Jazz-Pop Vocal
tagStarted 1935Peak 1945-1962Last big hit still active
Located in 2 routes
Pop singing infused with jazz phrasing: swing time, blue notes, behind-the-beat delivery and improvisational shading applied to songbook standards over jazz combos or string-sweetened orchestras. More rhythmically supple and harmonically rich than straight vocal pop, but still song-first and melodic. Sophisticated, swinging, conversational.
History
Grew from swing-era band singers and supper-club jazz vocalists who brought jazz feel to mainstream standards in the 1930s-40s. It flourished through the album era as labels paired singers with arrangers and small groups, peaking around 1950-62. The approach endures through standards records and the vocal-jazz tradition, keeping jazz-inflected pop interpretation alive today.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocal_jazz
- https://www.allmusic.com/style/jazz-pop-ma0000004445
- https://www.britannica.com/art/jazz