So You Want to Sing Jazz

In So You Want to Sing Jazz, singer and professor of voice Jan Shapiro gives a guided tour through the art and science of the jazz vocal style. Throughout, Shapiro hones in on what makes jazz singing distinctive, suggesting along the way how other types of singers can make use of jazz. She looks at such key matters in jazz singing as the role of improvisation, the place of specific singers who influenced and even defined vocal jazz as we know it today, and the unique way in which jazz incorporates vibrato, conversational delivery, rhythmic phrasing, and melodic embellishment and improvisation.

Jan Shapiro has been on the faculty of Boston's Berklee College of Music for the past 31 years. She is a world -class practitioner of the art of jazz singing. She served as chairwoman in Berklee College's vocal department for over a decade.

Chapter 1 - The History of Jazz and Elements of Jazz Singing Chapter 2 - Singing Jazz and Voice Science Chapter 3 - Vocal Health and the Vocal Jazz Artist Chapter 4 - Jazz Vocal Characteristics Chapter 5 - Developing Jazz Ears Chapter 6 - The Great American Songbook Chapter 7 - Scat and Interpretation Chapter 8 - Jazz Vocal Performance Chapter 9 - Jazz Singing as a Career