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Starting a Vocal Jazz Ensemble

by Roger Emerson

The First Step although SATB is the standard voicing for vocal jazz,
The most important first step to starting a vocal jazz SAB, SSA(A), and TTB(B) arrangements are also avail-
ensemble is: listen. There is no better teacher than our able. There are some challenges with diving right into
ears. So much of our choral tradition is aural; we have the twelve-voice, individually miked ensemble; instead,
developed our concept of choral tone and style by lis- keep it simple. A little larger group, say sixteen to twen-
tening and imitating and probably by a good deal of in- ty-four members, is a good place to start. Have them
struction in college. Unfortunately, with few exceptions sing in a half-circle around the piano. Pick charts (ar-
we did not get much training in vocal jazz as part of our rangements) with little or no divisi, fairly traditional
traditional choral curriculum, so we must play catch-up, jazz harmonies, and written-out solos. There are a few
and the best way to start is to use our intuitive musical listed at the conclusion of this article. Sing small ven-
nature and imitate the archetype. Familiarizing yourself ues that don’t require amplification. We will talk more
with the groups mentioned above is the place to start. about the challenges of amplification later.
My favorite “one-stop” CD is the New York Voic-
es album Sing, Sing, Sing, which represents an excellent
model for the high school vocal jazz ensemble. Dar- Vocal Tone
mon Meader’s SATB arrangements are beautiful and Your students are probably already into the close
well crafted. The material is drawn from the best of harmonies of contemporary unaccompanied groups
The Great American Songbook, and the vocal instruments such as Pentatonix, and if you have performed Eric
of Darmon, Kim Nazarian, Lauren Kinhan, and Peter Whitacre or Morten Lauridsen, you are well on your
Eldridge are stunning, natural, and healthy. Take 6, The way to having a concept of the vocal quality needed for
Real Group, Manhattan Transfer, Singers Unlimited, vocal jazz. It is light and generally straight (minimal vi-
Hi-Lo’s, and the Four Freshmen also provide wonderful brato). There are exceptions, but it is a reasonable start-
style models. After you listen… listen more to Ella Fitz- ing point. It is conversational and legato unless notated
gerald, Sarah Vaughan, Tierney Sutton, Mark Murphy, otherwise. Consonants are generally de-emphasized,
Kurt Elling, Chet Baker, and Jamie Cullum, to name and vowels are more horizontal as opposed to vertical.
a few vocal soloists. Don’t forget instrumentalists such The sound should be energetic but not oversung.
as Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Joe Pass, One reason the traditional choral director may be
and the big bands of Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton, and hesitant is that although the vocal jazz voice is healthy
Gordon Goodwin (his “Phat Band”). and still relies on proper breath support and freedom,
it does not generally employ tall vowels, emphasized
consonants, or vibrato, which are paramount in our
Getting Started concert ensembles. Just as we modify for much of our
Consider adding one or two vocal jazz selections to twentieth-century literature, we must do the same for
your fall or spring concerts. Your madrigal, chamber, our vocal jazz ensemble. As we have learned, the voice
or concert choir will love the challenge and the sonic has a variety of colors, and we should endeavor to ex-
freshness of this new medium, and the experience will plore them all.
allow you to experiment with the genre. After this ex-
perience, simply ask how many would like to try the re-
cently learned selection as part of a small group. This Picking Charts
will create the nucleus of your new ensemble and is The right choral chart can make or break your vocal
a relatively painless way to begin. Keep in mind that jazz experience. More often than not, groups perform

CHORAL JOURNAL September 2025 Volume 66 Number 2 59