Singers With Musicality

Singers with Musicality

I was overjoyed and totally delighted when I moved to Corpus Christi from Los Angeles to realize that I hadn't left everything behind. I knew there were going to be enormous changes that I would have to adjust to, and there have been to be sure. But one thing I still have here in Texas is Ovation TV.

I know it doesn't sound like much, and if you've never had the pleasure of watching this channel, you may not get what it means to me, but let me try and tell you anyway.

If you're anything like me, and you truly believe in your heart that the salvation of the human race lies in its art, then maybe you can imagine what Ovation TV has to offer. Masterpieces of Art, Film, Literature, Poetry, Opera, Jazz, Singing, Plays, Sculpture, Photography, indeed creation of any and every kind of art imaginable are represented, celebrated and encouraged on this station.

You can watch a play, a symphony orchestra, an opera, a jazz concert on one day, and a film on Dexter Gordon, Charlie Parker, Sylvia Plath or Martha Graham on another day. There is no end to to the glorification of art that goes from morning 'til night on this channel. And it was here that I encountered 30 minutes of this celebration last week on the life and music of Ella Fitzgerald.

Growing up in the canyons of New York City, my sisters and would often go up to the roof to escape the heat during the summer months, and I would always bring my transistor radio along to listen to my favorite station WNEW, where William B. Williams would teach me how to listen to singers, and not just listen...but analyze, appreciate... hear what the horns were doing, the bass lines, everything.

Frank and Ella were "IT" for me and were why I knew from very early on in my lfe, 5 or 6, that it would be my life's work to sing like those 2.

The short film showing on Ovation took the time to trace the history of Ella's rise to the top in the recording industry, but went further to explain, why she was adored and respected by her listeners and peers alike. One after another, musicians who had worked with her or just listened to her records, stepped in front of a camera and proudly boasted,

"It was her Musicianship"!

Now, Ella had a fluid, lush, pure, glorious voice, that warmed your heart when you heard it, and also could do anything on earth she wanted it to do, but here were these people saying, "It was her musicianship!"

Several of those interviewed from this film recalled that early on in her career, the bands she auditioned for didn't really want her. "It wasn't personal", one tenor sax player said. "It was that the guys in the band didn't hold too much respect for girl singers back then...well I guess it's the same today. You know, girl singers just want to be the center of attention and more often than not, their talent doesn't deserve that attention. But when Ella sang, not only could you tell instantly that she could hear every chord and every beat we were playing for her, she even made us look for better chords and beats to play just to keep up. She made us all better players!"

There were 2 current jazz singers in the film too, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Anita Wardell, who talked about what it means to sing when you know the music...ALL the music, not just the melody line, and how the whole band knows that you know it, and you know that they know that you now it.

That's a ride on a magic carpet, singers and it's woven from the golden thread of the singer's musicality.

Now you know I've talked about this before, singers, and I've mentioned with regard to eliciting respect from your fellow musicians, but after watching this film, I realized there was something else...something more I wanted to express to you about musicianship, (or musicality if you prefer), and it's this.

When you and your accompaniment (whether it's a full big band or orchestra or YOU playing for yourself) are in total synchronization, the performance is MAGICAL! It infuses YOU and the band and every person sitting in the audience. And believe me, there is no greater satisfaction than singing with a bunch of musicians who are feeling you and playing the best they can to make the whole thing sound wonderful. And you find that singers with musicality don't worry so much about drawing all the attention from the crowd. They are team players and every body knows it and respects it, just as all those guys respected Ella.

So when I try to encourage you singers to learn an instrument, at least enough of one to understand chordal structure and rhythms, I'm trying to show you that the more musicality you possess, the further you will progress with your singing.

Seriously singers, if you are dead on committed about working as a professional, you're going to have to have a "live accompaniment". You cannot rely on backing tracks indefinitely.