Obscure & Neglected Female Singers Of Jazz & Standards (1930s to 1960s)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Ridin'High, Sep 4, 2016.

  1. John B Good

    John B Good Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    NS, Canada
    I like April Stevens, but this video won't play in Canada. :(

    Actually I am encountering a lot more 'not available' in recent days. But don't know if its the style of music I've been looking into, or legal issues...
     
  2. John B Good

    John B Good Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    NS, Canada
    I've always known of her, and the confusion to Etta James fans, but the only thing I have is this oustanding track on one of Ace's Mod Jazz cds - Nature Boy

     
  3. Ridin'High

    Ridin'High Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Thank you very much for the link. After having browsed that great article, I'd say that there is little else that can be added! The "Long About Midnight" audio clip is quite nice, too.

    Although it's been quite a few years since I read Will Friedwald's well-received book about jazz singers, one of the things that I most distinctly remember about it is his "canonization" of three singers of the 1930s. He called them the "white goddesses," from whose cult many of the later jazz and pop singers (some of them white, some of them black) emerged.

    The white trinity consists of Mildred Bailey, Connee Boswell, and Lee Wiley.

    I love Mildred's phrasing, and think she is one of the greats. At its best, her singing is exquisite. Nevertheless, her voice is too ultra sweet and girlish for my taste. That's one reason why I enjoy her the most during her later, post-Columbia years. By then, her voice had begun to sound (or new technology was making it sound) a wee bit less like a little girl's. From that same period, her numbers with pianist Ellis Larkins are great. Here is one of them:



    As criminally neglected and unrecognized as this major singer might be, she is still one out of just a handful of female vocalists with a huge recorded output that has been collected almost in its entirety in one high-quality boxed set:

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    And here she is again, flanked by a young Ella Fitzgerald and by another well-known artist, though I'm drawing a blank on who she was (face is familiar to me but just can't remember ... maybe one of the singing pianists??):

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    Last edited: Sep 6, 2016
  4. SF Georgie

    SF Georgie Forum Resident

    Don't know if Blossom Dearie counts as a singer for this thread.
     
  5. Brian Hamilton-Smith

    Brian Hamilton-Smith Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
  6. Ridin'High

    Ridin'High Forum Resident Thread Starter

    She is one of the vocalists included in the opening post's list of singers excluded from being discussed here, because they have their own separate threads, and have also been often discussed in various other threads. That caveat aside, great choice!
     
  7. WayOutWardell

    WayOutWardell Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    Lorez Alexandria.

     
  8. Ridin'High

    Ridin'High Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Legal issues, gotta be!...

    The batch of CDs which you saw may have consisted of albums originally released on the same label, RCA Victor. I bet that one or more of them were by Teddi King, another neglected singer.

    One noteworthy detail about Connee Boswell is that, even when you see film footage where she is apparently standing up , she is not truly doing so. A victim of polio in her childhood, she spent her lifetime confined to a wheelchair.

    While listening to her solo work, I run hot and cold. She has one vigorous voice. Sometimes her singing sounds too "old fashioned" and "straight," even for me. But I unconditionally love the work that she did with her sisters.

    The Dixieland music album Connee Boswell And The Original Memphis Five had various televised counterparts. Here is one of them, in which Connee sings three numbers from the album (and yes, she is "standing up"):

     
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  9. john lennonist

    john lennonist There ONCE was a NOTE, PURE and EASY...

    EDIT... I misunderstood the thread concept
     
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  10. Ridin'High

    Ridin'High Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    As close as a femme fatale as we have ever had in the world of pop and jazz singing! ... Infamous stories about her are legion, and maybe half of them are true.

    Her sensual, sophisticated voice has been described as "whiskey-soaked."

    She is one of my all-time favorites. Here is a recording from 1946:



    I too count Night in Manhattan as one of my favorite albums of hers. The other favorite would be West of the Moon, on RCA, with Ralph Burns' band arrangements. Both of those albums are from the 1950s.

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  11. John B Good

    John B Good Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    NS, Canada
    Pier Angeli - I had a VA set from Roulette Records, that had one song by her. It was 'Torero'.

    Liked it so much, many years later I bought an expensive import cd of what may have been her only album.

    Unfortunately Torero is not on You Tube :(
     
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  12. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    Anita O'Day was ridiculously talented. If you need convincing, see the documentary on her.
    I'd prefer her scatting to Ella, but I've been told that is because I don't really know what good scatting is.:shrug:
     
  13. WayOutWardell

    WayOutWardell Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    Big +1 for Lee Wiley. I was so glad her version of 'Oh, Look At Me Now' was in the movie 'LA Confidential'. The mood of the song plus the version of the lyrics she sung (which are different from the Sinatra version) just fit the scene perfectly.

    Re: Lorez Alexandria - I'd seen more than a few copies of her records in stores around town and figured she'd have been more well-known outside of Chicago than she was.
     
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  14. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    That looks like Mary Lou Williams, although the photo of the booklet makes it difficult to be sure. Although not a singer, one of the greatest jazz pianists. Ever.
     
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  15. John B Good

    John B Good Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    NS, Canada
    There's no way this lady should be considered obscure or neglected - except on this Forum. :) But I can't find a thread dedicated to Caterina Valente.

    I first became aware of her in the early 2000s when the DJ played The Breeze and I. It has this dramatic opening :



    Then moves on to a popping rhythm and soars towards the end.

    Well I started by buying the Varese collection, and then a number of Dutton Vocalion 2 fers, a Bear Family 3 cd set.

    She is perhaps more of a European diva - I think I have her singing in at least 4 languages - which may explain the lack of a thread about her here.
     
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  16. AudiophilePhil

    AudiophilePhil Senior Member

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    Connee Boswell

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    Last edited: Sep 7, 2016
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  17. AudiophilePhil

    AudiophilePhil Senior Member

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    Jeanette MacDonald

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  18. AudiophilePhil

    AudiophilePhil Senior Member

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    Timi Yuro

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  19. Nathan Aaron

    Nathan Aaron Forum Resident

    - I've gotta say I just recently picked up Julie Wilson's "Meet Julie Wilson" album (via ebay.) I think it'll be a slow growing album on me. Right now all I can say is, you look at the photo and think "what a cute, perky woman!" and then you hear this voice that, while great, honestly reminds me of Billie Holiday at the end of her career! Ha! So I can't decide yet how I feel about it all! But I think I'll love it with some time!

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  20. Nathan Aaron

    Nathan Aaron Forum Resident

    - "Too many rules? Don't worry. I won't be putting out a contract on you if you ignore any of these!" I'm really glad this line is included! Whew! ;) Now, I"m going off to talk about Helen Merrill, somewhere else! :D
     
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  21. Nathan Aaron

    Nathan Aaron Forum Resident

    - How did Anita O'Day not make the list at the top?! She's amazing, but really well known! :)
     
  22. Nathan Aaron

    Nathan Aaron Forum Resident

    - Lovin' this! I'd never heard of her before! Oh, I can tell I'm gonna love this thread! Thanks for creating it, Ridin' High!
     
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  23. Nathan Aaron

    Nathan Aaron Forum Resident

    Jane Fielding (she reminds me of Chris Connor a lot! Nice, husky voice.)

     
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  24. Nathan Aaron

    Nathan Aaron Forum Resident

  25. Nathan Aaron

    Nathan Aaron Forum Resident

    Pam Garner. (She reminds me a lot of Anne Phillips.)

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