Christina Aguilera: Ain’t No Other Man

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Ain't No Other Man, Baby Jane, Back to Basics, Bryan Barber, Christina Aguilera, I Got Trouble, Jazz, Jazz Club, Retro, Style Crush

Etta James

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Blues, Etta James, Icon, Jazz, Legend

In 1938 Etta James’ mother was an unmarried 14 year old girl who despite her challenging start to motherhood ensured her daughter received professional vocal training by the age of five years. In her teens Etta’s family moved to San Francisco, a city she confessed brought out her wild side leading to dabblings with girl gangs. By 14 years she was in a doo-wop singing trio auditioning for Johnny Otis. Her apparent talent soon eclipsed the other girls and over the following years she toured the country with stars such as Little Richard, Marvin Gaye and Chuck Berry.

Despite this encouraging start Etta had become a heroin addict before her 21st birthday and spent many years in and out of an LA psychiatric hospital. These difficult years of addiction involved many occurrences of petty crime but she eventually beat her addiction. During the 1980s Etta became a gay icon singing on its vibrant club scene. She became widely known for her exuberant version of Muddy Waters song ‘I Just Wanna Make Love to You’ a song which earned her a new surge of popularity in addition to a Top 10 hit in the late 90s.

Yet her biggest success was as a blues and R&B singer where her contralto vocal range had impressive power and texture. She hinted that perhaps it was this strength of voice that helped her overcome her addition and demons “When I perform, I’m somewhere else. I go back in time and get in touch with who I really am. I forget my troubles, my worries.”

Peppermint Candy

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Jazz, New Years Eve, Party, Peppermint Candy, Soundtrack, Swing, Vintage

Want your NYE to go with a Swing? Download Peppermint Candy quick. It’s a collection of original and contemporary swing and jazz tunes. A burst of feel good vintage music. Perfect for parties or in my case tonight a getting ready to party soundtrack. I shall be singing into my blusher brush and wishing I had a 40s frock with petticoats.

Julie London

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Cry Me A River, Icon, Jazz, Julie London, Music

Discovered whilst working as an elevator operator Julie London spent most of the 1940s as a nubile young actress in Hollywood where her undisputed beauty and poise made her a popular pinup girl for the GIs in World War II. However it was during the 1950s that she became best known for her sensuous and smoky singing.

Songs such as ‘Cry Me A River’ and ‘Go Slow’ showcased Julie London’s unique soft seductive style. An image that was further enhanced by her suggestive portrait photos which helped make her album covers become collectors items worldwide.

As a notoriously heavy smoker Julie suffered a stroke in her 60s and struggled with ill health until her death in the year 2000. Yet ironically, despite paying the price for her nicotine habit, she freely admitted its unique effects on her voice declaring “It’s only a thimbleful of a voice, and I have to use it close to the microphone. But it is a kind of over-smoked voice, and it automatically sounds intimate.”

Dinah Washington

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Dinah Washington, Icon, Jazz, Mad About The Boy, Music

Sexy, curvy and vivacious Dinah Washington packed an incredible amount of living into a tragically short life. Almost as if she knew she was short on time. By her late 30s she’d had eight husbands, seven divorces and many lovers of both sexes. Nicknamed ‘Queen of the Blues’ Dinah started her career as a gospel singer in local churches but was versatile enough to turn her distinctively gritty voice to blues, RB and jazz vocals.

Famous for vampy torch songs such as ‘Mad About The Boy’ Dinah used her crystal clear diction and unique phrasing throughout a stellar career that lasted right up until her untimely death. Whilst adored for her curves Dinah always struggled with her body image, leading to an addiction to both diet pills and alcohol. Sadly it was a combination of these that caused her death aged a mere 39 years. Dinah will be forever remembered for her tough, direct yet emotional approach to life and love. A characteristic which shone through in her singing and performance style. We can only imagine what heights her career may have reached or what remarkable music she may have gone on to record – in her own words “There is only one heaven, one earth and one queen – me.”

Billie Holiday

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Billie Holiday, Icon, Icons, Jazz, Music

If tone of voice can suggest experience then Billie Holiday’s life perhaps explains the emotion and pain behind her music. A turbulent childhood that involved violence, abuse and prostitution eventually led to drug use and a subsequent prison sentence. Whilst in jail she refused to sing a single note and waited until her release before singing once more in the jazz clubs of 1930s Harlem.

Her untrained but remarkable improvisational skills soon got her noticed enough to work with highflyers such as Artie Shaw and Count Basie. As she sang classics such as ”The Man I Love’ she became the first black women to work with an all white orchestra, a brave and notorious move in such times of racism. With her trademark gardenia in her hair she was the epitome of the swing jazz era.

Yet despite her success as a jazz singer she fell victim to swindlers and at her death had less than a dollar to her name. Sadly her drug addiction continued throughout her life and even as she lay dying in hospital, merely 44 years old, the authorities raided her room seeking further evidence for prosecution. Yet it is perhaps the tragedies in her life that gave her ability to sing such haunting songs. As she wrote in her autobiography ” “Singing songs like I Love You ‘Porgy’ is no more work than sitting down and eating Chinese roast duck……I’ve lived songs like that.

Nina Simone

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Civil Rights, High Priestess of Soul, Icon, Jazz, Nina Simone

Nine Simone, later to be hailed as the High Priestess of Soul, started life as Eunice Waymon in 1930s California. She began learning the piano aged 3, with family members and locals working hard to sponsor her training. Nina considered herself a classical pianist first and foremost, singing only when club managers demanded it. Yet audiences loved the intriguingly androgynous tone to her voice.

Nina’s ability to switch between alto, tenor and even baritone soon lead to an album deal that eventually netted over $1 million in royalties. Sadly, Nina never saw a penny due to selling the rights in her early career for just $3,000. A decision that fuelled much anger and bitterness in later life.

In addition to her music, Nina had another great passion, civil rights. Experiencing racism at an early age Nina became a strong voice for social progress even leaving the US in protest during the 70s to live in Europe for several years. As strong minded as her vocal delivery, Nina refused to be pigeon-holed as an artist or activist proudly declaring *To most white people, jazz means black and jazz means dirt, and that’s not what I play. I play black classical music.”

Sarah Vaughan

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Diva, Icon, Jazz, Music, Sarah Vaughan

Sarah Vaughan, was nicknamed “The Divine One”, “Sassy” and perhaps most memorably, “Sailor”, thanks to her bawdy speech. She may have had a mercurial temper but was an energetic, gregarious personality and performer. Raised by a deeply religious Baptist family in 1930s Newark she was heavily influenced by both gospel music and the contrasting local live music scene. Sneaking illegally into night clubs as a teenager she would perform primarily as a pianist, however her impressive vocal range led to solo singing spots.

Sarah had the very rare ability to swoop easily from high mezzo soprano to low baritone notes. Whilst often termed a jazz singer Sarah was actually one of the primary performers of bebop harmonies. She worked with and was inspired by legends such as Dizzy Gillespie and Charles Parker. Even though she suffered from an almost incapacitating stage fright Sarah battled on to perform and remain a star throughout her life. Over the years her voice eventually deepened but she never lost her strength or stunning range, cheekily informing the world “There are notes between notes, you know.”

Ella Fitzgerald

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Cole Porter, Ella Fitzgerald, Gershwins, Icon, Irving Berlin, Jazz, Vocal

In the 1920s a young girl spent her teenage years dreaming of being a dancer whilst listening to the jazz music of Louis Armstrong. Little knowing that years later she would record and perform with him in some of the most innovative duets of the jazz age. Ella Fitzgerald made her debut aged only 17 years old in Harlem at its famous Apollo Theatre but it was her youthful recording of the nursery rhyme ‘A-Tisket, A-Tasket’ that launched her career staying in the pop charts for over 4 months. During the 50s and 60s she covered the work of such greats as Cole Porter, the Gershwins and Irving Berlin.

Ella’s legendary vocal range spanned three octaves with an improvisational ability to sing in a scat style that earned her millions of fans. During her life Ella experienced homelessness, racism, crippling shyness and broken marriages yet it is her purity of voice as she sings of love that keeps her in our memories and hearts. Even in older age as Ella suffered the tragedy of blindness and having both legs amputated she would still sing in her own indomitable style. As Ira Gershwin once remarked “I never knew how good our songs were until I heard Ella sing them.”

Razzle Dazzle

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Cambridge Theatre, Chicago, Jazz, London, Musicals, Night, Photo, Photo du Jour, Photoblog, Photographer, Photography, Razzle Dazzle, Spire