‘All or nothing at all’: Crossing over from classical singing to jazz
Sometimes I worry that the musical world is a little too separatist. I can’t tell you how many times growing up learning to sing I was told I had to choose between classical singing and musical theatre despite loving both and just wanting to have fun. And the whole issue seems compounded by “cross-over”, a word that drips with negative connotations.
By training, I’m a classical soprano. But, like many, I love jazz, and I’ve sung along to Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett since I was a kid and a performance by Sarah Connolly, the operatic mezzo, inspired me to look more seriously at the difference and possible similarities between the vocal genres of classical and jazz.
Her rendition of ‘But not for me’ as an encore after a classical music concert with the Britten Sinfonia was as engaging and convincing as the rest of the C20th American art-song programme that proceeded it, even though, or perhaps because of the fact, her entire performance persona changed. Microphone in hand, scatting over Nelson Riddle arrangements of Jazz Standards, she seemed as comfortable as singing a Handel aria.
This got me thinking, why haven’t more singers bridged the gap between classical and jazz, and what it might take to do so.
A little googling, and I found that a small selection of top operatic singers such as sopranos Renée Flemming, Jessye Norman and bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff, have enjoyed a foray into jazz, some more successfully than others. And I think a lot can be learnt by allowing ourselves to explore different genres.
From the perspective of a singer training in the classical style, jazz can seem a world away.
It seems that with classical repertoire the singer has to fit the prerequisites set forth by the composer, performance tradition, and convention. Essentially, the singer moulds them self to fit the part or the song and attempts to correctly reproduce the score. In contrast jazz singers mould repertoire to fit them, finding the right key to suit their voice and the mood they want to establish rather than forcing themselves into a pre-made mould. There is an accepted convention that though there is respect for the composer that is secondary to the artist’s intentions and individuality. In Jazz the artist becomes ‘co-creator’ of the music, an attitude I personally think is beneficial and one the classical world could learn much from when considering the role of the performer.
In terms of vocal timbre, jazz singing only uses vibrato as an occasional colour and tends of exploit the distinction between vocal registers whereas classical singers endeavour to make a consistent tone throughout the range, and vibrato is often considered integral to vocal quality.
Not only that, but Jazz often uses a microphone. As Thomas Quastoff comments “Classical singers don't usually use a microphone, but it opens up so many colours and textures. You can whisper and it can be heard.’ Indeed, a classical singer needs to hear their voice in a natural acoustical environment without artificial support but when singing jazz the singer needs to become accustomed to hearing themselves through amplification. The sensation has an element of detachment, much like playing an instrument, as the source of sound is removed from your physical body alone, but successful mic technique makes the mic an extension of the voice. Using a mic and learning how to adapt to it, can help any singer discover different expressive colours that can be distilled and used in classical repertoire.
In jazz, the singer is given free reign with their interpretation whereas in classical singing artists tend to be rigidly confined by an imagined fidelity to the composer. By experimenting with the extremity of freedom offered in jazz, singers can learn to be looser rhythmically when interpreting classical repertoire, being more expressive and less metronomic. Granted, this will have to be achieved in a more confining context, but such an approach would allow for a more convincingly communicative and individual performance.
Similarly, we might learn from jazz to concentrate less on a homogenous ‘beautiful’ legato sound, and think more in terms of expressive colour. We are all guilty of occasionally indulging in our own sound, which can sometimes come at the expense of musicality and expressivity, but think of how the contrast of registers and dynamics in jazz could be transferred into lieder or English song to express aspects the text, as an extension of word painting. Through jazz singing, you are allowing your voice not to be “perfect” which is surprisingly liberating making you braver to experiment with new expressive means in classical singing. Renee Flemming, for example, acknowledges that jazz singing taught her to be much more instinctive.
Another performance approach that can be transferred from jazz music is the importance of interaction. Just as in lieder, where the relationship with the piano is vital, jazz performance emphasises the awareness and interaction of musicians, where one might spontaneously imitate and develop phrases or “‘licks’” from another. Cultivation of awareness is important for any genre and classical singers might use this technique in performance, especially when their vocal line interplays with an instrument’s solo melody line like in shepherd on the rock, or with obligato instruments in Bach’s passions.
When googling classical singers who’ve forayed into jazz I found an interesting comment from an Amazon review of Flemming’s Haunted Hearts jazz album, commenting on her use of “natural” voice instead of her operatic voice. It seems that issues of vocal identity and authenticity are raised for performers who sing in more than one style. Questions like which is their real voice?
Assuming a different vocal persona by changing the sound of your voice can often be viewed as negative. There are certain expectations attached to the performance of different musical genres and also with the relationship of how someone should look and sound. We are constantly pigeon-holing and labeling performers, especially in classical music, with voice types and categories. For commercial purposes it’s easier to sell a product with one clearly defined image and the strength of this could be convoluted by presenting multiple performance identities. But there are no vocal types in jazz, just individuals, and I think adaptability and fluidity of performance identity can be a strength and an exciting challenge; on an obvious level it changes entire styles, on a more nuanced level changes can be used to evoke a mood or shade a word. Having multiple personas is not to be confused with emulating another performer, indeed Thomas Quasthoff advises “Don't be an imitation of someone else”, …. rather Jazz is about learning how to personalize a song and in any style it is important as a performer not to merely sing a song as another artist interpreted it.
Personally, I find that both my classical voice and jazz voice are on some level constructed, as is the nature of performance, but ultimately identity comes not from having one ‘natural’ voice, but from being convincing, committed and confident in any performance, which may mean altering your vocal approach. And above all, it is about enjoying yourself. British Mezzo Alice Coote says “I hate being boxed up in any way. I am who I am and every voice is completely individual. I don’t even want to sound like a singer, manufacturing sound. I just want to be a human being communicating through music.”
I believe there are many benefits for the exploration of other vocal genres, not just in terms of technique but also in ethos. So why is there still a fallacy that performers have to choose and specialize in only one genre? Why is there a chasm in the musical world between jazz and classical? Soprano Jessye Norman says “I don't like the idea that classical music should be over here and jazz should be someplace else. It's all wonderful, and we should be open to enjoying it all." Whatever your performance style, opening up new possibilities through broadening musical experience can only be a good thing.
