Modern Life is Rubbish

“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage and kindness… The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.” ~ Howard Zinn.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Ella Fitzgerald's music

Ella Jane Fitzgerald, 1917 ~ 1996

I have to say i liked loved Ella Fitzgerald's music. Her music evoke a nostalgic feeling of childhood to a time when my grandmother was still around.

These interpretations of Gershwin's classics are my favourites. Although she don't have a so-called "big voice", hers is so soothing and full of emotion. Listening to this in the dark and alone makes one feel everything else is so 'unimportant'. Alone never felt so good.


Someone To Watch Over Me (a jazz standard that has been covered by many artistes)

Much as i liked her earlier swing era music and her scat/fast-singing in the bebop era, but it's her collaboration with the Gershwin's brother (under the Decca label) in the 50's that i keep coming back to. The music is mostly only accompanied by the piano. In them, Ella's voice has a certain warm, very attractive quality. It's a kind of "don't break my heart" fragile-like voice.


But Not For Me

2 comments:

Fi-sha said...

Dear Joshua

Nothing beats the music from her era.

I likened their songs like the best storytelling session that evokes my memories and emotions to their core.

Thanks for sharing...

p.s. I like to listen to Lite's Swing Time on Sunday Night.

modernlifeisrubbish said...

Fisha

And another thing is her diction. She pays great attention to the words of her song. You don't need to read the lyrics to understand the words.

Ya, those were the days when singers invest their emotion into the songs and make them their own. They're sensitive souls who feel too much.

Maybe it is this sensitivity to the world around them that causes their suffering. Billie Holiday is a perfect example. Her singing is so intense and heart-breakingly sad. But hers is also the archetypal tragic life...

Hey, you liked jazz too? Hmm, never thought a modern girl would listen to other music but 'pop'.