not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmiZ2LE5GoM I decided to listen to the song called “Solitude” by Billie Holiday. She is considered to be one of the best jazz vocalists of all time. She had a unique style of singing that helped to form the conventions of the modern performance we know today. The song “Solitude” starts off with a lovely piano solo in the beginning. I think Billie’s voice comes off as powerful the second she sings that first line. The song has a sorrowful tune to it. The beat and pace is very slow which probably adds to this effect. I think that this is one of her more popular/famous songs. It probably appeals to her lady fans because I am assuming that many of them can relate to this song since it’s about her being lonely: “I sit in my chair, and filled with despair, there’s no one could be so sad, with gloom everywhere.” She wants God to bring back her lover.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DGY9HvChXk I was planning on listening to the song “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday because I knew it was a pretty popular song of hers, but I heard it in class. Just going off of the title, I had no idea what kind of topic this song would revolve around. It shocked me to find out that it was about lynching. The strange fruit was a metaphor for the African American people who were lynched. The song itself had a very low and dark tone. This makes sense considering how serious of a topic this is. The first time Holiday performed this song she said she was nervous because she was unaware of how people would react to a song like this. However, I think this song opened up people’s eyes and let them see what was happening in the country and how inhumane African American people were being treated.
https://youtu.be/ntDnwBiORu8 Another song I wanted to listen to was “Blue Moon.” This is a more upbeat, faster paced song. She sings in a lower key throughout the entirety of the song. I have heard that her range isn’t too broad, but the notes she reaches/can reach are amazing. I think that the trumpet is the star instrument of this performance. This song was covered by many artists such as Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. I think that each artist adds a different flavor to the song when they sing it. Holiday gives this song a hopeful attitude as she sings of no longer being alone. A blue moon is rare and so it is so lucky that the singer gets to experience one.
The song I chose was sung by Dinah Washington, “Lover Come Back To me.” Dinah has a unique voice that almost has a nasal sound to it. Even though this song has a very upbeat rhythm to it Dinah often strays away from the original beat and makes her own. Somehow it doesn’t clash with the music but actually makes it more interesting and fun to listen to. The song is about someone who has just gone through a heartbreak and now they’re pretty lonely. Which doesn’t match how the song really sounds and I found that interesting.
I chose “No More” by Billie Holiday. It was written by Sidney Keith Bob Russel and Tutti Camarata. Her style of singing is unique and the tone of her voice is clear and concise. The slow tempo along with her soothing voice always for an interesting song. The orchestration gives the song a fancier tone. The deep voice of Holiday also adds a uniqueness to her music. The lyrics represent a side of love that shows a person who will not go back to a relationship that was unhealthy and toxic. The time away from the relationship allowed for her to find herself.
Adding on to the paragraph above, Billie Holiday’s music conveyed great emotions. By changing her tempo and tone of her voice, she was able to convey a certain emotion she was feeling or wanted to express. Another song I listened to was “Travelin’ Light.” She recorded this song with Paul Whiteman, where it became a hit. The lyrics of the song seems to play along with what she was dealing with at the time. Her husband, an addict, was becoming a difficulty for her, so she started to use hard drugs. In her lyrics she describes how her man has gone away, so she’s “travelin the light” while he’s gone.
https://youtu.be/HfgIrFPaNEI “Miss Brown To You” by Billie Holiday features the “jumping” sound of a piano and a saxophone playfully interrupting each other. As the article said, Billie Holiday was seen as the “golden girl in a man’s world.” This song seems to be alluding to the misogyny of the time period because of her lyrics of “Lovable, huggable EMily Brown; Miss Brown to you.” Holiday wants this Emily Brown to be treated with respect and be called “Miss Brown” which wasn’t too popular in the 1930s. Otherwise, Holiday’s voice reminds me somewhat of Louis Armstrong as her voice has a slight rasp to it.
https://youtu.be/thSfGPZGmnQ In “Lover Man,” the listener can hear the “lack of vocal training” Holiday has. From the very very very little vocal training I have got, it sounds to me as if she wasn’t trained in breath support; it’s almost as if she’s singing through her throat. Although, I am most likely wrong. Other than that, this song is a nice contrast to “Miss Brown To You” since it showcases Holiday’s ability to sing slow songs as well as faster songs. The musicality of the song is also nice; it sounds like a good song to waltz to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbmVPh6oD9o Sarah Vaughan’s “Perdido” is an upbeat song where drums and trumpets are the featured instruments. In my opinion, it sounds like a Frank Sinatra song where he usually sings to the sounds of trumpets. The song is mainly about a woman who traveled to Perdido and met a man there. Vaughan’s voice in the song is very smooth as she showcases her vocal range. She is the perfect person to sing this song because she gives a great portrayal of a “flirtatious” song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNycBDNqsK0 We all know the Lord’s Prayer as we used to say it in chapel all the time in lower school. Sarah Vaughan turned this prayer into a slow song. Though she is widely known for her jazz songs, this song is a very different taste for her but she sings it beautifully. Vaughan was part of a church choir at a young age so her voice suits perfectly for this song. This song is very different from her other song I mentioned, “Perdido,” because this is a very slow song since it is a church song. Vaughan has sang different styles but all of them is very fitting for her as her voice just runs so smoothly with the song she is singing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8ytAEf65ak The last song I listened to is “Broken-Hearted Melody.” Just by looking at the title, I could already tell that this is categorized into a breakup song. Even though it is a breakup song, it is very upbeat. Vaughan’s voice in this song is very spot on. She has this moment where she sings the word “melody” slightly different, in sort of a flirtatious yet subtle way. This song doesn’t go too high and doesn’t show her amazing vocal range. This song was bittersweet as it did talk about a broken heart but also very upbeat for such a “sad” song.
I listened to “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday. The song starts with a jazzy piano and a slow and low voice of Holiday. The song seems dark and eerie. Her facial expression shows pain and gloom which completes the tone of an almost morbid image of “a sudden smell of burning flesh”. Her vibrato after each line makes it very much eerie but also beautiful. I found this song very strange as the lyrics were dark and random as Holiday sings about the forbidden fruit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4jU8IQK5b0
I then listened to “New Orleans” by Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong. The pair just proves to have great chemistry as they sound, look, and talk well together. The longing for the amazing New Orleans is well sung about by Holiday. Her light and still happy tone of voice makes it a rather fun song than a sad song. It makes you want to go to New Orleans. At the end of the song, I found it to really be about a man. That he left an experience or feeling in New Orleans with whomever he was with and that’s a large reason why that person misses New Orleans. The trumpet, trombone, and piano makes it a great song to sing along to but not a swing dance type of song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_20tKuKtF8 I decided to read the Billie Holiday article because her name seemed very familiar to me. I chose to have a listen to the song called “These Foolish Things.”Her artistic control with the melody and rhythm is outstanding as her voice is strong and inspirational. The jazzy feeling is introduced in the beginning of the song as the notes are elongated into a lifting atmosphere. She begins to sing towards the middle of the song and her singing essentially wraps the music together. The vibrations and the dynamic tones are portrayed from her powerful to further bring out the jazz music. I liked the trumpet solo toward the end that mimicked Billie Holiday’s voice. The song eventually ended with the trumpet which I thought was an interesting and impactful way to end a jazz song as the end note “blurted out.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgJsQoCeOfo After watching the video from class today, I decided to listen to one of Ella Fitzgerald’s songs. From the article, I chose “Flying Home.” It was an all-scat performance, and this song eventually established her among jazz modernists. The song starts with an electric jump of trumpets and other instruments. Starting off with her scat performance and ending with scat seemed very natural and not planned. In the middle of the song, I was able to recognize her saying of “the deep blue sea.” The natural mixing with the scat was really intriguing to me. Moreover, she enjoys herself with the background music along with the melody and rhythm she plays around with. It is my first time listening to an all-scat performance and actually really enjoyed the performance. It was one of the 99 hits in 1945 and am not surprised by it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us9lVrOwwW0 The third song I decided to choose was one of Sarah Vaughan’s songs. “Body and Soul” was sung in 1978, and it starts off with a very solemn tone of the piano. Her vibrations and her calm singing really drooped the atmosphere, and it seemed very intentional. With the medium up-tempo, she grabbed my attention to the lyrics. I often do not listen to the lyrics but mostly to the melody and the rhythm. However, her singing really pointed out the lyrics and the drama behind the tempo. The song is different from what I usually listen to which is a surprise as I then concentrate more into what the song is trying to deliver to the audience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDhF-PsDuCw “Someone to Watch Over Me” starts off pretty slow and Ella Fitzgerald starts singing with her very angelic voice. This is a very calming song and the lyrics are also very nice. One verse that stuck out to me was “I’m a little lamb who’s lost in the wood / I know I could, always be good / To the one who’ll watch over me.” I liked the metaphor of the lamb and each verse showed something like this almost all ending with “watch over me.” Fitzgerald’s beautiful singing with a combination of the instruments from the orchestra make this a wonderful song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbTQWdnpjBk “How Long Has This Been Going On?” starts off with Ella Fitzgerald slowly singing and making each word sound very long. This is also a very calming song with interesting lyrics. The song starts off “Neath the stars, at bazaars / Often I’ve had to caress men / Five or ten, dollars then, I’d collect from all.” These lyrics sound more real or authentic and show how Fitzgerald talks about things going on in our world. This song was previously introduced but Fitzgerald took it and made it her own which then became a popular song of hers. I think that this song shows how not everything in life is good and it shows the actuality of life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bgFkeDLpSI “A-Tisket A-Tasket” is a more upbeat song of Ella Fitzgerald’s and this was the first song I’ve seen that has an actual video along with it. In this, she’s on a bus standing in the middle aisle while everyone else is sitting down. The people on the bus contribute by saying some parts in the song and Fitzgerald then responds to them. This song was a nursery rhyme which Fitzgerald helped to write. Since it’s a nursery rhyme, it seems like it would be directed more towards kids, but everyone ended up enjoying this song. It’s shorter than some of her other songs, but it is very catchy and shows off her singing skills.
The first song I listened to was “Christopher Columbus” by Dinah Washington. The song was first made popular in 1936 by jazz pianist Fats Waller. Over the years the song has been covered and recorded by numerous other artists like Louis Armstrong making it a jazz standard. Dinah Washington released her version in 1957. As the name suggests the song is about famous Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. The song's lyrics talk about how Columbus kept his men enthusiastic and hopeful about finding new land by singing songs and drinking. The instrumentals of the song are an unpredictable combo of trumpets, and symbols. The song has lots of sudden jumps where the trumpet goes from playing softer notes to suddenly playing louder wilder notes. This helps to emphasize the jazz aspects of the song and compliments Washington's delivery of the lyrics. I really liked Dinah’s singing voice and the way she sang this song. You can clearly understand everything she is saying and she doesn’t deliver every note in the same pitch or style.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2zc6jpmtFA
The next song of Dinah Washingtons I listened to was “Resolution Blues” released in 1947. This song is more on the Blues side of the spectrum but definitely still has some of the jazz aspects. Washington was known to like singing without genre restrictions so it's no surprises that she was able to successfully blend blues and jazz in her singing style. Many people believed that Dinah Washington was the best blues singer in the generations after Bessie Smith and the two were often compared. The song is opened with notes from a slow blues sounding trumpet accompanied by a piano. As soon as Dinah starts to sing I noticed that she isn’t singing with a sad or hurt tone. Her tone is strong and captivating. Despite the slower pace of the song and the lazy sounding instrumentals the song doesn’t give me the relaxed and sleepy feelings that other slower paced Blues or Jazz songs do. I think the reason for this is because of Dinah's tone and delivery of the lyrics and how she is able to keep her listeners engaged. The song is about how she is tired of her man's behavior and how she is gonna leave him. She delivers the song as if she is telling the man directly that his lousy behavior and personality is causing her to leave him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LLUXHiGZnc
The final song that I listened to was Dinah Washington's 1951 song “I Won’t Cry Anymore”. This song was quite different from the other two songs because it didn’t really sound a whole lot like a Blues or Jazz song. Even the way that Washington sings the song is different from the other songs. She sings the song using pretty much the same flow through the whole song which isn’t like her normal style. She also uses mainly higher notes which also not something she normally does. The background instrumentals are a combination of soft sounding orchestra instruments that creates a tune that reminds me of the music used in the old Disney classics or something that would be played in a ballroom. The song definitely gives me slow dancing vibes. Like all of her songs Dinah's voice is beautiful and flawless and all of her words are clear and concise. She holds the end of a lot of the notes which makes the song sound more dramatic. The song is about her saying goodbye to someone she used to love and how she is finally over that person. She repeats the words “I Won’t Cry Anymore” which indicates that this is a song about overcoming and strength.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v4fTR1yHd0 The first song I listened to by Dinah Washington was “Lover Come Back to Me.” Washington has a really interesting voice because it isn’t very loud and powerful, even at times it seems like she is straying away from singing and moving more towards speaking. This is a song about a woman missing a man and how her heart aches while she waits for him. However, the tone of the song was really upbeat, this made the song really interesting to listen to because the meaning behind the song and the tone of it sort of clashed but it still kept you intrigued.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3kwdM_puAs Next I listened to “Long John Blues,” which was about a woman having a crush on her dentist and how she wants to go to the dentist more often so that she can see him again. Like her song “Love Come Back to Me” Washing ton sounds very relaxed while singing. This makes listening to her songs very soothing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4yOIyJE_2A The song “Salty Papa Blues” is very different compared to ”Lover Come Back to Me” and “Long John Blues.” “Salty Papa Blues” is about a woman not knowing what her husband is thinking and it also doesn’t seem like her partner treats her right. There is a very long and upbeat introduction to the song. Washington also sings very differently in this song, she scats for majority of the song. This was really interesting because it made the song a lot more interesting and you weren’t sure what she was going to do with each line of the song
The first song that I listened to was “A-Tisket-A-Tasket” by Ella Fitzgerald. This song in particular had a more childish sound to it. By that I mean the higher pitch that she was singing at, which sounded more like a little girl than anything else. Despite that it was a great song and the sound of it kind of just made you smile. You also just have to admire the perfect sound that her voice has, it was just incredibly smooth throughout the whole song, it even sounded unreal at times. I think that this song is a good display of just how good of a singer she really was and how amazing she sounded.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nSkRHOyLMLs
The second song that I listened to was “All My Life” by Ella Fitzgerald and Teddy Wilson. This song is not like the previous one, it holds a lot more emotion and feelings. It is also slower and has a deeper tone to it than before. It also does not feature that much vocals so you are not really left with much, but what you are left with is great. This song is also a lot more intimate than the last one, and this is conveyed not only with the lyrics but like i said earlier the tone of her voice. She is not singing in the higher pitch that she did in the previous song but a more mature one now. This lets us know that the song is more serious and for a more mature audience.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vP8ooqhg5qw
The third song that I listened to was “Don’t worry about me”. This song was medium paced, and it had a nice background sound that was not overpowering the vocals. With that the vocals were also not super loud and they were still a kind of soothing volume. This sounded like something that was a more classical song, something that might be played at a dinner party. It is a very nice song with a great voice. And here voice sounds kind of like a mixture of the mature tone and the more childish tone, not super high but also not particularly deep. With her voice in that middle ground it still sounds so very smooth, it is just incredible.
https://youtu.be/olWMbkm2qTc In Dinah Washington’s live performance of “Lover Come Back to Me”, I immediately was drawn to the natural attitude that emanated from her as she began singing. Like it was mentioned in the article, she never got high-toned throughout the entire performance. There was that characteristic mannerism that made the entire spectacle unique in it’s own right. She was a natural performer with the talk-singing technique she has going on as she makes the song her own, often straying away from the tempo of the song.
https://youtu.be/-JswhafqFL4 “Trouble in Mind” by Dinah Washington is a lovely song that shows off Washington’s vocal talent. Her voice is mesmerizing and sounds almost effortless. Her seductive singing really draws me in as she makes the song her own. Released in 1952, the song is truly exquisite as the article describes—with the accompaniment of the drums and saxophone, the song is overall a wonderful performance.
https://youtu.be/OmBxVfQTuvI “What a Difference a Day Made” is understandably Washington’s most iconic song that she is known best for. A timeless song of the decade, Washington’s voice really resonates as she sings a song of progressing love. The story of how feelings can be impacted so much from just a single day of “bliss”. Her version resonates so easily with people and its clear with her naturally captivating vocal performance. Just shown through this song, why she was known as a singer who couldn’t be replaced is clear—the way she made songs her own made her one of a kind.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmb0qixrqeA "My Funny Valentine" by Sarah Vaughan, Richard Heyman Orchestra
There are several great artists who've also recorded "My Funny Valentine." Frank Sinatra, Chet Baker, and Ella Fitzgerald are among the list of artists who have also sung this song. Miles Davis even recorded the song, playing the trumpet rather than singing the melody. Sarah Vaughan does a great job singing this song. This song dives into her lower register and takes on a deeper melody. This is sort of surprising, as you don't really think of love songs with a deeper sound. Sarah Vaughan also does a masterful job of holding out notes at the end of lines and also brings a great vibrato when doing so.
The first song I chose to listen to is What A Little Moonlight Can Do by Billie Holiday. Billie Holiday is considered to be a jazz and music swing American singer. Music swing singer, is a type of jazz that arose around the 1930s and 1940s. Through this song, it is clear that Billie Holiday truly came up with her own way to sing a song at a different tempo by manipulating the words of the song to match her beat. This song is about love. The moonlight is like a key that opens up a woman’s heart allowing her feelings towards some man to really show— in this case, by saying the phrase “I love you”.
Yellow Basket by Ella Fitzgerald
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w4TwfR-282M
I chose this song after hearing about it in the show we watched today. While listening to the show, I heard there was a connection between Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. Something that stood out to me between the two, is their life growing up. Both are colored women and lived a terrible childhood. But that didn’t stop them from striving to sing music that would make it big. After hearing Yellow Basket, the lyrics “A-tisket a-tisket” really stood out to me because to me, it was uncommon to hear this. These lyrics are a nursery rhyme which is a poem/song for children. Overall I thought this song was pleasing to listen to.
A Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YbcZstt8ACY
While in this class, History of American Song, I occasionally let my eye wander around the room and I couldn’t help but notice all the posters. But there was one poster that always and still catches my eye. The poster about A Strange Fruit. This poster’s design and the way the lyrics are spread out, keeps me interested all the time. So when I heard A Strange Fruit, I then realized it was a song. But this song in particular was written as a poem. According to the video today in class, after Billie Holiday sung this song, her audience didn’t quite know how to respond until a brave soul started to clap nervously. Later the whole crowd clapped. But this song is about lynching and the strange fruit that the tree bears, are the dead people hanging. I thought this song was very deep for its short length.
“All of Me” by Dinah Washington https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxrbSlWweQk
The first song that I listen to was “all of me” by Dinah Washington and accompanied by Terry Gibbs Quintet. I was first really intrigued by the song when reading about the song and how Washington picked up Gibbs spear mallet and and added some sass to his solo. This instantaneously showed me what kind of person Washington was and the artistry that she had. From watching I picked up how she was a fun and talented person who easily flowed through the music. I also noticed in the music that there were a lot of solos highlighting other instruments and and allowing other in the spotlight as well. Additionally, at the end I really enjoyed the duet between Washington and a trombone solos which I had never heard before.
“Lover, Come Back to Me” by Dinah Washington https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olWMbkm2qTc
The next song that I listened to was “Lover, Come Back to Me” by Dinah Washington. The first thing that noted from the song immediately was the very aggressive trumpet and fast pace of the song. The trumpets were aggressive with there high pitch direct sound almost as they are shouting at Washington. Washington continues to keep her pace steadily. I also noted to how at the end the trumpet slows down almost like they are forgiving Washington and they come back.
“The Blues Ain't Nothin' but a Woman Cryin' for Her Man” by Dinah Washington https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5fx1R3strg
Lastly, the song that I listened to was completely different than any of the songs that I listened to. It was noted in the text to be one of her best works ever recorded before her death. I thought the same thing when listening to it. It struck me how she poured her soul into the song and really found herself. You could feel how Washington created a song that was uniquely her and she wasn’t trying to be someone else. The lyrics really describe the blues deeply and shows how the blues really affect people deeply. Overall I really liked the song.
Another song I did by Dinah is her version of “What a Difference A Day Makes.” This song was very slow and peaceful. Since it was a slow song Dinah had a lot of long notes that went very well with the music. The song was about how one day can really make that person's life so much better. However, it’s not only just the day but mostly the person they have to spend time with
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No0dsd9gKPA
The third song I chose was “That’s Why a Woman Loves a Heel.” I really liked this song because it was very soothing. The saxophone went really well with the song and was a nice intro to Dinah. Her voice never misses a note and matches really well with the music. It’s a nice song that you can dance to with your significant other. This is another song that is about love, specifically it’s about the one who, “knows just how to get beneath your skin.”
I listened to “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday. The song starts with a jazzy piano and a slow and low voice of Holiday. The song seems dark and eerie. Her facial expression shows pain and gloom which completes the tone of an almost morbid image of “a sudden smell of burning flesh”. Her vibrato after each line makes it very much eerie but also beautiful. I found this song very strange as the lyrics were dark and random as Holiday sings about the forbidden fruit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4jU8IQK5b0
I then listened to “New Orleans” by Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong. The pair just proves to have great chemistry as they sound, look, and talk well together. The longing for the amazing New Orleans is well sung about by Holiday. Her light and still happy tone of voice makes it a rather fun song than a sad song. It makes you want to go to New Orleans. At the end of the song, I found it to really be about a man. That he left an experience or feeling in New Orleans with whomever he was with and that’s a large reason why that person misses New Orleans. The trumpet, trombone, and piano makes it a great song to sing along to but not a swing dance type of song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmiZ2LE5GoM
I finally listened to “Solitude” by Billie Holiday. It starts with a piano like most of her songs do. Holiday’s voice comes right in to complete the jazzy tune. The soft piano goes well with her powerful and full voice. Unlike her other songs, the slower pace beat and melody gives it an almost gloomy tune. She’s obviously longing over love. Maybe a man she once had but she’s just looking for love.
The first song I listened to was “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday. This song was emotional and mysterious. As opposed to her other songs which have more swing elements in them, this song is at a much slower tempo which puts more emphasis on the lyrics which describe the tragic life of slaves in the South. It specifically references lynching as “Strange Fruit hanging on poplar trees”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDlKb2cBAqU
The second song I listened to was “I’ll be seeing you”. This song is performed over a slow piano part with horns in the background. Holiday’s vocals in this song are mesmerizing and this is a song I would expect to hear at a Speakeasy in the 50’s to set a cool, relaxed mood. I really liked this song because the way Holiday performs it brings so much intrigue and curiosity. This song sounds like a woman talking about a man she left behind and not regretting it. This song is significant because it very much pushes against the gender boundaries at the time it was released.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yakzL1Q88c
The third song I listened to was “The very thought of you”. This is a love song but again Holiday’s voice gives the song a certain smoothness that a lot of love songs lack. The sound of the instruments in the background blend perfectly with Holiday creating an intriguing piece of music. Her vocals bring soul and also a certain sense of nostalgia for old times.
Strange Fruit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Web007rzSOI
I chose the song “Strange Fruit,” by Billie Holiday. At first I didn’t know what to expect with this song, but quickly I was sucked into its gloomy and eerie sound put forth through the opening horn. This song is kinda cool in a dark way. I get badass vibes from her in the way she just owns this song and sings her heart out with that string voice, especially as a woman in the 1930s. The intro sounds like something you'd hear in the background or score of a movie during a montage or scene highlightingNew York City or something. Her slow way of singing lyrics, pausing after each phrase, it leaves the listener on edge waiting for the next line with curiosity. I also love the last little finger picking solo at the end, total pleasure to the ears!
My Funny Valentine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqjKOalcI10
I chose the song “My Funny Valentine,” by Ella Fitzgerald for my second song. At first sound, I would think this is from a movie. I noticed how she uses old English in the lyrics of this song, which I dont quite understand why, but it seems to work well in this song. Ella Fitzgerald’s voice represents perfections. Perfection in all aspects— its powerful, holds range well, and doesn’t have any imperfections in sounds when hitting different notes. This song gives me chill vibes but also like Ella is longing to tell someone how she feels about him, hence the title and well.
All of Me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89lCBe7p78o The last song I chose was “All of Me” by Dinah Washington. This song is very upbeat from beginning to end. It makes you want to put down your food at a late night lounge and get up and dance. There’s a steady pace held together, strung along by drums in the background. The multitude of instruments create a grand sense of collective happiness. This song puts you in a mood where nothing else matters but dancing and letting go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRHnf3u8pjI The first song I listened to was “East of the Sun” by Sarah Vaughan. I watched a live version, and it was pretty funny because she gets annoyed with the camera person for filming her and not the bass player. The song was stripped down completely until it was just her and the bass player, because she wanted to showcase his talent. I’ve never seen a bass solo before until I watched this. This version of “East of the Sun” also shows the way jazz singers can improvise while they are performing. Halfway through the song, Sarah Vaughan sings, “Put the television on the bass player, because it’s his time to shine.” At first I didn’t notice that she had made up the lyrics on the spot, because they fit so well into the song, and the audience had the same reaction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BIrjmE_VQE “Thinking of You” shows the full beauty of Sarah Vaughan’s voice. The way she sings is similar to Louis Armstrong in that she uses her voice like an instrument. She begins the song by crooning “ohhh, why?” She blends each word into the next one, and never pauses for more than a second. She also uses a lot of vocal inflections, for instance, vibrato. In total, “Thinking of You” has only thirteen lines, but Sarah Vaughan stretches them out and smoothies them down into a full song. I can easily imagine this song playing in a 1950s coffee shop somewhere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhkDnZo2EAM “Make Yourself Comfortable” begins with stings played in a way that they sound like a voice. Sarah Vaughan used multiple vocal layers in this song, singing “ooooh” while also singing the lyrics. “Make Yourself Comfortable” is a relatively simple and playful song, but it is interesting because it shows the progression of recording technology. Performers in the 1920s, such as Ma Rainey, had to record songs in one take with a full live band present. In the 1950s, Sarah Vaughan was able to layer her voice because she could record in an isolated recording booth without the need for live musicians, and then combine her vocal tracks afterwards.
“Donʻt Worry ʻBout Me”-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP8ooqhg5qw
ReplyDeleteElla Fitzgeraldʻs voice even with the grainy quality of the audio is quite smooth in this recording, like a long piece of silk fabric with some waves here and there where she incorporates her vibrato into her singing. The way that the saxophone and orchestra just melt together exemplifies that sort of night-clubby kind of feel when love is in the air. Itʻs quite easy to see the jazz aspect of the song with the saxophone solo playing in front of the orchestral background. Ella Fitzgeraldʻs lead singing role resembles that of Armstrongʻs soloist approach to jazz music as well as the elongated notes and lazy pace; I wouldnʻt have been surprised if I heard this song in a 1930ʻs night club.
“Summertime” (live performance 1968)-https://youtu.be/u2bigf337aU
DeleteIn her live performance of “Summertime” I could really see how wide of a vocal range Fitzgerald had. She goes from mid-range notes to low notes and then extremely high notes which I thought was extremely impressive. This song is much different from the other songs that I’d heard from her due to the fact that the pacing was much slower paced and sorrowful rather than the upbeat swing jazz she’s most known for. The delicate piano and tenderly played drums make the song sound like a grieving lullaby or a blues song right out of the cotton plantations. Fitzgerald’s vocalizations come deep from the heart and sound like painful wails, only adding to the feeling of sadness and grief.
“Don’t Explain” (live performance in 1959)-https://youtu.be/0MWRheQtvmA
It seems that Billie Holiday sang this song very late in her life, because although she’s only in her forties when singing this song she sounds quite old and weathered. The minor notes of the piano intro and slowly played orchestral accompaniment creates a sort of solemn feel to this tragic love song. I can tell that she didn’t have as wide of a vocal range as other female jazz singers, but she still made good use of what she had and was able to perform the song well. The sound of the audio matches well with the lyrics of the song, capturing how one who knows their significant other is cheating, but they still love them even though it hurts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bgFkeDLpSI
ReplyDelete“A-Tisket-A-Tasket”
One of Fitzgerald’s earlier songs, “A-Tisket-A-Tasket” shows some of her early girlish charm, a far cry from the more sensual air she would be surrounded by in later years. As an adaptation of a childhood nursery rhyme, many people might not have taken her too seriously despite Fitzgerald’s masterful singing. It seems a very good example of a woman who hasn’t quite found her sound or sense of self yet as an artist, but still has the skill and potential to go far.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgJsQoCeOfo
“Flying Home”
This song is made up completely of scat singing. It would have been immensely popular with her jazz peers, the scat fits perfectly yet still feels dischordiant enough to be interesting. It showcases her ability to improvise and sing songs that would appeal to an older audience. Flying home feels very different from ATAT, it’s original and shows Fitzgerald’s development as an artist since then.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WP1p3mUKDw
“I’ve Got a Crush on You”
“I’ve Got a Crush on You” is a sensual love song that I typically think of when I think of Ella Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald’s singing is still deep and smooth with a happy air to it, but unlike in her earlier years it sounds more lady-like rather than girlish. This is a good example of Fitzgerald's style as a culmination of her years of experience with more mature vocals and a more established style.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFUS4RhMYJs
Delete“My Funny Valentine”
Ella Fitzgerald’s recording of this show tune shows her understanding of Hart. Unlike in other recordings, such as Frank Sinatra’s, Fitzgerald takes time to go through each word and each note to really sell the message of the song. The song is about someone singing to their less than perfect lover, a projection from Hart who never thought he could be loved, which I think Fitzgerald can relate to. According to the film, she was turned down by clubs and bands on multiple occasions, despite the fact that her singing was spectacular, because of her looks. I think that it’s for that reason that she is able to connect to this song so well and truly understand it in a way that others could not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmiZ2LE5GoM
ReplyDeleteI decided to listen to the song called “Solitude” by Billie Holiday. She is considered to be one of the best jazz vocalists of all time. She had a unique style of singing that helped to form the conventions of the modern performance we know today. The song “Solitude” starts off with a lovely piano solo in the beginning. I think Billie’s voice comes off as powerful the second she sings that first line. The song has a sorrowful tune to it. The beat and pace is very slow which probably adds to this effect. I think that this is one of her more popular/famous songs. It probably appeals to her lady fans because I am assuming that many of them can relate to this song since it’s about her being lonely: “I sit in my chair, and filled with despair, there’s no one could be so sad, with gloom everywhere.” She wants God to bring back her lover.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DGY9HvChXk
DeleteI was planning on listening to the song “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday because I knew it was a pretty popular song of hers, but I heard it in class. Just going off of the title, I had no idea what kind of topic this song would revolve around. It shocked me to find out that it was about lynching. The strange fruit was a metaphor for the African American people who were lynched. The song itself had a very low and dark tone. This makes sense considering how serious of a topic this is. The first time Holiday performed this song she said she was nervous because she was unaware of how people would react to a song like this. However, I think this song opened up people’s eyes and let them see what was happening in the country and how inhumane African American people were being treated.
https://youtu.be/ntDnwBiORu8
Another song I wanted to listen to was “Blue Moon.” This is a more upbeat, faster paced song. She sings in a lower key throughout the entirety of the song. I have heard that her range isn’t too broad, but the notes she reaches/can reach are amazing. I think that the trumpet is the star instrument of this performance. This song was covered by many artists such as Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. I think that each artist adds a different flavor to the song when they sing it. Holiday gives this song a hopeful attitude as she sings of no longer being alone. A blue moon is rare and so it is so lucky that the singer gets to experience one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v4fTR1yHd0-
ReplyDeleteThe song I chose was sung by Dinah Washington, “Lover Come Back To me.” Dinah has a unique voice that almost has a nasal sound to it. Even though this song has a very upbeat rhythm to it Dinah often strays away from the original beat and makes her own. Somehow it doesn’t clash with the music but actually makes it more interesting and fun to listen to. The song is about someone who has just gone through a heartbreak and now they’re pretty lonely. Which doesn’t match how the song really sounds and I found that interesting.
https://youtu.be/yhrdcF5XsSs
ReplyDeleteI chose “No More” by Billie Holiday. It was written by Sidney Keith Bob Russel and Tutti Camarata. Her style of singing is unique and the tone of her voice is clear and concise. The slow tempo along with her soothing voice always for an interesting song. The orchestration gives the song a fancier tone. The deep voice of Holiday also adds a uniqueness to her music. The lyrics represent a side of love that shows a person who will not go back to a relationship that was unhealthy and toxic. The time away from the relationship allowed for her to find herself.
https://youtu.be/CnYINIgIvH0
DeleteAdding on to the paragraph above, Billie Holiday’s music conveyed great emotions. By changing her tempo and tone of her voice, she was able to convey a certain emotion she was feeling or wanted to express. Another song I listened to was “Travelin’ Light.” She recorded this song with Paul Whiteman, where it became a hit. The lyrics of the song seems to play along with what she was dealing with at the time. Her husband, an addict, was becoming a difficulty for her, so she started to use hard drugs. In her lyrics she describes how her man has gone away, so she’s “travelin the light” while he’s gone.
https://youtu.be/HfgIrFPaNEI
ReplyDelete“Miss Brown To You” by Billie Holiday features the “jumping” sound of a piano and a saxophone playfully interrupting each other. As the article said, Billie Holiday was seen as the “golden girl in a man’s world.” This song seems to be alluding to the misogyny of the time period because of her lyrics of “Lovable, huggable EMily Brown; Miss Brown to you.” Holiday wants this Emily Brown to be treated with respect and be called “Miss Brown” which wasn’t too popular in the 1930s. Otherwise, Holiday’s voice reminds me somewhat of Louis Armstrong as her voice has a slight rasp to it.
https://youtu.be/thSfGPZGmnQ
In “Lover Man,” the listener can hear the “lack of vocal training” Holiday has. From the very very very little vocal training I have got, it sounds to me as if she wasn’t trained in breath support; it’s almost as if she’s singing through her throat. Although, I am most likely wrong. Other than that, this song is a nice contrast to “Miss Brown To You” since it showcases Holiday’s ability to sing slow songs as well as faster songs. The musicality of the song is also nice; it sounds like a good song to waltz to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbmVPh6oD9o
ReplyDeleteSarah Vaughan’s “Perdido” is an upbeat song where drums and trumpets are the featured instruments. In my opinion, it sounds like a Frank Sinatra song where he usually sings to the sounds of trumpets. The song is mainly about a woman who traveled to Perdido and met a man there. Vaughan’s voice in the song is very smooth as she showcases her vocal range. She is the perfect person to sing this song because she gives a great portrayal of a “flirtatious” song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNycBDNqsK0
We all know the Lord’s Prayer as we used to say it in chapel all the time in lower school. Sarah Vaughan turned this prayer into a slow song. Though she is widely known for her jazz songs, this song is a very different taste for her but she sings it beautifully. Vaughan was part of a church choir at a young age so her voice suits perfectly for this song. This song is very different from her other song I mentioned, “Perdido,” because this is a very slow song since it is a church song. Vaughan has sang different styles but all of them is very fitting for her as her voice just runs so smoothly with the song she is singing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8ytAEf65ak
DeleteThe last song I listened to is “Broken-Hearted Melody.” Just by looking at the title, I could already tell that this is categorized into a breakup song. Even though it is a breakup song, it is very upbeat. Vaughan’s voice in this song is very spot on. She has this moment where she sings the word “melody” slightly different, in sort of a flirtatious yet subtle way. This song doesn’t go too high and doesn’t show her amazing vocal range. This song was bittersweet as it did talk about a broken heart but also very upbeat for such a “sad” song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DGY9HvChXk
ReplyDeleteI listened to “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday. The song starts with a jazzy piano and a slow and low voice of Holiday. The song seems dark and eerie. Her facial expression shows pain and gloom which completes the tone of an almost morbid image of “a sudden smell of burning flesh”. Her vibrato after each line makes it very much eerie but also beautiful. I found this song very strange as the lyrics were dark and random as Holiday sings about the forbidden fruit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4jU8IQK5b0
I then listened to “New Orleans” by Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong. The pair just proves to have great chemistry as they sound, look, and talk well together. The longing for the amazing New Orleans is well sung about by Holiday. Her light and still happy tone of voice makes it a rather fun song than a sad song. It makes you want to go to New Orleans. At the end of the song, I found it to really be about a man. That he left an experience or feeling in New Orleans with whomever he was with and that’s a large reason why that person misses New Orleans. The trumpet, trombone, and piano makes it a great song to sing along to but not a swing dance type of song.
Annabelle
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_20tKuKtF8
I decided to read the Billie Holiday article because her name seemed very familiar to me. I chose to have a listen to the song called “These Foolish Things.”Her artistic control with the melody and rhythm is outstanding as her voice is strong and inspirational. The jazzy feeling is introduced in the beginning of the song as the notes are elongated into a lifting atmosphere. She begins to sing towards the middle of the song and her singing essentially wraps the music together. The vibrations and the dynamic tones are portrayed from her powerful to further bring out the jazz music. I liked the trumpet solo toward the end that mimicked Billie Holiday’s voice. The song eventually ended with the trumpet which I thought was an interesting and impactful way to end a jazz song as the end note “blurted out.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgJsQoCeOfo
DeleteAfter watching the video from class today, I decided to listen to one of Ella Fitzgerald’s songs. From the article, I chose “Flying Home.” It was an all-scat performance, and this song eventually established her among jazz modernists. The song starts with an electric jump of trumpets and other instruments. Starting off with her scat performance and ending with scat seemed very natural and not planned. In the middle of the song, I was able to recognize her saying of “the deep blue sea.” The natural mixing with the scat was really intriguing to me. Moreover, she enjoys herself with the background music along with the melody and rhythm she plays around with. It is my first time listening to an all-scat performance and actually really enjoyed the performance. It was one of the 99 hits in 1945 and am not surprised by it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us9lVrOwwW0
DeleteThe third song I decided to choose was one of Sarah Vaughan’s songs. “Body and Soul” was sung in 1978, and it starts off with a very solemn tone of the piano. Her vibrations and her calm singing really drooped the atmosphere, and it seemed very intentional. With the medium up-tempo, she grabbed my attention to the lyrics. I often do not listen to the lyrics but mostly to the melody and the rhythm. However, her singing really pointed out the lyrics and the drama behind the tempo. The song is different from what I usually listen to which is a surprise as I then concentrate more into what the song is trying to deliver to the audience.
Test
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDhF-PsDuCw
ReplyDelete“Someone to Watch Over Me” starts off pretty slow and Ella Fitzgerald starts singing with her very angelic voice. This is a very calming song and the lyrics are also very nice. One verse that stuck out to me was “I’m a little lamb who’s lost in the wood / I know I could, always be good / To the one who’ll watch over me.” I liked the metaphor of the lamb and each verse showed something like this almost all ending with “watch over me.” Fitzgerald’s beautiful singing with a combination of the instruments from the orchestra make this a wonderful song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbTQWdnpjBk
“How Long Has This Been Going On?” starts off with Ella Fitzgerald slowly singing and making each word sound very long. This is also a very calming song with interesting lyrics. The song starts off “Neath the stars, at bazaars / Often I’ve had to caress men / Five or ten, dollars then, I’d collect from all.” These lyrics sound more real or authentic and show how Fitzgerald talks about things going on in our world. This song was previously introduced but Fitzgerald took it and made it her own which then became a popular song of hers. I think that this song shows how not everything in life is good and it shows the actuality of life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bgFkeDLpSI
“A-Tisket A-Tasket” is a more upbeat song of Ella Fitzgerald’s and this was the first song I’ve seen that has an actual video along with it. In this, she’s on a bus standing in the middle aisle while everyone else is sitting down. The people on the bus contribute by saying some parts in the song and Fitzgerald then responds to them. This song was a nursery rhyme which Fitzgerald helped to write. Since it’s a nursery rhyme, it seems like it would be directed more towards kids, but everyone ended up enjoying this song. It’s shorter than some of her other songs, but it is very catchy and shows off her singing skills.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-Q6SYTm0J0
ReplyDeleteThe first song I listened to was “Christopher Columbus” by Dinah Washington. The song was first made popular in 1936 by jazz pianist Fats Waller. Over the years the song has been covered and recorded by numerous other artists like Louis Armstrong making it a jazz standard. Dinah Washington released her version in 1957. As the name suggests the song is about famous Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. The song's lyrics talk about how Columbus kept his men enthusiastic and hopeful about finding new land by singing songs and drinking. The instrumentals of the song are an unpredictable combo of trumpets, and symbols. The song has lots of sudden jumps where the trumpet goes from playing softer notes to suddenly playing louder wilder notes. This helps to emphasize the jazz aspects of the song and compliments Washington's delivery of the lyrics. I really liked Dinah’s singing voice and the way she sang this song. You can clearly understand everything she is saying and she doesn’t deliver every note in the same pitch or style.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2zc6jpmtFA
The next song of Dinah Washingtons I listened to was “Resolution Blues” released in 1947. This song is more on the Blues side of the spectrum but definitely still has some of the jazz aspects. Washington was known to like singing without genre restrictions so it's no surprises that she was able to successfully blend blues and jazz in her singing style. Many people believed that Dinah Washington was the best blues singer in the generations after Bessie Smith and the two were often compared. The song is opened with notes from a slow blues sounding trumpet accompanied by a piano. As soon as Dinah starts to sing I noticed that she isn’t singing with a sad or hurt tone. Her tone is strong and captivating. Despite the slower pace of the song and the lazy sounding instrumentals the song doesn’t give me the relaxed and sleepy feelings that other slower paced Blues or Jazz songs do. I think the reason for this is because of Dinah's tone and delivery of the lyrics and how she is able to keep her listeners engaged. The song is about how she is tired of her man's behavior and how she is gonna leave him. She delivers the song as if she is telling the man directly that his lousy behavior and personality is causing her to leave him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LLUXHiGZnc
The final song that I listened to was Dinah Washington's 1951 song “I Won’t Cry Anymore”. This song was quite different from the other two songs because it didn’t really sound a whole lot like a Blues or Jazz song. Even the way that Washington sings the song is different from the other songs. She sings the song using pretty much the same flow through the whole song which isn’t like her normal style. She also uses mainly higher notes which also not something she normally does. The background instrumentals are a combination of soft sounding orchestra instruments that creates a tune that reminds me of the music used in the old Disney classics or something that would be played in a ballroom. The song definitely gives me slow dancing vibes. Like all of her songs Dinah's voice is beautiful and flawless and all of her words are clear and concise. She holds the end of a lot of the notes which makes the song sound more dramatic. The song is about her saying goodbye to someone she used to love and how she is finally over that person. She repeats the words “I Won’t Cry Anymore” which indicates that this is a song about overcoming and strength.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v4fTR1yHd0
ReplyDeleteThe first song I listened to by Dinah Washington was “Lover Come Back to Me.” Washington has a really interesting voice because it isn’t very loud and powerful, even at times it seems like she is straying away from singing and moving more towards speaking. This is a song about a woman missing a man and how her heart aches while she waits for him. However, the tone of the song was really upbeat, this made the song really interesting to listen to because the meaning behind the song and the tone of it sort of clashed but it still kept you intrigued.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3kwdM_puAs
Next I listened to “Long John Blues,” which was about a woman having a crush on her dentist and how she wants to go to the dentist more often so that she can see him again. Like her song “Love Come Back to Me” Washing ton sounds very relaxed while singing. This makes listening to her songs very soothing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4yOIyJE_2A
The song “Salty Papa Blues” is very different compared to ”Lover Come Back to Me” and “Long John Blues.” “Salty Papa Blues” is about a woman not knowing what her husband is thinking and it also doesn’t seem like her partner treats her right. There is a very long and upbeat introduction to the song. Washington also sings very differently in this song, she scats for majority of the song. This was really interesting because it made the song a lot more interesting and you weren’t sure what she was going to do with each line of the song
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1bgFkeDLpSI
ReplyDeleteThe first song that I listened to was “A-Tisket-A-Tasket” by Ella Fitzgerald. This song in particular had a more childish sound to it. By that I mean the higher pitch that she was singing at, which sounded more like a little girl than anything else. Despite that it was a great song and the sound of it kind of just made you smile. You also just have to admire the perfect sound that her voice has, it was just incredibly smooth throughout the whole song, it even sounded unreal at times. I think that this song is a good display of just how good of a singer she really was and how amazing she sounded.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nSkRHOyLMLs
The second song that I listened to was “All My Life” by Ella Fitzgerald and Teddy Wilson. This song is not like the previous one, it holds a lot more emotion and feelings. It is also slower and has a deeper tone to it than before. It also does not feature that much vocals so you are not really left with much, but what you are left with is great. This song is also a lot more intimate than the last one, and this is conveyed not only with the lyrics but like i said earlier the tone of her voice. She is not singing in the higher pitch that she did in the previous song but a more mature one now. This lets us know that the song is more serious and for a more mature audience.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vP8ooqhg5qw
The third song that I listened to was “Don’t worry about me”. This song was medium paced, and it had a nice background sound that was not overpowering the vocals. With that the vocals were also not super loud and they were still a kind of soothing volume. This sounded like something that was a more classical song, something that might be played at a dinner party. It is a very nice song with a great voice. And here voice sounds kind of like a mixture of the mature tone and the more childish tone, not super high but also not particularly deep. With her voice in that middle ground it still sounds so very smooth, it is just incredible.
https://youtu.be/olWMbkm2qTc
ReplyDeleteIn Dinah Washington’s live performance of “Lover Come Back to Me”, I immediately was drawn to the natural attitude that emanated from her as she began singing. Like it was mentioned in the article, she never got high-toned throughout the entire performance. There was that characteristic mannerism that made the entire spectacle unique in it’s own right. She was a natural performer with the talk-singing technique she has going on as she makes the song her own, often straying away from the tempo of the song.
https://youtu.be/-JswhafqFL4
“Trouble in Mind” by Dinah Washington is a lovely song that shows off Washington’s vocal talent. Her voice is mesmerizing and sounds almost effortless. Her seductive singing really draws me in as she makes the song her own. Released in 1952, the song is truly exquisite as the article describes—with the accompaniment of the drums and saxophone, the song is overall a wonderful performance.
https://youtu.be/OmBxVfQTuvI
“What a Difference a Day Made” is understandably Washington’s most iconic song that she is known best for. A timeless song of the decade, Washington’s voice really resonates as she sings a song of progressing love. The story of how feelings can be impacted so much from just a single day of “bliss”. Her version resonates so easily with people and its clear with her naturally captivating vocal performance. Just shown through this song, why she was known as a singer who couldn’t be replaced is clear—the way she made songs her own made her one of a kind.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmb0qixrqeA
ReplyDelete"My Funny Valentine" by Sarah Vaughan, Richard Heyman Orchestra
There are several great artists who've also recorded "My Funny Valentine." Frank Sinatra, Chet Baker, and Ella Fitzgerald are among the list of artists who have also sung this song. Miles Davis even recorded the song, playing the trumpet rather than singing the melody. Sarah Vaughan does a great job singing this song. This song dives into her lower register and takes on a deeper melody. This is sort of surprising, as you don't really think of love songs with a deeper sound. Sarah Vaughan also does a masterful job of holding out notes at the end of lines and also brings a great vibrato when doing so.
Jase
ReplyDeleteWhat A Little Moonlight Can Do by Billie Holiday
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R7VNrRS3Sv0
The first song I chose to listen to is What A Little Moonlight Can Do by Billie Holiday. Billie Holiday is considered to be a jazz and music swing American singer. Music swing singer, is a type of jazz that arose around the 1930s and 1940s. Through this song, it is clear that Billie Holiday truly came up with her own way to sing a song at a different tempo by manipulating the words of the song to match her beat. This song is about love. The moonlight is like a key that opens up a woman’s heart allowing her feelings towards some man to really show— in this case, by saying the phrase “I love you”.
Yellow Basket by Ella Fitzgerald
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w4TwfR-282M
I chose this song after hearing about it in the show we watched today. While listening to the show, I heard there was a connection between Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. Something that stood out to me between the two, is their life growing up. Both are colored women and lived a terrible childhood. But that didn’t stop them from striving to sing music that would make it big. After hearing Yellow Basket, the lyrics “A-tisket a-tisket” really stood out to me because to me, it was uncommon to hear this. These lyrics are a nursery rhyme which is a poem/song for children. Overall I thought this song was pleasing to listen to.
A Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YbcZstt8ACY
While in this class, History of American Song, I occasionally let my eye wander around the room and I couldn’t help but notice all the posters. But there was one poster that always and still catches my eye. The poster about A Strange Fruit. This poster’s design and the way the lyrics are spread out, keeps me interested all the time. So when I heard A Strange Fruit, I then realized it was a song. But this song in particular was written as a poem. According to the video today in class, after Billie Holiday sung this song, her audience didn’t quite know how to respond until a brave soul started to clap nervously. Later the whole crowd clapped. But this song is about lynching and the strange fruit that the tree bears, are the dead people hanging. I thought this song was very deep for its short length.
“All of Me” by Dinah Washington
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxrbSlWweQk
The first song that I listen to was “all of me” by Dinah Washington and accompanied by Terry Gibbs Quintet. I was first really intrigued by the song when reading about the song and how Washington picked up Gibbs spear mallet and and added some sass to his solo. This instantaneously showed me what kind of person Washington was and the artistry that she had. From watching I picked up how she was a fun and talented person who easily flowed through the music. I also noticed in the music that there were a lot of solos highlighting other instruments and and allowing other in the spotlight as well. Additionally, at the end I really enjoyed the duet between Washington and a trombone solos which I had never heard before.
“Lover, Come Back to Me” by Dinah Washington
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olWMbkm2qTc
The next song that I listened to was “Lover, Come Back to Me” by Dinah Washington. The first thing that noted from the song immediately was the very aggressive trumpet and fast pace of the song. The trumpets were aggressive with there high pitch direct sound almost as they are shouting at Washington. Washington continues to keep her pace steadily. I also noted to how at the end the trumpet slows down almost like they are forgiving Washington and they come back.
“The Blues Ain't Nothin' but a Woman Cryin' for Her Man” by Dinah Washington
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5fx1R3strg
Lastly, the song that I listened to was completely different than any of the songs that I listened to. It was noted in the text to be one of her best works ever recorded before her death. I thought the same thing when listening to it. It struck me how she poured her soul into the song and really found herself. You could feel how Washington created a song that was uniquely her and she wasn’t trying to be someone else. The lyrics really describe the blues deeply and shows how the blues really affect people deeply. Overall I really liked the song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmBxVfQTuvI
ReplyDeleteAnother song I did by Dinah is her version of “What a Difference A Day Makes.” This song was very slow and peaceful. Since it was a slow song Dinah had a lot of long notes that went very well with the music. The song was about how one day can really make that person's life so much better. However, it’s not only just the day but mostly the person they have to spend time with
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No0dsd9gKPA
The third song I chose was “That’s Why a Woman Loves a Heel.” I really liked this song because it was very soothing. The saxophone went really well with the song and was a nice intro to Dinah. Her voice never misses a note and matches really well with the music. It’s a nice song that you can dance to with your significant other. This is another song that is about love, specifically it’s about the one who, “knows just how to get beneath your skin.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DGY9HvChXk
ReplyDeleteI listened to “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday. The song starts with a jazzy piano and a slow and low voice of Holiday. The song seems dark and eerie. Her facial expression shows pain and gloom which completes the tone of an almost morbid image of “a sudden smell of burning flesh”. Her vibrato after each line makes it very much eerie but also beautiful. I found this song very strange as the lyrics were dark and random as Holiday sings about the forbidden fruit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4jU8IQK5b0
I then listened to “New Orleans” by Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong. The pair just proves to have great chemistry as they sound, look, and talk well together. The longing for the amazing New Orleans is well sung about by Holiday. Her light and still happy tone of voice makes it a rather fun song than a sad song. It makes you want to go to New Orleans. At the end of the song, I found it to really be about a man. That he left an experience or feeling in New Orleans with whomever he was with and that’s a large reason why that person misses New Orleans. The trumpet, trombone, and piano makes it a great song to sing along to but not a swing dance type of song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmiZ2LE5GoM
I finally listened to “Solitude” by Billie Holiday. It starts with a piano like most of her songs do. Holiday’s voice comes right in to complete the jazzy tune. The soft piano goes well with her powerful and full voice. Unlike her other songs, the slower pace beat and melody gives it an almost gloomy tune. She’s obviously longing over love. Maybe a man she once had but she’s just looking for love.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DGY9HvChXk
ReplyDeleteThe first song I listened to was “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday. This song was emotional and mysterious. As opposed to her other songs which have more swing elements in them, this song is at a much slower tempo which puts more emphasis on the lyrics which describe the tragic life of slaves in the South. It specifically references lynching as “Strange Fruit hanging on poplar trees”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDlKb2cBAqU
The second song I listened to was “I’ll be seeing you”. This song is performed over a slow piano part with horns in the background. Holiday’s vocals in this song are mesmerizing and this is a song I would expect to hear at a Speakeasy in the 50’s to set a cool, relaxed mood. I really liked this song because the way Holiday performs it brings so much intrigue and curiosity. This song sounds like a woman talking about a man she left behind and not regretting it. This song is significant because it very much pushes against the gender boundaries at the time it was released.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yakzL1Q88c
The third song I listened to was “The very thought of you”. This is a love song but again Holiday’s voice gives the song a certain smoothness that a lot of love songs lack. The sound of the instruments in the background blend perfectly with Holiday creating an intriguing piece of music. Her vocals bring soul and also a certain sense of nostalgia for old times.
Strange Fruit
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Web007rzSOI
I chose the song “Strange Fruit,” by Billie Holiday. At first I didn’t know what to expect with this song, but quickly I was sucked into its gloomy and eerie sound put forth through the opening horn. This song is kinda cool in a dark way. I get badass vibes from her in the way she just owns this song and sings her heart out with that string voice, especially as a woman in the 1930s. The intro sounds like something you'd hear in the background or score of a movie during a montage or scene highlightingNew York City or something. Her slow way of singing lyrics, pausing after each phrase, it leaves the listener on edge waiting for the next line with curiosity. I also love the last little finger picking solo at the end, total pleasure to the ears!
My Funny Valentine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqjKOalcI10
I chose the song “My Funny Valentine,” by Ella Fitzgerald for my second song. At first sound, I would think this is from a movie. I noticed how she uses old English in the lyrics of this song, which I dont quite understand why, but it seems to work well in this song. Ella Fitzgerald’s voice represents perfections. Perfection in all aspects— its powerful, holds range well, and doesn’t have any imperfections in sounds when hitting different notes. This song gives me chill vibes but also like Ella is longing to tell someone how she feels about him, hence the title and well.
All of Me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89lCBe7p78o
The last song I chose was “All of Me” by Dinah Washington. This song is very upbeat from beginning to end. It makes you want to put down your food at a late night lounge and get up and dance. There’s a steady pace held together, strung along by drums in the background. The multitude of instruments create a grand sense of collective happiness. This song puts you in a mood where nothing else matters but dancing and letting go.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRHnf3u8pjI
The first song I listened to was “East of the Sun” by Sarah Vaughan. I watched a live version, and it was pretty funny because she gets annoyed with the camera person for filming her and not the bass player. The song was stripped down completely until it was just her and the bass player, because she wanted to showcase his talent. I’ve never seen a bass solo before until I watched this. This version of “East of the Sun” also shows the way jazz singers can improvise while they are performing. Halfway through the song, Sarah Vaughan sings, “Put the television on the bass player, because it’s his time to shine.” At first I didn’t notice that she had made up the lyrics on the spot, because they fit so well into the song, and the audience had the same reaction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BIrjmE_VQE
“Thinking of You” shows the full beauty of Sarah Vaughan’s voice. The way she sings is similar to Louis Armstrong in that she uses her voice like an instrument. She begins the song by crooning “ohhh, why?” She blends each word into the next one, and never pauses for more than a second. She also uses a lot of vocal inflections, for instance, vibrato. In total, “Thinking of You” has only thirteen lines, but Sarah Vaughan stretches them out and smoothies them down into a full song. I can easily imagine this song playing in a 1950s coffee shop somewhere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhkDnZo2EAM
“Make Yourself Comfortable” begins with stings played in a way that they sound like a voice. Sarah Vaughan used multiple vocal layers in this song, singing “ooooh” while also singing the lyrics. “Make Yourself Comfortable” is a relatively simple and playful song, but it is interesting because it shows the progression of recording technology. Performers in the 1920s, such as Ma Rainey, had to record songs in one take with a full live band present. In the 1950s, Sarah Vaughan was able to layer her voice because she could record in an isolated recording booth without the need for live musicians, and then combine her vocal tracks afterwards.