In this article, I want to talk about jazz singers and their improvisations. While it is common for a jazz instrumentalist to perform improvised solos, not all singers do so. This naturally raises the question: does a jazz singer have to improvise?
Before delving into the role of the voice in jazz music, here are a few observations on the specific qualities of the voice as an instrument, in general.
The human voice: a musical instrument that stands out from the rest
The voice is a very unique musical instrument, unlike any other. First and foremost, a singer usually performs words, and this gives them a very special power and responsibility. Thanks to the words, a singer can connect with the meaning of a song more deeply than an instrumentalist is able to.
For this reason, a singer cannot simply limit themselves to playing ‘the right notes’, but must immerse themselves in the lyrics and interpret them. Every singer is also an actor who identifies with the character, or at least should try to do so. Often, a singer with a few technical flaws but who truly tells the story contained in the song is more appreciated than one who is technically perfect but cold and detached.
The singer can therefore be extremely expressive, and in this respect surpasses any instrument. However, the voice as an instrument also has certain limitations. Here are what they are.
The limitations of the vocal instrument
First and foremost, vocal timbre and range are largely determined by the structure of our vocal apparatus. A singer can learn to use their voice and influence its timbre through technique, but they are still constrained by their physical attributes. A singer cannot simply decide to sing as a tenor or a bass, and even control over timbre is limited.
The greatest limitation of the vocal instrument, however, lies elsewhere, and is particularly significant for those wishing to specialise in the jazz repertoire: a singer must necessarily think through every single note they sing, letting it resonate in their mind even before it reaches their throat.
For those who play a musical instrument, there is a certain degree of independence; notes can be played as a result of specific technical movements, even without ‘singing’ them in the mind. For a singer, this is difficult, if not impossible. This peculiarity of the voice represents, at least in part, a limitation.
Those who study improvisation on an instrument develop, when practising, certain automatic responses that sometimes start with the physical movement and only subsequently become music, using, for example, specific scales or chords. For the singer, this is impossible; they cannot rely on any ‘manual’ geometry or pattern, simply because they do not use their hands to sing!
Let us now see how these specific characteristics of the voice and singing affect jazz performers.
Jazz singer? Variation vs improvisation
Jazz music affords performers a great deal of freedom, and this is true right from the exposition of the theme that usually opens the piece. Singers are free to vary the melody and rhythm of the song considerably; this is why many singers do not feel the need to perform actual improvised solos but instead focus on the theme, interpreting it in an original and ever-changing way.
Some great singers do not perform actual solos, yet they are benchmarks for the great American repertoire. For example, Frank Sinatra was not strictly a jazz musician, but his interpretations are a landmark for his ability to vary the rhythm of melodies. Even Miles Davis considered Frank Sinatra one of the greatest vocalists of his era.
The principle of variation is therefore very important when discussing a jazz singer. Bound by the lyrics of the song, the singer can nevertheless intervene in the rhythm of the phrases, thus making the melody constantly fresh and interesting, and possibly emphasising the most important parts of the text.
While improvisation often adds new material to a song, variation can in some cases occur through subtraction. For example, Billie Holiday sang in an unmistakable style, simplifying the melodies and emphasising certain notes over others. The singer would choose certain notes and focus on those, omitting certain melodic passages entirely.
Because of her tendency to radically rework the melody of songs, Billie Holiday is regarded as one of the first true jazz singers, even though she did not improvise in the same way as instrumentalists.
Jazz singers therefore often focus on variation rather than performing actual solos. There are, however, some exceptions: great singers who are renowned for their vocal solos. Here are a few examples.
Jazz singers who improvise
We have said that not all jazz singers perform true improvisations. Those who do are often musicians who, as well as singing, can also play an instrument. This is certainly helpful because it allows them to draw on their experience as instrumentalists even when using their voice.
One of the great singer-instrumentalists was Chet Baker, a trumpeter of great talent. In a previous article, I analysed his solo on ‘Little Girl Blue’. Here I would like to present another of his improvisations, this time on George Gershwin’s ‘But Not For Me’. The piece opens with the sung theme, and we can already appreciate the variations performed by Chet Baker, who stays true to the song’s lyrics but alters the rhythm of the phrases and the pitch of the notes.
The improvisation itself begins at 0’33”. In his solo, we can hear a series of chromaticisms typical of the bebop repertoire, which Chet Baker explored in the early years of his career. Chet Baker plays three improvisational choruses; the second begins at 1’05” and the third at 1’37”. This is followed by a guitar solo, a second improvisation by Chet Baker, this time on the trumpet, and finally a double bass solo. At 5’16’’ we hear the reprise of the sung theme.
Another famous vocal solo is Ella Fitzgerald’s on ‘How High the Moon’. The singer recorded this piece dozens of times; it is one of her best-known songs. Here is the first studio recording, from 1947, an excellent example of how a jazz singer interprets and reworks a song.
To begin with, Ella Fitzgerald performs the theme once at a relaxed tempo. At the end of the first exposition (0’50’’), the drums play a brief interlude, increasing the tempo of the piece. This is followed by a second rendition of the theme by the singer, who still sings the lyrics but with significant melodic variations.
Next (1’28’’) we hear a true improvisation, in which the singer stops singing the lyrics and instead sings in the ‘scat’ style, intoning syllables of her own choosing. This solo by Fitzgerald is one of the most important and famous vocal improvisations in the history of jazz.
Unlike Chet Baker, Fitzgerald did not play a musical instrument. The perfection of her phrasing is therefore a sign of extraordinary talent and constant refinement. Her later improvisations on the same song are partly different; she continued to quote parts of this first version, but also to add ever-new phrases.
Closing remarks: some tips for singers who want to improvise
I’ll conclude this article with some advice for those who are just starting out in jazz singing, or who have been singing for some time but haven’t yet tried improvising. Scat singing is by no means essential, and poorly executed scat often reveals a singer’s lack of depth rather than their skill.
If you sing jazz and find this aspect of the music fascinating, first learn by heart, note for note, some solos by these great performers. As well as Ella Fitzgerald and Chet Baker, other singers capable of improvising with great mastery include Mel Tormé and Dee Dee Bridgewater, the latter still active today. Instrumentalists learn by imitation at the start, and a singer should do the same.
A second piece of advice is to combine vocal training with a more general and comprehensive study of music, starting with the study of chords and basic cadences. Fully understanding the harmony of a piece is essential for developing variations on the main melody, even before attempting a proper improvised solo.
Good luck! If you’d like to suggest some famous vocal improvisations by singers, you can do so in the ‘comments’ section at the bottom of the page. I might compile a list of singers’ improvisations, a useful reference for current and future readers of this article. Thank you!