Recently, I wanted to explore some jazz vocalists who came before my favorite contemporary artists like Esperanza Spalding and Gretchen Parlato. I’ve also been fascinated by the different approaches to vibrato. For a while, I never really studied the early jazz singers, mainly because their vibrato was unusual. Then once I started listening to various opera singers and the late Amy Winehouse (especially on her first album, Frank, before the famous Back To Black), I became interested in going back to these early vocalists, along with Ella Fitzgerald. Since then, I gradually grew to enjoy exploring these singing styles myself, and I’m starting to incorporate them in future compositions.

Like Vaughan’s famous album with the late Clifford Brown, this is a stripped down album with voice, guitar, and bass. The vibrato on this album is slower (than on the Clifford Brown album), and I found it very easy to try this style out. Also, her voice is very expressive, and mellow. Then, I love how she interprets the songs freely, especially “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” and “In A Sentimental Mood.” She also explores her operatic style on “My Favorite Things” and “Through The Years.” The track that showed me how to make this vibrato beautifully soft is the one about “Vanity,” along with the rest of the album.

On her earlier orchestral ensemble recordings, her vocal style was more in the operatic feel, and also strong. So it’s a lot of fun checking out the little transitions throughout her career!