The Classic Girl’s Guide To Jazz
Plus, book club is TONIGHT!
Book Club Is TONIGHT!
Join us tonight (3/15) for a Google Meet book club discussion! This month we read The Midnight Library and it gave me a lot of food for thought. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
I’m so excited to see you all and chat with you LIVE. To join tonight’s book club, you must use the EXCLUSIVE link I sent to my paid subscribers. Can’t wait to see you there!
What You Might Have Missed At Classically Abby…
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Quote of the Week:
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” - Frederick Douglass
Classic Style Inspo
A red lip never goes out of style! I like to wear red lipsticks for special occasions and I always think it dresses up my outfit. Find a color that works for your skin tone, and make sure that it makes your teeth look white! That’s a danger with red lipstick - sometimes, the wrong color can make your teeth look yellow.
Things I’ve Been Loving: Striped Pillow Covers
Since moving to our new home, our couch’s throw pillows have been giving me grief simply because they didn’t match the look of our living room. So I hopped over to Amazon and found these beautiful pillow covers - and voila! They look so great on our couch and they’re wonderful quality.
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I'm a wife, mama, opera singer, entrepreneur, YouTuber, and your guide to becoming the classic woman you've always wanted to be! Follow me on YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter to see how! And together, let's be classic.
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The Classic Girl’s Guide To Jazz
Hello classic crew and happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a lovely start to their week. As you know if you listened to my podcast update, we are getting ready for Mr. Baby’s first birthday party! I can’t believe he’s already one years old! He’s growing up so fast, and it makes me emotional to think about. Especially because we are also weaning! I didn’t really have a goal for how long I wanted to breastfeed - all I knew was that I wanted to do it. But making it to a year, which is when a baby can stop with formula and breastmilk and switch over to cow’s milk, is a huge accomplishment for me and I am really proud of both me and my son. It’s really emotional ending this chapter for us, but I know it’s the right time. I just can’t imagine stopping completely because it’s been a full year of nursing sessions! I guess I might have to buy myself a non-nursing-friendly dress to make myself feel better that this chapter is coming to a close. 😂
I decided I really wanted to throw a big party for Mr. Baby’s first birthday for a few reasons. The first is that I love party planning, and how many times do you get to throw a real themed party? Not as much as you would think! Second, I know that Mr. Baby won’t remember his first birthday, but I like to think of it as a celebration for everyone else. We are celebrating him because we love him and we are so glad that we get to be a part of his life! Some people roll their eyes at me and say, “Oh, well, this party is really for you.” And you know what? I’m okay with that! The first year of motherhood is a huge accomplishment for anyone, and I think it’s great to celebrate this milestone. It’s not only your baby’s first birthday, but also the first anniversary of you becoming a mom - and that’s pretty great.
In today’s article, I wanted to share with you all The Classic Girl’s Guide to Jazz. I grew up listening to jazz because my dad is a jazz pianist, and I think it’s up there as one of the most classic genres of music to listen to. Why?
Well, first of all, the lyrics in jazz are wonderful. You don’t get the silly, vapid, nonsense that so much of pop is today. Instead of songs like “Baby, baby, baby, oh!” (Justin Bieber, I’m looking at you), you’ll hear “Someday, when I’m awfully low, when the world is cold, I will feel a glow just thinking of you - and the way you look tonight.” I mean, which speaks to you more? On top of that, the song lyrics actually rhyme! It seems we live in a day and age where no one thinks of the craft that goes into lyrics - instead, they think of the emotions. So we get a ton of songs that are emotionally driven but don’t use the language well. Words don’t actually rhyme, the emphasis is on the wrong syllable, it’s a mess.
Second, the music itself is interesting and fun. It can range from slow and sensual to fast and exciting. There’s a ton of improvisation and scat-singing that adds a sense of drama to each song - where will they go? What will they do? The singers and instrumentalists are of an incredibly high caliber, partly because they have to think on their feet since improv is such a huge part of jazz. That’s why I’m sharing not only singers with you today, but some of my favorite jazz instrumentalists as well.
Lastly, jazz is from a different time and era. It’s from a time when women wore dresses and men asked them to dance. It’s from a time when there were no “talking stages” and people dated for marriage, plain and simple. Were there issues in this time period? Of course! But when we picture the beauty of Audrey Hepburn in a Givenchy dress or Frank Sinatra crooning a tune, we all feel just a little more classic, don’t we? So let’s get into a list of my top five jazz albums that every classic woman should have in their Spotify playlist.
Ella in Hollywood - Ella Fitzgerald. Ella Fitzgerald is one of the most important jazz singers that every classic woman should know. She was known for her incredible range and her unique tone, as well as her amazing improvisational abilities. There’s a song on this album where she scats for 10 minutes just because she can! What is scatting? Scatting is vocal improvisation with nonsense syllables. And she was a master of it! I love this album because it was a live recording of her in concert, so you can get a feel for her personality as well as her singing voice. I also happen to love the songs on this album. One of my favorites is her take on Blue Moon, a song that is normally a ballad and which she turned into an upbeat bop, if you don’t mind me saying!
Songs For Swingin’ Lovers! - Frank Sinatra. Frank Sinatra is another staple of this genre. He is just the best! The way he plays with rhythm is what makes him so fun to listen to. His version of so many songs is iconic. I grew up on this album and it’s one of my favorite albums of all time. It has some of the most classic songs of this era and many of them Sinatra made famous! If you’ve never gone swing dancing, watch a couple of YouTube videos, then put this album on and dance the night away. I love every song on this album, but the first one is a perfect one to start with - You Make Me Feel So Young!
An Evening With George Shearing and Mel Torme. Mel Torme, also known as the Velvet Fog, is another standout from this period of jazz. His voice is smooth like velvet, which is where he gets his nickname. George Shearing was a jazz pianist, and the two of them collaborated on this album. I love this recording because, again, it’s live in concert so you get to feel like you are there with them. I also like this album because it’s a little more intimate - Mel Torme isn’t performing with a big band, he’s performing just with a pianist and bassist. Now, I love a big band, don’t get me wrong! But there’s something I love about this duo. Check out A Nightingale Sang in Berkely Square - it’s one of my favorite songs EVER.
Mercy Mercy - Buddy Rich Big Band. Now we’re moving into bands, not singers! Buddy Rich was the most famous jazz drummer of his time. He is absolutely incredible - his rhythm, his improvisation, it’s all incredible to listen to. This album is one of his most famous and for good reason. Again, it’s a live recording, which I love! I adore so many tracks on this album, so it’s hard to choose just one, but Preach and Teach is really fun.
The Essential Benny Goodman. Benny Goodman, also known as “The King of Swing” was a clarinetist and a band leader. You probably know his music without even realizing it! I actually was introduced to Benny Goodman when I was about 20, and I fell in love with his music. THIS is big band jazz, and it sets the standard for what great jazz sounds like. I’m recommending this compilation CD because it’s been remastered and it’s got all of his greatest hits. Start with Sing, Sing, Sing - I’m guessing you’ve already heard it!
Do you like jazz? If you do, what albums and musicians do you recommend? Leave a comment down below!
Any Questions for Nikki Phillippi?
YouTuber Nikki Phillippi is joining me on my podcast tomorrow, and I want to hear from YOU. Submit YOUR questions for next week's podcast in the comments below! As well, if you’d like to send a more personal question, feel free to send it to askclassicallyabby@gmail.com.
I love this! I don't listen to a lot of music lately, mostly because I'm completely over all of the modern options, but I will definitely be checking out some of these albums!