Working with singers.
Ideally, the singer possesses a sound knowledge of music, has equal status with other band members and is considered to be a musician whose instrument happens to be the voice.
The reality is that some vocalists have a minimal grasp of music for practical purposes but are expected to act as the bandleader: stating the keys, tempo and arrangement. This situation often stems from the singer being required to front the band as a focal point.
Over the years I have advised vocalists as to their role and duties within a band situation. This chapter, however, is not a tirade against singers that ought to know better; it’s aimed at helping you, the keyboard player, to work with the singer in an efficient and cooperative manner.
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Choice of key
Do not assume that the key in your songbook will be
a suitable vocal key. The singer must be able to hit the top note
of the song without strain.
I recommend the following process:
1. Find a section of the song that contains the highest note.
2. Test this section with your singer by transposing the section down until the vocalist feels comfortable.
3. Double-check this new key by locating the section with the lowest note and ensuring the song is still in a singable range.
Many female singers choose to stay within their lower range when singing jazz, but I always encourage vocalists to explore the upper register. Listen to Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald for inspiration.
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Starting the song
Here are five options.
1. Count in, as explained in the previous chapter.
2. The pianist plays the starting note (known as the bell note). The singer and band then start simultaneously, without any need for a count-in.
3. The pianist provides a broken chord (arpeggio). If chord 1 of the song is a tonic, then your introductory chord will usually by the V7, perhaps with a raised 5th. If the song is in G major, this augmented chord would be D7(#5).
4. The final 4 bars of A1, concluding with a turnaround, are played as an intro. However, if the song is up-tempo, 8 bars might be preferable.
5. Many standards, particularly ballads, begin with a verse. This is often played out of tempo (colla voce: following the voice). Your role, therefore, is to follow the singer until the song falls into tempo (or falls apart!) on beat 1 of the chorus. Once again, it should be the singer’s responsibility to ‘bring the band in,’ but the leader or drummer can help out here.
• Seek out Tony Bennett’s version of All The Things You Are to hear its verse. (Incidentally, if you have any doubts about Bennett’s credentials as a jazz singer, listen to the two albums he made with Bill Evans.)
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Outro
Whether the song comes to a dead stop or slows down, it is again the singer’s responsibility to convey their intention to the band. To indicate an approaching tag (see above), the singer might revolve a finger clockwise.
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Arrangement
A typical arrangement might be as follows
1. Verse – sung.
2. Head – sung.
3. Solos.
4. Swap 4s.
5. Head – sung.
The singer may choose to return to the final head at the bridge. This should be conveyed to the band towards the end of the final solo.
The singer may also wish to take a solo in the form of a scat vocal. Scatting is when a singer uses nonsense sounds in place of lyrics in order to replicate an instrument.
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Comping behind the vocalist
While the melody is being sung, your comp should be supporting the tune. This can be achieved by placing the target melody notes at the top of your chord voicing.
Here are the first eight bars of All The Things You Are, illustrating a simple, rooted 8-bar comp. You can add your own rhythmic variations.
This type of comp can also be played when a single-note instrument (sax, trumpet etc.) is playing the melody.
Back to the head Although I dealt with this topic in the previous chapter, I’ll reiterate that the final soloist (particularly the drummer) should hand over to the singer with precision, rather than with a wild flurry of notes (or beats).
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