Some singers are so distinctive that when you’re in the mood for them no one else will do.
Blossom Dearie (1924-2009), “They Say It’s Spring,” 1958*
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lagniappe
reading table: Albion Beatnik Bookstore, Oxford, England
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*BD, vocals, piano; Herb Ellis, guitar; Ray Brown, bass; Jo Jones, drums.
A vocal coach can help with many things—intonation, breathing, range—but not the most important thing: personality.
Blossom Dearie, “Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” live (TV broadcast), early 1960s
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lagniappe
[Blossom Dearie’s voice] would scarcely reach the second storey of a doll’s house.—Whitney Balliett
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[Blossom Dearie’s] the only white woman who ever had soul.—Miles Davis
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