It matters who you choose to listen to.
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.
Even as streaming services have made this so much easier than it was when I was immersing myself in this tradition, they have also made it trickier in one particular way.
That is: streaming services don’t necessarily differentiate between fair, good, and great interpretations of a song. If you search for “My Funny Valentine”, for example, there might be some great ones in the top ten. There also might be some very forgettable ones. And if you’re a young singer trying to master the craft, I don’t want you spending time listening to forgettable versions of songs.
That’s why I’ve made a list of the Ultra-Reliable Jazz Singers. Singers who, if they’ve recorded a song, I trust that it’ll be at least good, if not great. I’ve focused on classic era jazz singers, and a comparable list of current jazz singers will come soon.
Chet Baker
Tony Bennett
Betty Carter
Nat “King” Cole
Ella Fitzgerald
Billie Holiday
Shirley Horn
Carmen McRae
Mark Murphy
Frank Sinatra
Mel Tormé
Sarah Vaughan
Joe Williams
Nancy Wilson
I took this list and made a playlist of one classic album from each of these artists. A student can use it to remember the list of artists, on shuffle to expose themselves to great jazz singing, or use the “Playlist Radio” feature to hear more similar songs and artists.