Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald were friends and influential singers of the Swing Era. Each singer possessed a unique musical style that continues to be emulated by today’s jazz singers. Listen to Billie Holiday’s Back in Your Own Back Yard and Ella Fitzgerald’s Flying Home. [Back In Your Own Back Yard (Gridley, Chapter 5, Page 83: Jazz Classics for Concise Guide to Jazz CD 1 track 11; Flying Home: Chapter 5, Page 86: Jazz Classics for Concise Guide to Jazz CD 1 track 12]. Respond to each prompt. Then, offer commentary regarding the similarities and differences between the examples. | Back In Your Own Back Yard (Billie Holiday) | Flying Home (Ella Fitzgerald) | Similarities and Differences | Tempo (slow, medium, fast, dance-like?) | Medium / Slow Tempo | Medium / Fast Tempo | Back Yard is different as slower tempo, as Flying Home is more faster/up-beat | Swing feel (Do you sense a weak, medium, or strong rhythmic pulse? Which song has a stronger pulse?) | Medium pulse | Strong pulse | Medium pulse Strong pulse Flying Home has a stronger pulse | Syncopation (Is there evidence of syncopation or tugging and pulling against the musical pulse?) | Tugging/Pulling background of Lester Young playing the Sax. | Guitar elements give like a dirtier sound. There is disorienting being heard | The syncopation seems to be more apparent with the tone in Flying Home; pure and supple tone compared to Backyard. | Lyrics (What story, if any, is told by lyrics each artist sings?) | That you left your happiness at home, in the backyard. | Hard to say because of the scat, but seems to have a feel of freedom to be flying home | Two different stories being told with similar subjects on life, yet there is happiness in both. | Voice quality (Use adjectives to describe the different timbre of each singer’s voice.) | Soft and fainting voice
Drawn out voice Racy fast voice |