The idea of musical genres are a convenient fiction. Program accordingly.
Some argue that the very idea was created as a way to better market music by segmenting listeners into different genres. I think genres arise more organically than that – we need a word to describe all the music that we connect. Vocal jazz, for example, means something specific to me and I have no problem knowing whether I would describe something as vocal jazz.
Of course, definitions break down pretty quickly. Are the early Swingle Singers vocal jazz? I say yes, even though defining characteristics are missing. They’re singing straight-up Bach, for goodness sake! The inability to have consistent definitions is why, in the end, I think musical genres are a convenient fiction. They help me categorize, describe, and share music, but they aren’t real, in a core-level way.
Which is why I love when singers go against expectations and play or sing music that doesn’t conform to the genre they’re categorized in. Consider, for example, Kurt Elling singing Schubert’s Nicht Wandle, Mein Licht. Or a season example of Frank Sinatra delivering Schubert’s Ave Maria on his first Christmas album.
They’re not jazz singing, and they’re not reimagined as a jazz singer might. They are simply interpreting these songs with respect for the original material.
As I program music for my own ensembles, I make a conscious effort not to program specifically based on the genre associated with the ensembles. While I comfortably describe the genres of my ensembles (Shades of Blue is a vocal jazz ensemble, The Rockford Ace an a cappella group), I try to remind myself that genre is a convenient fiction, and to program the right repertoire for them to interpret, regardless of “genre.”