great ladies of jazz downloads galore

[cimorene]

i did a poll on the great ladies of jazz and most people wanted billie, nina and ella.  inside you can find several of my favourite songs ever.  there's billie holiday bouncy and catchy in "lock my heart and throw away the key" and "miss brown to you," intimate and introspective in "good morning heartache."  there's nina simone's defining recording of "i loves you porgy", ella fitzgerald and louis armstrong's of "summertime," and dinah washington's of "cry me a river."  for nina and her smoky voice there are the blues classics "nobody knows you when you're down and out" and "trouble in mind" (which has some of the best lyrics) and the spooky "tell me more and more and then some." there's ella singing a hooker song with a bafflingly sweet and innocent tone.  there's the slow, minor-keyed "brother, can you spare a dime?" sung by abbey lincoln and the confusingly up-beat "i know how it feels to be lonely" sung by morgana king.  and there's also some vastly amusing sexual innuendo.  yay!  jazz! 

billie holiday

billie holiday - lock my heart and throw away the key
fast-paced and bouncy
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=25J80GRA687CB0NI5ZWGNMCKCF

billie holiday - good morning heartache
wonderful blues delivered in a fairly conversational tone.  "might as well get used to you hangin round/ good morning, heartache, sit down."
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1OWV04XJOL8IU0U5GQSL8PXYMW

billie holiday - lover come back to me
i love the fast-paced songs by her.  awfully catchy and fun.
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3QQP55UU9YKLP0UC5XF0QGNP1V

billie holiday - miss brown to you
this one really shows off the little lovely quirks of her voice.
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3TE9R9X4P0P0P0OG2ZUJI2IZM3

billie holiday - the way you look tonight
romantic!
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1FBEMNGQ8I0SP2Y6O0FPEY6NI9

billie holiday - fine and mellow
a live recording that's NOT about her man cheating on her for once.
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1JCGD5YGV9S9Z1RAJ0Z506TXTK

nina simone

nina simone - i loves you porgy
one of her most famous recordings, and one of the most famous recordings of this song
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=12O1N507IY2920FDDR5WK2OSSE

nina simone - nobody knows you when you're down and out
classic blues
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2XMPAE0Q2YMIA3OHC1RJWJHZPR

nina simone - tell me more and more and then some
powerful and kinda spooky
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=21V8IB0EMEAPH0MJI6DGIBTYPI

nina simone - take me to the water
a classic spiritual
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2RCD1DY16BX8D0EPE30BJHSOV8

nina simone - trouble in mind
i'm blue/ but i won't be blue always/ cause the sun's gonna shine in my back door someday
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2O8XCEVI93OZ52XUEDTN95EAEG

nina simone - wild is the wind
mournful, plaintive, heart-rending if you're in the mood.
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1W80A1LDXQS2P2GJMFHBUK3SO6

nina simone - four women
this is evidently from some musical somewhere.  but hey, it's all in the delivery.
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1HQ34S4J54IXE3E4UDNG3R3000

ella fitzgerald

ella fitzgerald and louis armstrong - summertime
this is probably my favorite duet of all time.
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2NGD005ZW1OEB2H9FVY025TM0Q

ella fitzgerald - love is here to stay
this song is incredibly charming.
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=26NIA4JEN3S612C0Z137Q6RA5V

ella fitzgerald - let's fall in love
should be called "let's do it", but i guess that was too racy.
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3OBK75O5ZD6TM15G2SIGGK1W69

ella fitzgerald - don't mean a thing (if it ain't got that swing)
classic, live ella--her voice is so full and robust and she keeps laughing as she sings.  plus she does a lot of that really awesome vocal improv.
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3M3SEXEP9WABB269S0MKNIN72M

ella fitzgerald - love for sale
hooker song!
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2PP5HZ2CZOEJ81J76UXUAL30ZA

a sampling of other stuff

big mama thornton - i've searched the whole world over
elvis's "hound dog" was a cover of a song she did first, too.  she's a bit on the swing side.
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3VZUI7A8DWZB22JYENGHM6SPRS

abbey lincoln - brother can you spare a dime?
this song is just.  too awesome.
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1MPZN2XWK10R2185GGZP9G3R2H

lena horne - honeysuckle rose 
hi there with the suggestive lyrics! (was a toss-up between this and her "lover man";  but i plan to post that later when i post a batch of Songs That Everyone Has Done)
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=10YBLMM86X4FV35C798MF21KT5

sarah vaughan - it might as well be spring
the thing about her singing is that she sounds so absolutely earnest.
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2NSG0J9QFVWEF1QK32O3X49DXL

morgana king - i know how it feels to be lonely
has a quirky, very individual voice--and this is a great tune.
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0CF62EB2ND9K91EW4MHRAQIO9D

dinah washington - cry me a river
it always ticked me off that la timberlake's song wasn't a cover of this one.  one of my favorite songs.
http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=14MLIN2JOHJL02KMO12MCAW9CZ

Comments

[dorkorific.livejournal.com]

when i become a jazz singer and stand around in bars wearing sequined dresses/getting lung cancer from second hand smoke, will you think i am cool? because i WILL be.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

i don't know if you're very cool, but i love you anyway. and i'm glad you're alive too!

[aynatonal.livejournal.com]

Ooh, thanks for posting these! So much great stuff here. I'm *so* working up a strip for Tell Me More and More and then Some. We've already got a group number set to her version of Feelin' Good, but I say the more Nina, the merrier!

[cimness.livejournal.com]

ohhh :shiver: i just love her voice. she has the perfect voice to have sex to. kmazzy says fiona apple, but i've got to disagree.

[virgulesmith.livejournal.com]

mmmm I took quite a few, thank you!