It matters who you choose to listen to.
As I wrote yesterday, when my students are learning a jazz standard, I work hard to impress on them the importance of targeted listening. This is, after all, an oral tradition, and we can only sing these songs well if we understand that tradition.
Yesterday covered the greats of yesteryear – none of the artists I listed are still recording, or even living.
So what if your student wants to listen to current artists? First, I will point out that because of the great recordings of yesteryear, the newer singers tend to be more iconoclastic – their arrangements are more creative, less tied to the original version of the song, and generally more wide-ranging. That said, hearing what your contemporaries are doing is essential, too. This is the ocean you’ll be swimming in as a creator.
Here’s a very personal and incomplete list of singers I turn to for a more contemporary approach to a song I’m learning about.
Theo Bleckman
Dee Dee Bridgewater
Kurt Elling
Sara Gazarek
Michael Mayo
Bobby McFerrin
Kate McGarry
Jane Monheit
Gregory Porter
Dianne Reeves
Cécile McLorin Salvant
Cassandra Wilson