Jazz House Blues (2024)

03/11/2022

Louis Armstrong

Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong rose to fame as a formidable trumpeter in the 20s, but his gravelly voice made him distinct among the best jazz singers, helping him to conquer mainstream America and transform him into the unlikeliest of pop stars, especially in the 60s, when he scored his biggest worldwide hit, “What A Wonderful World.” His recordings were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance."
Sarah Vaughan
Nicknamed Sassy or The Divine One, singer Sarah Vaughan got her big break with Earl Hines’ band in the 40s before finding fame as a solo artist. The album Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown and the single "If You Could See Me Now" were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, an award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old and have "qualitative or historical significance”. In 1988, she was inducted into the American Jazz Hall of Fame.
**** Please excuse the accidental insertion of Dizzy Gillespie photo *****

29/10/2022

Though often depicted as an R&B singer and heralded as one of the founding fathers of what eventually became soul music, Ray Charles was also an accomplished jazz musician who could play saxophone and keyboards as well as sing. Though he started off as a cross between singers Charles Brown and Nat “King” Cole, Charles (dubbed The Genius) found his own vocal style in the 50s. He has won 18 Grammy Awards (5 posthumously), the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987 and 10 of his recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone ranked him No. 10 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and No. 2 on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. In 2022, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame as well as the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.

26/10/2022

Johnny Hartman was an American jazz singer who specialized in ballads. He sang and recorded with Earl Hines' and Dizzy Gillespie's big bands and with Erroll Garner. He was one of the most iconic jazz singers of the 1950s and '60s, who became known for his successful jazz collaborations. Hartman is best remembered for his collaboration in 1963 with saxophonist John Coltrane, John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, a landmark album for both him and Coltrane.

19/10/2022

Nina Simone

Unique among the best jazz singers, Nina Simone originally dreamed of becoming a concert pianist in the classical music world. Deterred by that milieu’s purported racism, she reinvented herself as nightclub singer/pianist and patented an allusive style that drew on jazz, blues, gospel and folk influences. She had the ability to make everything she sang sound like a personal statement from the depths of her soul. She started out singing with Earl Hines’ band after World War II, before hooking up with bebop trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.

14/10/2022

Jimmy Scott

Ohio-born “Little” Jimmy Scott was renowned as a balladeer. His unique voice was a result of his having Kallman syndrome, a genetic disorder that prevented his body from reaching puberty. Scott first made his mark in the 40s but, by the 60s, had fallen into obscurity. He made a triumphant comeback in the 90s which helped to cement his place in the pantheon of all-time best jazz singers.

06/10/2022

Carmen McRae

Harlem-born McRae was a pianist and singer. Like many of the best jazz singers of the post-war era, her prime vocal influence was Billie Holiday. McRae rose to fame in the 50s and was renowned for her supple voice and putting an ironic twist on lyrics. Throughout her career, she won various awards and recognitions, including DownBeat's Best New Female Singer (1954), six Grammy award nominations, an award from the NAACP and the National Endowment for the Arts' National Jazz Masters Fellowship Award.

04/10/2022

Jon Hendricks

One of the prime architects of the vocalese style, Jon Hendricks has been dubbed The James Joyce Of Jazz for the ingenuity and wordplay of his lyrics. His main claim to fame is being part of the groundbreaking vocal trio Hendricks, Lambert & Ross, a group that took the late 50s jazz world by storm. In 1985, he won a Grammy award with the Manhattan Transfer and Bobby McFerrin for the Manhattan Transfer album Vocalese and the song “Another Night In Tunisia.” Vocalese featured all songs with lyrics by Jon Hendricks.

19/09/2022

Betty Carter

Betty Floyd, a church-reared singer from Michigan, morphed into one of jazz’s most virtuosic s**tters. Though she started out in Lionel Hampton’s big band in the late 40s, she was a disciple of bebop rather than swing and by the mid-50s, she was recording her own albums. A hookup with Ray Charles in 1960 (on Miles Davis’ recommendation) boosted her career and set her on a path to greatness. Carter is noted for her breathy, nuanced delivery, spontaneous s**tting skill and ability to get inside a lyric. The National Endowment for the Arts named her a Jazz Master in 1992. In 1997, she was awarded a National Medal of Arts by U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton.

13/09/2022

Chet Baker

Chet Baker became the poster boy of “cool jazz” in the 50s. Oklahoma’s Chesney Baker was not only a great trumpeter but also a recognized singer of romantic ballads. His awards and accomplishments include: Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame induction, 1987; DownBeat magazine Jazz Hall of Fame, 1989; Grammy Hall of Fame Award for Chet Baker Sings (1956), inducted 2001 and Chet Baker Day proclaimed by Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry and the Oklahoma House of Representatives, 2005.

09/09/2022

Julie London

Julie London was a chanteuse and actress from California who earns her place among the best jazz singers for her 1956 signature recording of Arthur Hamilton’s “Cry Me A River” . That record alone sold three million copies and made the 30-year-old a talent to reckon with. Her recording of "Cry Me a River” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001. In addition to her musical notice, London was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1974 for her portrayal of nurse Dixie McCall in the television series Emergency!.

05/09/2022

Chris Connor
Chris Connor, a vocalist from Kansas City, made her recording debut with noted bandleader Claude Thornhill in 1949 before joining Stan Kenton’s groundbreaking post-swing big band in the early 50s. It was at the independent Bethlehem label, though, in 1954, where Connor made her solo breakthrough. Two years later she joined Atlantic Records, where she stayed until 1961 and arguably produced her best work.

02/09/2022

Bobby McFerrin
A ten-time Grammy-winning master of s**t and vocal percussion, Bobby McFerrin from New York gained worldwide mainstream acceptance with his chart-topping song “Don’t Worry Be Happy” in 1988. That is the only a ca****la song to reach #1 in the US. He started out performing with Pharaoh Sanders in 1980 before beginning his solo career two years later and continues to astound audiences today with an array of vocal acrobatics that see him rightly hailed as one of the world’s best jazz singers. A veritable one-man voice orchestra. His other awards and nominations include: Primetime Emmy Awards, Cable ACE Awards, Kids' Choice Awards, USA and Soul Train Awards.

30/08/2022

Anita O’Day

Anita O’Day was once dubbed The Jezebel Of Jazz by disapproving newspaper editorials passing judgment on her having been incarcerated in the 50s for cannabis possession. She cut her teeth working for bandleaders Gene Krupa, Woody Herman and Stan Kenton before beginning a solo career where she combined swing rhythms with horn-like bebop phrasing.

27/08/2022

June Christy

Like so many female singers from jazz’s golden age, Texas-born June Christy first made her mark in the big band swing era. In 1945, she successfully replaced Anita O’Day in Stan Kenton’s orchestra and graced several of the band’s hits, including the Latin-tinged million-selling “Tampico.” She cut her first solo record in 1947 and, after that, never looked back. She epitomized the West Coast “cool school” art of jazz singing. She pursued a solo career from 1954 and is best known for her debut album Something Cool. After her death, she was hailed as "one of the finest and most neglected singers of her time."

23/08/2022

Kurt Elling

One of the best singers in contemporary jazz, Chicago-born Elling made his debut album for Blue Note in 1995 and quickly established himself as a name to reckon with. Able to s**t and improvise with his voice like an instrumentalist, Elling is also an astute interpreter of standards and a writer of strong original material. Elling has won the DownBeat Critics Poll thirteen times from 2000–2012, the DownBeat Readers Poll seven times and the JazzTimes Readers' Poll eight times, all in the Male Vocalist of the Year category. He has also received the Jazz Journalists Association Male Singer of the Year award eight times

21/08/2022

Oscar Brown, Jr

A prolific songwriter and also a playwright and an ardent Civil Rights activist, Chicago-born Brown was a lawyer, an advertising man and a soldier before becoming a singer and tunesmith in the 1950s. He contributed several classic songs to the jazz repertoire, including “Work Song”, “Afro Blue” and “Dat Dere”. His awards include Chicago/Midwest Regional Emmy Awards (2), both for Oscar Brown Is Back In Town, 1975; City of Chicago, Senior of the Year Award, 2002; California State Legislature, "Oscar Brown Day," early 2000s and Pan African Film and Arts Festival, Lifetime Achievement Award, 2005.

17/08/2022

Billy Eckstine from Pittsburgh played trumpet, trombone and guitar, but is mostly remembered for his bass-baritone croon, was known for his romantic ballads. He was also a noted bandleader and, in the early 40s, he helped to nurture the talents of rising beboppers Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. Named top male vocalist by Metronome magazine (1949 and 19500, he was also voted most popular singer in DownBeat readers poll in1949 and 1950 and winner of Billboard college poll in 1951.

13/08/2022

Brian Culbertson is an American smooth jazz/R&B/funk musician and producer. He has received numerous awards including a 2012 NAACP Image Award, nomination for Best Jazz Album and Soul Train Award nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz Artist. His awards also include six 2011 Oasis Smooth Jazz Awards, 2010 Canadian Smooth Jazz Award for Best International Artist and 2010 American Smooth Jazz Award for Best Keyboardist.

11/08/2022

Helen Merrill

This native New Yorker with Croatian ancestry (her real name is Jelena Milcetic) went professional as a teenager and made an impression singing with Earl Hines in the early 50s before embarking on a glittering solo career. She remains much loved in Italy and Japan, where she lived for several years.

08/08/2022

Boney James is an American saxophonist, songwriter, record producer and widely sought after sessions musician. He is a four-time Grammy Award nominee (Best Pop Instrumental Album, 2001, 2004, 2014 and Best Traditional R&B Performance, 2009) and a Soul Train Award winner (Best Jazz Album 1998). He has also been honoured with two NAACP Image Award nominations for Best Jazz Album.

06/08/2022

Avishai Cohen is an Israeli jazz double bassist, composer, singer and arranger. He has won Special Achievement Awards, a Trustee Award, a Technical Award and was inducted to the Hall of Fame.

03/08/2022

Stanley Clarke is an American bassist, film composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. He is a 5-time Grammy winner with 15 nominations, 3 as a solo artist, 1 with the Stanley Clarke Band and 1 with Return to Forever. Clarke was selected to become a 2022 recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship.

31/07/2022

Wayne Shorter is an American jazz saxophonist and composer who came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davis's Second Great Quintet and then co-founded the jazz fusion band Weather Report. Wayne Shorter has won 12 Grammy Awards and been recognized by the New York Times as "probably jazz's greatest living small-group composer and a contender for greatest living improviser."

27/07/2022

Patrick Bruce Metheny, an American jazz guitarist and composer, is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group. His style incorporates elements of progressive and contemporary jazz, Latin jazz and jazz fusion. He has won 20 Grammy awards, including an unprecedented 7 in a row for 7 consecutive PMG recordings. Starting in the 1980's, Metheny has earned Grammys in four consecutive decades. He has 3 Gold Records .

24/07/2022

Keith Jarrett is an American jazz and classical music pianist and composer who started his career with Art Blakey, moving on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also been a group leader and a solo performer in jazz, jazz fusion and classical music. His numerous honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship and two of the world's most prestigious music awards: the Polar Music Prize and the Leonie Sonning Prize. In 2008, he was inducted into the DownBeat Hall of Fame and in 2010, his recording “The Köln Concert” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, a select list of recordings of lasting quality and historical significance that are at least 25 years old.

22/07/2022

Joe Williams

Georgia’s Joe Williams (born Joe Goreed) sang with gospel group The Jubilee Boys in his youth, but ended up being drawn to “the Devil’s music”. One of his biggest hits was the classic “Everyday I Have The Blues”. He was closely associated with Count Basie’s band and sang with the band between 1954 and 1961.

17/07/2022

Al Hibbler

Blind from birth, Mississippi-born Al Hibbler was an American baritone vocalist who sang with Duke Ellington's orchestra before having several pop hits as a solo artist. Some of Hibbler's singing is classified as rhythm and blues, but he is best seen as a bridge between R&B and traditional pop music. His biggest hit was "Unchained Melody" which reached #3 on the US pop chart, sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.

14/07/2022

Mark Murphy

Citing Nat King Cole and Anita O’Day as key influences, this singer and occasional actor from Syracuse recorded his debut album for Decca in 1956. Spells at Capitol and Riverside in the late 50s and early 60s cemented Murphy’s position as one of jazz’s hippest, cutting-edge male singers. He recorded 51 albums under his own name during his lifetime and was principally known for his innovative vocal improvisations.

12/07/2022

Shirley Horn

A virtuoso pianist, this American singer was a graduate of Howard University who led her own jazz trio from the age of 20. Her career gained considerable attention when Miles Davis singled her out for praise in 1960. Despite this, Horn’s recordings were sporadic until the late 80s, when she signed with the Verve label and started making albums more regularly.

09/07/2022

Mel Tormé

Boasting multiple talents such as acting, writing songs, playing drums and writing books, this Chicago artist is best known for his distinctive voice, which earned him the nickname The Velvet Fog. A precocious child performer, Tormé wrote a song for bandleader Harry James when he was only 13. He later developed his career as a singer and scored several hits in the 40s, 50s and 60s.

05/07/2022

Ernestine Anderson

Ernestine Anderson was an American jazz and blues singer. Her big break happened after she moved to Seattle in 1944 and played in a band featuring future megastars Quincy Jones and Ray Charles. In a career spanning more than six decades, she recorded over 30 albums. She was nominated four times for a Grammy Award. She sang at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Monterey Jazz Festival, as well as at jazz festivals all over the world.

01/07/2022

George Benson

Like many of the best jazz singers, Benson was a talented instrumentalist who found greater fame as a singer. He largely played guitar-led jazz until 1976, when his Breezin’ album featured the vocal hit “This Masquerade.” Though influenced by soul singers Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder, Benson patented his own smooth jazz vocal style. Benson straddles the pop and jazz worlds, managing to garner fans in both.

27/06/2022

Gregory Porter

Gregory Porter from California is still only five albums into his career but he is already on his way to becoming one of jazz’s greatest vocalists. A self-sufficient singer-songwriter who’s also comfortable with The Great American Songbook, Porter possesses a distinctive voice that has been influenced by gospel music and Nat King Cole. His exciting soul-jazz style has reinvigorated the world of jazz vocalists.

23/06/2022

Etta Jones

Hailing from South Carolina, vocalist Etta Jones cut her first record at age 16 in 1944, but it wasn’t until 1957 when she released her first LP. Jones was a versatile vocalist whose most commercially successful offering was her 1960 Prestige album “Don’t Go To Strangers”, whose title track was a pop and R&B hit.

21/06/2022

Dee Dee Bridgewater

Dee Dee Bridgewater is a three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award-winning stage actress. For 23 years, she was the host of National Public Radio's syndicated radio show JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater. Her first solo album, initially released only in Japan in 1974, was followed by a dalliance with fusion in the late 70s. With a series of acclaimed albums, she staked her claim as one of the best jazz singers from the 90s onwards. She is also the first American to be inducted into the Haut Conseil de la Francophonie.

16/06/2022

Andy Bey

Still recording today, New Jersey’s Andy Bey is an original voice in jazz. John Coltrane once called him his favorite singer. Bey has plowed his own unique furrow over five decades. Among those he’s collaborated with are Max Roach, Gary Bartz, Stanley Clarke and Horace Silver.

10/06/2022

Leon Thomas

From Miles Davis’ hometown of East St Louis, Illinois, Thomas was steeped in the blues but, uniquely among this list of the best jazz singers, went on to be part of the avant-garde vanguard. He cultivated an unusual and idiosyncratic vocal style in the 60s, defined by yodeling and tremulous ululations. Though he recorded first with Count Basie, Thomas is best known for his work with Pharoah Sanders and also recorded with Santana.

08/06/2022

Helen Humes

Starting out singing gospel music in her local church in Kentucky, Helen Humes made her first recording when she was 14. She recorded with Harry James before Count Basie spotted her singing in Cincinnati’s Cotton Club in 1937, while seeking a replacement for a departing Billie Holiday. Humes also recorded with saxophonist Dexter Gordon and vibraphonist Red Norvo.

03/06/2022

Cab Calloway

One of the originators of s**t singing, this charismatic bandleader from New York is best remembered for his classic 1931 song “Minnie The Moocher”. In its chart-topping wake, there followed a slew of further swing-driven hits characterized by humorous lyrics, witty wordplay and hip street argot.

31/05/2022

Dakota Staton

After winning DownBeat magazine’s Most Promising Newcomer accolade in 1955, this Pennsylvanian vocalist lived up to her early promise by delivering a classic LP in 1957 (“The Late, Late Show”) which made the Top 5 of the US Pop charts. Though her style is indebted to Dinah Washington, Staton forged her own signature sound.