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Hello
Monthly, the wife and I attend a open mic 'Jazz jam' in our local area.
There is a house band available but we tend to be a duo of vocals and guitar.
At the next event we hope to perform Eva Cassidy's version of Autumn Leaves and Somewhere over the rainbow.
I am worried that someone might think this is not 'Jazz'
Could I have the thoughts of other forum users please.
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10-24-2023 08:26 AM
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Well, first, if you like it you shouldn't give a hoot whether it's jazz or moon music, who cares?
I don't think Eva is jazz. She did her own thing, some of which included jazz tunes like Autumn Leaves because they were good songs. But actually 'being jazz' like Ella or Billie Holiday, no, one couldn't say that.
One ought, probably, to differentiate between tunes which came from films or shows and were then taken up by the jazz players and in that sense 'became' jazz tunes. Which is not quite the same as starting life being tunes composed by jazz players for jazz singers, if you see what I mean.
And I'm not sure I could provide a real list of tunes that qualify for that, not off the top of my head anyway. But there are certainly jazz tunes which have had lyrics added to them.
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Thanks ragman i'll bear it in mind. I just dont like upsetting the status quo.
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Eva's renditions of the two tunes you mentioned were jazzier than a lot of female jazz singers out today.Eva could sing jazz.blues or pop tunes with equal aplomb.If you and your wife can do it half as well,i'm sure it will be enjoyed by the audience.
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There's a whole generation of great female vocalists, who have spent their careers in the gray zone of what is jazz ... Cassandra Wilson, Lizz Wright, Melody Gardot and to a lesser degree, Eva Cassidy. The definition of what is jazz is always changing and as a group they have effectively expanded the border of jazz to include some folk, some Americana, some gospel etc. That's been happening now for long enough to have become part of what I think of as the current state of jazz music. So yes, I think you're safe.
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Thanks guys. We are getting the renditions pretty much 'bang on'
Over the rainbow is tricky though.
Eva did so many good versions of good songs i'm tempted to focus on this niche for a while.
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If you came to my jam and did that I'd be very pleased. Go for it.
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I think you're perfectly safe with Autumn Leaves and Somewhere Over The Rainbow, They will certainly not be considered 'anti-jazz' or whatever one cares to say. On the contrary, they're both known standards.
Originally Posted by tiktoktodd
Actually, a lot of how they're received will be how you deliver them rather than the songs themselves. Which doesn't mean you need to sound like a club jazz singer. Just do your thing and be happy. You'll soon find out whether they like it or not :-)
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I'm not sure that there's a bright line between "jazz" and "not jazz," especially with singers. Any singer who does standards is likely to be influenced by jazz, either directly or via other singers who were strongly jazz-tropic. Armstrong's "pop" hits were clearly contiguous to his jazz instrumental sense, and Bing Crosby was famously influenced by jazz. Then there are the Boswell Sisters and the Mills Brothers. . . .
In the 1930s and 40s, almost any vocalist who worked with a swing dance band was operating in or next to jazz territory, whether or not there was, say, scatting. Plenty of Ella's repertory straddles "pop" and jazz. And is Chet Baker not a jazz musician when he's singing? (There's a big dose of crooner in his vocals.) Seems to me that in a lot of American music, jazz and pop interpenetrate. Or look at bossa nova in Brazil. And the influences can run in both directions. Hip-hop and rock certainly have leached into jazz.
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Well, if you're trying to cover someone else's version, that's kind of the "anti-jazz" anyway, ain't it?
Who cares? That style will fit in nicely with a set of standards/light jazz/etc.
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tiktoktodd -
Now there's a point in RLetson's post. Can you manage a Bossa rhythm? Songs like Ipanema or Corcovado would go down well too. What do you think?
PS. I was a singer/musician for a long time. I can tell you now that, however well or badly they're performed, the crowd will always clap for songs they know and love. You could perform something they've never heard of beautifully but then stumble your way through their favorite song... and they'll applaud the second one enthusiastically because it's part of them. See if I'm not right
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Hey, just for clarity, is it an open mic, or a jazz jam?
At a jam, expecting to come up and do songs as a duo and have anybody else involved sit out is kind of a faux pas...
Open mic, totally fine.
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R Letson; the question of what songs belong in a Jazz environment is quite stressful. As a couple we have performed songs from over several decades from war time ballads to 'this masquerade' .
We are tempted to dabble in gospel, country, blues etc. But where do you stop?
Ragman, yes the bossa nova does work, it just sounds so good in the Portuguese, Likewise french belongs with the gypsy Jazz genre. These are horizons to aim for. And as for a few crowd-pleaser songs lets throw a few Beatles tunes in ;-)
Mr Beaumont, it is basically a professional jazz band at the publics disposal. You just put your name down on a piece of paper and state what it is your intentions.
Actually the band like it when Katie & I are on stage as they get a chance to get the drinks in at the bar.
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I would say that "jazz" is a matter of execution rather repertory--though there are certainly compostions intended for jazz execution from the git-go. But the fact that "jazz" is a component in various hyphenated* genre labels (jazz samba, gypsy jazz, jazz blues, hillbilly jazz) suggests that it ain't the meat, it's the motion. Originally Posted by tiktoktodd
* I know, the hyphen isn't actually there, but the clearly intended modifier function certainly is.
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This all depends on the jam. Actually, I don't think I've been to one yet where they wouldn't accommodate a solo act. It's an extra break for the house band. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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well we got through it.
We did wobble a bit. Katie wobbled at the crescendo in over the rainbow. I had a few minor guitar issues.
My classical guitar teacher used to say that when you perform to play a music grade lower than what you competantly do at home.
But to be honest we were stretched tonight.
I will be glad to get back to simpler stuff.
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Just play the songs. If there is any resistance in your audience... wel so what?! If listening to a not so jazzy interpretation of a jazz song makes your life misserable, you're having a perfect good life.
I played the cassidy interpretation instrumental in a trio ( sax, bass, guitar) no complains what so ever.
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I love jazz, I love Eva Cassidy, I'm assuming your audience did as well(?). Tiktoktodd, any chance you have a track of the evening you can share???
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In DC where she was from she played jazz clubs. So there's that!
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She started out singing backup to Chuck Brown, the "Godfather of Go-Go." But she segued into her own versions of pop songs and standards. She played a very good guitar accompaniment to her songs. Originally Posted by supersoul
As far as what is jazz, I find the argument tiresome. The Bad Plus plays Smells Like Teen Spirit. Coltrane played My Favorite Things. If you play it jazzy, it IS jazz. There are only 12 notes, anyway, just arranged in a certain way.
More to the point, Autumn Leaves is a jazz standard. Miles probably had the most famous version in the jazz world, and of course Joe Pass's fingerstyle extravaganza.
Somewhere Over the Rainbow is a bit less "standard", but the beautiful melody and impressionistic chord changes make it worthy of playing.
I have started playing with a singer, and it is challenging but fun. Our model is Tuck and Patti, for instance their version of Time after Time (the Cyndi Lauper song), of which Eva also does a bang-up version. We try not to imitate any one singer/player too much, just to get a feel for the different interpretations out there. I don't tell the singer how to sing! (And she doesn't tell me how to play...)
You could do worse than to use Eva for inspiration though. I find her one of the most emotionally affecting singers I listen to. I literally get goosebumps and tears in my eyes with some of her songs like Songbird and Somewhere over the Rainbow.
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Escc, I do have a recording, taken from the back of the room.
I'm a bit ashamed of it though. My guitar sounds terrible.
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