In the past year, I have spent a good amount of time practicing more challenging chord changes in an effort to improve my ears. However, I have also spent quite a bit of time transcribing traditional jazz solos by my favorite singers, especially focusing on their registration, syllables, dynamics and articulation. One day, I thought to myself it would be fun to conflate the two studies + I was just kind of curious what this kind of vocabulary would sound like over a tune like “Giant Steps.“
Interestingly enough, this study revealed a lot about Ella and Sarah’s vocabulary through having the same harmonic backdrop.
Ella Fitzgerald’s vocabulary worked smoothly over “Giant Steps“ because of its patterned nature. Steeped in big band shout chorus rhythms and motifs, her articulation frequently brings out 3 beat patterns particularly through use of the syllable “dl.“ One could argue, Ella’s syllabic choices are more like an instrumentalist in that within certain lines she only has a couple of different syllables. Look at for instance m. 8-11. Essentially, her approach is more horizontal.
Alternatively, Vaughan’s melodic approach is more vertical - usually outlining the changes. Much of it is 2 measure II V licks. This made it a bit harder to isolate and place over “Giant Steps.“ Likewise, she makes very diverse syllabic choices, moving from bright sounds like “wee” to dark sound like “sah” sometimes within one line. In this way, she sings in a less instrumental fashion than Ella Fitzgerald, but she makes use of a wide breadth of colorings available in the human voice.
