What are some cues I can listen for to distinguish Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn and Dinah Washington? O.K. they all sound very different
Ella: Very pure and pretty sounding with fast vibrato, amazing scat technique
Billie: Rough, Scratchy, Kind of disjointed... all about style
Sarah Vaughn: Dabbled in many genres, she has a smooth voice and does a lot of scoops and glisses
Dinah Washington:: Extremely bluesy and powerful... she was know as the "Queen of the Blues"
The best advice I can give is listen for yourself. Words don't work well when desrcibing these "greats"! very simply listen closely to one of the artists mentioned, and then listen to another. Note inflection in voices, and commonalities with style in different songs. Notice differences in range abilities. Of course differentiate between alto's and soprano's. The big thing is in differences in styles. Some scat, some don't. Some are very melodic and others are not. Some come across more blues, more edgy, etc... |
