Page 46 - CJSeptember25

Repertoire & Resources - Vocal Jazz

only programming jazz standards; I also focus on pro- together to create perfect pairs (two voices that comple-
gramming a lot of popular music that contains jazz ment each other to the point that they sound like one
harmony. It is important to teach the swing concept, voice), and this just depends on the singers you have at
but it’s even more important to explain the differences the time.
between swing, multiple Latin grooves, funk, and blues.
I enjoy presenting music the students are used to hear- Rhythm Section Considerations
ing regularly such as pop, hip-hop, R&B, gospel, and Another consideration is the rhythm section. I pre-
rock (as stated before, arrangements that contain jazz fer to have a combo (with guitar) as much as possible.
harmony). By expanding the stylistic variety, a director I’ve considered in the past having my group be a sole-
can broaden their programming tremendously. ly a cappella ensemble, but then I run into several is-
sues—mostly having the right bass singer and vocal
2) Sound of the ensemble. It’s not just about singing the percussionist (neither of which I have every year). A
right note and rhythms! The tone quality of the en- cappella groups are wonderful; they are, however, also
semble is essential and can be very intriguing from the limiting in terms of diversifying a concert program and
audience’s perspective. changing tonal sounds throughout your programming.
I like to not only blend styles but have combinations of
I also recommend picking music that is accessible tone colors happening throughout my set lists. Even on
to your ensemble. It’s so easy to pick music outside the instrumental solos, I try to be very careful about not
capabilities of the ensemble you currently have, and I asking the pianist to take every instrumental solo. I’m
have to remind myself of this every year. You might fortunate that I always have a solid rhythm section for
have to do some hunting for charts sometimes, but this my ensembles, so I try to have solo features as much as
is so important. Also, once you create your vision/mis- I can (this is why I love having guitar in the combo).
sion statement for the ensemble, stick with that. It will Other details to consider regarding rhythm sections:
be easier to track the growth of your ensemble this way.
1) Pick accessible charts that the rhythm can play as
Ensemble Size well!
The size of the ensemble depends on your vision for
the group and the sound you want to create. I want a 2) For drums: If you’re not a drummer, ask questions
bigger but well-blended sound out of my ensemble, so about how they play their instrument and how their
I prefer to have twelve singers in the group (three on a play changes between each style of music that your
part). For SSATB material, I always look for two lead group would perform. For example, in swing music,
sopranos, one second soprano, one first alto, and two I like my drummer to play a flat ride because I don’t
low altos (splitting the second soprano and first alto to want them hitting the bell of the ride cymbal. It causes
the middle part on three-way splits). too many overtones to the point that it could wash out
Another detail I look for is finding a combination the sound of the entire vocal ensemble, and then I have
of larger and smaller voices that blend well together a balance issue to deal with.
to achieve the sound I would like for the group. This
process is highly influenced by the St. Olaf Choir voice 3) For bass: It helps to have a bass player who is com-
matching method, applied to a vocal jazz ensemble. I fortable on both acoustic and electric. For bass solos,
voice match all the students and have them sing in the I encourage them to play the solo in the upper half
same formation throughout the entire year (sometimes, of the fret board to show more volume, contour, and
I change the formation at the beginning of the semes- versatilely.
ters if needed). Standing formation, plus mixing larg-
er and smaller voices together, will aid in the overall 4) For guitar: If you perform music in different styles,
tone quality of the ensemble. Within each section, I the guitarist could provide unique tone colors for your
also look for bigger and smaller voices that match well charts. If they perform any style outside of Latin or

44 CHORAL JOURNAL September 2025 Volume 66 Number 2