I've not kept it a secret that I love Ella Fitzgerald. I can be sitting in a restaurant, like Tavern at Phipps Plaza or Capozzi's Decatur, and be in animated conversation (because I am a storyteller) when I hear Ella's voice – and then I pause, sometimes mid-sentence, and acknowledge that she's singing. I smile, my dinner guest usually chuckles, and then we can continue. While I enjoy nearly everything that she sings, I most prefer her voice after Chick Webb died, after she started doing ballads, and before the eighties. She was swinging lightly and I love the clarity in sound and choice of music for that time.
What I haven't mentioned as much is the first time I met Jane Monheit, metaphorically of course. I was literally flipping channels, heard her voice, and sat in reverent silence while she performed. I immediately purchased her second CD (although it was my first) and though I don't notice her music playing in public, I reach for my Monheit collection each spring.
I don't really dig the whole "If you love this, you'll like that" marketing approach used in bookstores, music stores, and with perfumes (my mama was very much into knock-off perfumes – I have no idea why). But I understand the value – for newbies to certain genres, those lists and comparisons are helpful in guiding your way toward a song, performance, or artist you most likely would not have found without already being immersed in the culture and up to date on sometimes obscure current events. What I don't dig about it is, like mama's knock-off perfume, it is implied that one of the items being compared is the quintessential and the others are substandard by default.
Anyway, I compare Ms. Monheit and Ms. Fitzgerald to one another for the purpose of assisting a newbie to find the jazz sound that you love. These artists both have similar voice qualities – uber feminine, delicate, and sweetly soothing. I love them both.
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