Sometimes work can be fun. I recently completed an assignment for The Global Jukebox to put together a list of the greatest jazz singers of all time, along with representative songs to showcase their greatness. It’s been very enjoyable listening and curating the list, and I learned alot along the way. For example, Nina Simone used to live in my neighborhood.
Originally I had wanted to do the top ten or maybe twenty artists, but it was hard to stop. I extended it out to thirty, albeit with fewer songs as you get on down the line. The list features both old and newer singers, spanning the entire history of jazz. Some central to the genre, others maybe coming in from neighboring forms such as blues or pop, but nevertheless great contributors to the legacy of jazz as an art form, and particularly to the vocals. It also really gets across the variety oh jazz styles out there and how it’s evolved over time.
Even though list is definitive because I say it is, naturally that’s absurd. It’s necessarily pretty subjective. Of course Ella, Satchmo and Lady Day are 1-2-3. After that you can debate the relative ranking of the performers or maybe point out someone that I neglected to include. That’d be a fun debate. Regardless, all the performers and songs listed here are pretty great.
Here’s a link to the playlist on Spotify. Enjoy!
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4VZSjgb7157yUQ9KmrSvvd?si=S0mnQa89RGK3_Og5q0KVRg
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Greatest Jazz Singers of All Time for The Global Jukebox
1. Ella Fitzgerald – How High the Moon, I’m Beginning to See the Light (w/ Duke Ellington), My Romance, I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm, The Lady is a Tramp
2. Louis Armstrong – Alexander’s Ragtime Band, Jeepers Creepers, Cuban Pete, Hello Dolly, What Wonderful World
Bonus: Ella & Loius – Cheek to Cheek, Dream a Little Dream
3. Billie Holiday – Gimme a Pig Foot and a Bottle of Beer, Strange Fruit, Lover Man, Stars Fell on Alabama, God Bless the Child
4. Tony Bennett – (I Left My Heart) In San Francisco, Anything Goes (w/ Lady Gaga), There Will Never Be Another You (w/ DaBrubeck)
5. Sarah Vaughn – Black Coffee, Lullaby of Birdland, Body and Soul
6. Johnny Hartman – Lush Life (w/ John Coltrane), My One and Only Love (w/ John Coltrane), Our Love is Here to Stay
7. Frank Sinatra – Fly Me to the Moon (w/ Count Basie Orchestra), Summer Wind, Luck Be a Lady
8. Dee Dee Bridgewater – Afro Blue, St. James Infirmary (w/ New Orleans Jazz Orchestra), Love from the Sun (w/ Theo Croker)
9. Kurt Elling – Nature Boy, Matte Kudasai, Steppin’ Out
10. Esperanza Spalding – I Know You Know, Cuerpo Y Alma, Funk the Fear
11. Gregory Porter – Liquid Spirit, Holding On
12. Chet Baker – Do It the Hard Way, Everything Happens to Me
13. Nat King Cole – Unforgettable, Smile
14. Shirley Horn – A Foggy Day, Makin’ Whoopee
15. Mel Tormé – They Can’t Take That Away from Me, The Christmas Song
16. Etta Jones – Bye Bye Blackbird, Etta’s Blues
17. Joe Williams – Five O’Clock in the Morning, Don’t Get Around Much Anymore
18. Nina Simone – I Put a Spell on You, Mississippi Goddam
19. Bessie Smith – Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out, Devil’s Gonna Git You
20. Ray Charles – Mess Around, America the Beautiful
21. Joni Mitchell – Goodbye Porkpie Hat
22. Billy Eckstine – Oo Bop Sh’bam
23. Dinah Washington – Destination Moon
24. Jazzmeia Horn – Out the Window
25. Patti Cathcart – I’ve Got Just About Everything (w/ Tuck Andress)
26. Dianna Krall – Peel Me a Grape
27. Bobby McFerrin – Thinkin’ About Your Body
28. Norah Jones – Don’t Know Why
29. Harry Connick Jr. – It Had to Be You
30. Etta James – At Last
