Yes, indeed, Cassandra Wilson,is fantastic, I have many of her cds .I lucked out at a church thrift and got 8 of them for like a buck each.
How women, both American and internationally, have affected jazz.
As I watched Ken Burns history of jazz, it was no secret that women were rarities in the jazz world until the 1970s when things began to open up a bit, especially in Brazil. And I must admit i am a big fan of Brazillian jazz.
There have always been women's presence in singing, however. Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, and Ellla Fitzgerald, just to name a few. Astrid Gilberto was the first Brazilian singer I heard (on the Jonny Carson Show) and I immediately fell for her whispering breathy voice.
I would like to throw out an American singer as my first offereing. I am smart enough not to make it Patricia Barber or Diana Krall, both of whomn are excellent jazz pianists, because I've already seen how most "serious" jazz afficianados dismiss them right off the bat. Instead, I will submit the name of Cassandra Wilson.
I have been listening to jazz most of my life, and I have gone to many live jazz concerts. With that background, I consider Cassandra Wild to be a true innovator in jazz singing. I have recently purchased three of her albums. I have never heard any other singer like her. If you have not heard her, I would suggest "New Moon Daughter." If you have a turntable, there is a fantastic AAA album reissue. I can't stop playing it.
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Diana Krall For me, she doesn’t play the piano enough anymore. Many years ago I was listening to WBGO Jazz station, and ’who the heck is that pianist?’ (no vocals). Awesome. Turned out to be Diana Krall, so I thought of her as a pianist 1st, vocalist came later, then progressively too much vocal IMO. I’ve seen her live, small club, medium, New Orleans Jazz Festival, Radio City with Tony Bennet. But, lucky me, I’m in a very cool antique store in NO, when I see these legs, holy, oh my, I hope the wife doesn’t catch me staring. I hear her speak to someone, without looking up, I knew exactly whose legs they were. It was Harry Connick Jr. that she was talking to, and lucky lucky me, Harry’s wife (former Victoria’s Secret model) comes into sight, now I don’t care if I get caught staring. |
Cassandra is AWESOME, and she gets AWESOME Musicians. My favorite album is 'Blue Light til Dawn' Her version of Van Morrison's Tupelo Honey, I can't go very long without hearing it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJuKHy64inE&list=RDrJuKHy64inE&start_radio=1 |
As a huge fan of contemporary progressive jazz, there are no problems finding plenty of women instrumentalists, with major chops, in various subgenres of jazz. Here are a few off the top of my heard. Mary Halvoerson - avant-garde guitarist. Very prolific, plays with various ensembles. Ingrid Laubrock - great sax player, quite creative. Tomeka Reid - virtuosic cellist. Very creative. Janel Leppin - another great cellist. Inhabits what is often referred to as "chamber-jazz" with her group, Ensemble Volcanic Ash. Muriel Grossmann - Austrian sax player. Best classified as "spiritual jazz". Hints of Alice Coltrane. Hiromi - fusion keyboardist, with terrifying chops. Mohini Dey - fusion bassist. Literally one of the best bassists on the planet. There are videos of her at the age of 11 performing with her father, and she embarrassed most electric bass players then.
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@elliottbnewcombjr +++ for Diana Krall. The late great recording engineer Al Schmitt talked about her in his autobiography. He was extremely impressed with her musicianship and that fact that she insisted on playing while singing during recording. No over-dubs for her. No trickery of any kind. Bonnie and I saw her live last year in West Palm Beach at the Kravits Center. I would love to see her in a more intimate setting some time. |
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