amanda [email] said at 4:12 PM 12-08-2005: Nina. There's something about the piano AND the voice. In general, most of my favourite singers play instruments too. It's like you get to hear double the emotion and it's much more powerful.
kara [email] said at 5:45 PM 12-08-2005: I find debates like this to be rather useless because there are so many different aspects that people enjoy about music.
For example, I love Billie Holliday because of the emotions that seep through almost every song she recorded. It’s something you just FEEL - how could you argue that with someone? And then, judging by the scale of emotion, I’d have to put Nina Simone second, even though I don’t even like her music.
If we were debating musical ability, Nina would top it for having played piano. Billie might fall short, having little vocal range and a wispy kind of voice.
The early Ella recordings are pretty comparable to other jazz vocalists at the time. Live performances were more important during the jazz age than they are now, and I’d speculate that Ella’s career initially took off due largely to her stage presence (I think you can get somewhat of a feel for this when she scats, although I’m not much of a fan of that vocal technique.)
Eventually, her voice developed to be more soothing, velvety and clear. As far as singing, I prefer to sing these full-bodied soulful songs that Ella did. Her songs with Louis Armstrong are the best example. Her voice is the perfect compliment to The Satchmo’s raspy responses. I really don’t like Billie’s duet with Louis.
I’m not partial to any Billie Holliday duets, for that matter. Her voice lends itself better to ballads of loneliness and isolation – I imagine her sitting on a windowsill, gazing 1000 miles away and singing her pain. (And then going to shoot up...)
Not to say that her more upbeat songs aren’t excellent as well. When Billie sings a song like “Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off” or something – this is where Ella stands on a level plane with Billie.
It’s just a personal matter of instinct that I appreciate both the bittersweet and the “entertainment” songs that Billie performed. It might be no coincidence that the moody, passionate people such as Carla, Milky, and myself choose Billie hands down.
That’s just not the kind of thing worth trying to explain. Music goes where words can’t.
kaycee [email] said at 9:44 PM 12-08-2005: nina.
she took on really tough topics, and when she sings Mississippi Goddamn! i get all feisty and teary-eyed.
amy [email] said at 9:55 PM 12-08-2005: I heart Nina. Almost every song leaves me bleary eyed. "Children Go Where I send You" is the most wonderful dancin song.
nathan [email] said at 11:23 PM 12-08-2005: Nina Simone. I like the immediacy of her style. Her, "Black is the color of my true love's hair" is one of the 10 best songs in the universe. Personally, I don't hear the emotion in Ella's or Holiday's voice, because Ella just seems to be about zip-a-de-do-dah styling and Holiday's voice has been simlulated to oblivian by so many caberet revivalists.
amy [email] said at 1:39 PM 12-09-2005: exactly. i don't hear any pain in the other's voices. if its not painful, its no good. also, i loves you porgy moves me every time.
