Battle of the Bands - JAZZ

[Corki]

It is chalk and cheese for week 4. The first genre is Jazz (this thread), and the other category being looked at is Metal. Below are the nominations.

 

The Archers have nominated... LOUIS ARMSTRONG

Louis Armstrong, nicknamed Satchmo and Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer.

Armstrong was a charismatic, innovative performer whose improvised soloing was the main influence for a fundamental change in jazz, shifting its focus from collective improvisation to the solo player and improvised soloing. One of the most famous jazz musicians of the 20th century, he was first known as a cornet player, then as a trumpet player, and toward the end of his career he was best known as a vocalist and became one of the most influential jazz singers. Armstrong grew up at the bottom of the social ladder, in a highly segregated city, but one which lived in a constant fervor of music, which was generally called “ragtime”, and not yet “jazz”. Despite the hard early days, Armstrong seldom looked back at his youth as the worst of times but instead drew inspiration from it, “Every time I close my eyes blowing that trumpet of mine—I look right in the heart of good old New Orleans...It has given me something to live for.”

Jazz was not an easy choice, as you can find inspirational Jazz musicians from several cities, notably New Orleans, St Louis, and Chicago. We decided that "Satch" embodied Jazz music as a whole, and he was a forerunner in the change from "Big Band" jazz, to "Solo" jazz music.

 

The Cavalry have nominated... ELLA FITZGERALD

Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996), also known as "Lady Ella" and the "First Lady of Song", is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th Century.  With a vocal range spanning three octaves, she was noted for her purity of tone, phrasing and intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing. She is widely considered to have been one of the supreme interpreters of the Great American Songbook.

 

In the mid-1950s, Fitzgerald became the first African-American to perform at the Mocambo, after Marilyn Monroe had lobbied the owner for the booking. The booking was instrumental in Fitzgerald's career. The incident was turned into a play by Bonnie Greer in 2005.

 

New York Times columnist Frank Rich wrote that in the Songbook series Fitzgerald "performed a cultural transaction as extraordinary as Elvis's contemporaneous integration of white and African-American soul. Here was a black woman popularizing urban songs often written by immigrant Jews to a national audience of predominantly white Christians."

 

The first DIVA of Jazz, the original Jazz Singer, miss Ella Fitzgerald, is the only choice.

 

The Infantry have nominated... BILLIE HOLLIDAY

Billie Holiday (April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz singer and songwriter.

Nicknamed Lady Day by her sometime collaborator Lester Young, Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz, and pop singing. Her vocal style — strongly inspired by instrumentalists — pioneered a new way of manipulating wording and tempo, and also popularized a more personal and intimate approach to singing.

She co-wrote only a few songs, but several of them have become jazz standards, notably "God Bless the Child," "Don't Explain," and "Lady Sings the Blues."

She spent much of the 1930s working with a range of great jazz musicians, including Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington and most importantly, the saxophonist Lester Young.

However, it was not until 1939, with her song "Strange Fruit," that Holiday found her real audience. A deeply powerful song about lynching, "Strange Fruit" was a revelation in its disturbing and emotional condemnation of racism. Her voice could be both quiet and strong at the same time, showing a stunning depth.

Her distinct delivery made Billie Holiday's performances instantly recognizable throughout her career. Years of abuse eventually altered the texture of her voice and gave it a prepossessing fragility, but the emotion with which she imbued each song remained intact.

In 1987, Billie Holiday was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. She ranked #6 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Rock n' Roll in 1999, and she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

 

Strange fruit

Lady Sings the Blues

 

 

There you go. There are the 3 nominations. All you now need to do is pick who you want to win (please highlight in some way or another) and go through as the Champion of Jazz for the Grand Final! You have until Saturday 31st May 2008 to make your choice!

[Myndrunner]

Wow, again very strong arguments from the Cavalry!  Satch is fine, but he was more ragtime than jazz, there is a difference.  Billie was ok, but no one broke down racial and social barriers like the lovely miss Ella.  She was the first DIVA, the most popular Jazz Singer of all time. 

 

Ask anyone on the street to name a Jazz Singer, and I'll bet Bollocks to Bandys that they say Ella Fitzgerald!

 

Vote: Ella Fitzgerald!

[Majsju]

Louis Armstrong, since none of the ladies really deserves a nomination. Great vocalists, sure, but compared to geniouses like Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie etc, they kinda pales.

[Corki]

Like Maj, the female nominations have great vocals. But there is only one winner, and that is Louis Armstrong.

[Taymist]

Simply because of the not just great but absolutely superb vocals, and the fact that I just adore her work... Billie Holiday.

[Samuraiflip05]

Well, again Ella and Billie both had amazing vocal abilities and tremendous talent.  When it comes to what defines music and the differences between them...it is the components.  Rock is the Electric Guitar, Country is the Steel Guitar, Jazz is the use of Horns, Opera the powerful vocals, Techno/Electronica the digital beats, etc. 

 

Louis helped the transition from ragtime to more modern Jazz.  He also has spanned genereations with songs like What a Wonderful World and A Kiss to Build a Dream On.

 

[glow=red,2,300]Louis Armstrong[/glow]

[Jeannaisais]

I'm gonna have to go with.....Louis Armstrong

[dragonlover]

im gonna vote for Louis Armstrong

[Kara_J]

Well, what I know about Jazz can be written on a postage stamp with room to spare...

 

I'm afraid the only one i've ever heard of (sorry Tay :P) is Louis Armstrong.

[Auld Manriva]

Ella .. She ruled in an age of vocalists performing Jazz. None compared, though Holliday was close. Armstrong was popular but to my mind not a fantastic player. Like Ella though he lasted for decades and was versatile. Unlike some others who never strayed from the style they found early.

 

[snin83]

Im gonna have to go with Louis Armstrong

[Direwolf Jon]

Ella

[KingKastchei]

Dang, I wish I'd been around to put in some nominations for this one...  I think all three of these are great performers, but I wouldn't say that they are the BEST of the Jazz genre.  Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, now those are the Jazz greats that I think of for this.  There's also some incredible modern jazz folks like Pat Matheny that deserve a mention here as well. 

 

Ok, now that I've ranted to myself for not getting a nomination in...  :P

 

I'd have to say that my vote goes for Louis Armstrong out of these 3.  Ella and Billie are brilliant jazz singers, but I don't think that they really put their mark on the industry like Louis did.  Plus, Louis wrote a lot of his own music, which I don't think Ella or Billie ever really did, but I could be wrong on that.  That to me is the real kicker.  A good Jazz artist should COMPOSE as well as perform in my opinion.

[BridMorgan]

My votes for Ella, she's just brilliant.  :D

[Corki]

Latest vote count after 13 votes:

 

Louis Armstrong - 8

Ella Fitzgerald - 4

Billie Holliday - 1

 

Still plenty of time for all this to change!

[Zeth Alley]

My vote would have to be for Billie Holiday. Yes Louis Armstrong is a very good Jazz artist but Billie does have the wonderfull voice that made her famous.

[Corki]

And with a grand total of 8 votes, the winner is...

 

LOUIS ARMSTRONG