The new jazz singers: next generation of female vocalists keeps the faith with Sarah, Ella, Billie

Ebony, Dec, 1996 by Joy Bennett Kinnon

The art of jazz singing is a uniquely American art created by African-Americans. Neither R&B nor blues nor rock nor rap nor pop nor hip-hop, jazz singing is a unique combination of all these genres and others, including folk and opera. A handful of singers, notably Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Billy Eckstine, Joe Williams, Ella Fitzgerald and Carmen McRae, carried that art to the peak, soaring to heights that defy easy description.

Within recent years, a number of solid jazz singers have continued that tradition, notably scatmaster Betty Carter, the smooth and soulful Shirley Horn and the always innovative Abbey Lincoln. This middle generation is still carrying the jazz torch, but the death of the First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald, has triggered new concerned on whether a new generation will continue to uphold the great jazz legacy in the post-Vaughan/post-Fitzgerald period.

At least five "new" singers have given notice that no one will have to eliminate the jazz category from the music stores: Dee Dee Bridgewater, Rachelle Ferrell, Dianne Reeves, Nnenna Freelon and Cassandra Wilson. Opinions differ on the relative merits of these singers. Some critics are rhapsodic about three-time Grammy nominee Dee Dee Bridgewater, who has been a major star in France for the last 10 years, and legendary vocalist Joe Williams says that Dianne Reeves is the heir apparent to the Fitzgerald/ Vaughan legacy.

But the jazz diva's career garnering the most attention is Cassandra Wilson, who is breaking records and adding more awards to her mantel than anyone can count. Although some "jazz police" as Wilson calls them, say Wilson is not a jazz singer in the traditional sense, some believe she has inherited the Fitzgerald/Vaughan mantle.

William observes that to keep the great jazz tradition alive, African-Americans must work to make the next generation aware of its existence. "It needs to be studied in high schools and colleges. I've been going to schools and talking to kids, telling them about the greatness of the tradition and that we must continue to study and carry on the great art of the masters, men and women like Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Jimmy Rushing and Billy Eckstine."

DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER's career has a certain duality. Both a singer in the great jazz traditions and an actress, a star in Europe and invisible at home, she has flourished in her artistic exile. In the last two years, she has returned to the U.S. to loud acclaim and solid bookings. She has been called the one great jazz singer of her generation, on of only two or three under age 60. In 1995 she released a CD, Love and Peace: A Tribute to Horace Silver, which produced her third Grammy nomination. She also was nominated for the Grammy for her Live in Paris and Keeping Tradition CDs. An accomplished actress as well, Bridgewater has pursued a parallel career in musicals which started with The Wiz in 1974 (Tony Award for Best Actress in a Second Role). Recently, Bridgewater became the first Black actress to play the role of Sally Bowles in Cabaret, which was staged at the Mogador Theatre in Paris.

RACHELLE FERRELL'S talent need no hype. The compose, lyricist, arranger and vocalist brings all of her gifts and her 6 1/2-octave voice range to a concert. She is a rarity in the music world, holding recording contracts on both pop/R&B and jazz labels. Her 1992 self-titled debut went gold and still stands on the R&B charts after more than three years. She was awarded a Pollstar award as best new adult contemporary/jazz artist in 1994. Ferrell consistency sells about major concert halls, and her success was predicted by none other than Dizzy Gillespie, who reported told her parents, "Rachelle is gonna be a major force in the industry," Her Blue Note jazz debut CD first Instrument topped the Billboard jazz charts in 1995. "I chose this title to remind people that the voice was and is the first instrument," she says. "Today, the voice has taken a bit of a backseat to the technology. . . . I want to bring back the intrinsic value of the voice."

Grammy nominated singer/songwriter NNENNA FREELON is a gifted artist and educator who is already widely respected n jazz quarters. A recipient of the Billie Holiday Award from France's Academic Du Jazz, her latest release is Shaking Free. Freelon has opened for Ray Charles and Al Jarreau among others, and has been touring for the last several years. Maya Angelou, who has praised her "audible, glistening pipes," says Freelon reminds her of a "younger Sarah or Dinah or Ella. The durable beauty of her voice makes the listener remember having heard such transparent talent 35 and 40 and even 50 years ago."

DIANNE REEVES gathered three generations of artists for her latest Blue Note release, The Grand Encounter. Reeves delves more deeply into her jazz roots with this CD than she has in years, choosing jazz standards and personal favorites to record with her favorite artists. Veteran vocalist Joe Williams joins Reeves on the ballad, "Tenderly," and the effort produced "pure magic," Reeves said. Williams is no less complimentary. "Dianne Reeves is the legitimate extension of Ella, Sarah, Carmen and all of that great grouping, bar none," he says. "Some of the others can sing, but they don't yet touch the nerve the way the great ones did." Dianne Reeves dedicates The Grand Encounters to the late Ella Fitzgerald. In 1987, Reeves performed at the "Echoes of Ellington" concert in Los Angeles, gardening her first Grammy nomination. Her 1995 Quiet After the Storm CD was also nominated for a Grammy. In concert Reeves is well known for a 1981 song she wrote, "Better Days," a song dedicated to her grandmother and known to her fans as "the grandma song." When she re-recorded it in 1987, the song crossed over onto Billboard's R&B chart.