what genre is billie holliday?

fourmations

hi all

i love billie holliday and want to listen to more like it

I talked to dad who said its jazz/blues
but thats not enough

I want to know what her music would be described as
so i can listen to more

I like the early stuff, (sunny side of the street, miss brown, i cant give you any thing, mothers son in law etc etc)

its the tunes with the raunchy horns and the plinky piano
sounds kinda ragtime to me

any help welcome

regards

4

Rigsby

I'd say your dad's description is close enough. I dont understand why you need more than that, or why you seem so hung up on labels in the first place You could look her up on You Tube, make a note of the stuff you like, then seek them out on cd.

fourmations

Rigsby wrote: »

I'd say your dad's description is close enough. I dont understand why you need more than that, or why you seem so hung up on labels in the first place You could look her up on You Tube, make a note of the stuff you like, then seek them out on cd.

hi

im not hung up on labels
if i search jazz/blues i will get millions of hits its too vague,
it would be like searching "metal", you would get everything
from softest glam metal to extreme death metal

billies music seems to have a certain sound
I know the voice makes it what it is
but the music itself has a certain sound too,
i was wondering what it may be called
(instrumental stuff would be fine too)

rgds

4

Rigsby

fourmations wrote: »

hi

im not hung up on labels
if i search jazz/blues i will get millions of hits its too vague,
it would be like searching "metal", you would get everything
from softest glam metal to extreme death metal

billies music seems to have a certain sound
I know the voice makes it what it is
but the music itself has a certain sound too,
i was wondering what it may be called
(instrumental stuff would be fine too)

rgds

4

I'm still unsure what it is you are specifically looking for. Is it music that is similiar to Holliday's ? To be honost, I cant think of any other way to describe her music except jazz/blues. Yes, Billie's voice does bring an original sound to the music, but in the end it's still jazz/blues.

Hope this link is of some help. You could also search "jazz singers from the '30's to the 50's".


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie_Holiday

TheBandit

I don't know if there is a specific genre other than jazz but this site recommends similar artists like ella fitzgerald etc. www.allmusic.com and search for billie holiday

Velvet Vocals

Jazz/Blues really would be the best way to describe her but you might be able to search under American song book or perhaps big band tunes. But to be honest the advice that was already given of looking her up on youtube and finding songs you like and picking the albums might be the best way to go. May I recommend Lady Sings the Blues (Verve 1956)
Body and Soul (Verve 1957) & Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday at Newport (Verve 1957)

Also, in a shameless self promotion kinda way, I perform a lot of her songs as well as many other great jazz singers and will be playing a gig on the 30th of July in Bewleys Cafe Theatre if you fancy popping along there are details up on my myspace - link in the sig.

Happy listening to Billie!!!

stevejazzx

So jazz/blues is best but perhaps the OP is wondering why that era of jazz sounds nothing like this era of Jazz.
That was kind of big band era (pre bebop) and a lot of the music (like Nat King Coles for example, got bundled into 'easy listening' etc.
Ragtime music was more a kind of soft piano rock. Scott Joplin famously defines this genre - it is not suitable to put Billie into this genre at all btw. Billie had very much unique way of signing flattened blue notes like noone else. Sometimes she'd repeat just a couple of notes for long sections, she has somewhat limited vocal range and occasionally sang some 'wrong notes' but nonetheless she's a legend. Her style is, I think most aptly described as small/big band early roots Jazz but that's a bit of a mouthful so you might want to stick with Jazz/blues.
You have to add the blues part simply becasue at the time Jazz was still growing up out of it's blues origins and the two were inseperable plus Billies voice is seen as one of the defining voices of early blues music and you can't leave out the Jazz part becasue all the songs she sang are now standards in the repretoire.

d'Oracle

stevejazzx wrote: »

s Billies voice is seen as one of the defining voices of early blues music and you can't leave out the Jazz part

Not really.
Ma Rainey, Blind Lemon Jefferson, leadbelly all these vocalists were singing "early blues" before billie was born.

stevejazzx

d'Oracle wrote: »

Not really.
Ma Rainey, Blind Lemon Jefferson, leadbelly all these vocalists were singing "early blues" before billie was born.

I meant blue jazz roots. That was misleading but clearly I didn't billie was alive in the 19th century.