Submitted by Carol Maillard, Apr 24, 2007 23:15

In my experience as a singer, songwriter and performing artist, scatting is an important component (not the only one) if the performance of Jazz. It is for a singer what the improvisational skill of riffing a line is for a horn, percussion or string player or anyo other musician. It's the freedom of expression and the expansion of musical ideas that make Jazz the African American powerhouse that it is. If one simply imitates the notes a composer has written over and over the absolute way it's written one might as well be sitting in an 18th century European parlor listening to Western classical music. If you say it one way,why repeat it the same way? Were you not effective or heard? Was you intention not felt? Jazz is alive and vibrant. It contains both structure and freedom all at the same time. Perhaps Ms. Reeves was simply feeling her creativity differently with the concert in 2004. The "Goodnight and Goodluck" soundtrack was a different genre altogether. She was not Dianne Reeves, but a character which had limitations and demands in terms of expression. The character was on a radio show and she was the "girl" singer. She also had the input of a director and a storyline to express through the songs. Some songs call for a gentle and "simple" touch and some let a singer soar. How can a singer of Ms. Reeves magnitude and talent be judged as "good" or "not so good"? Was it badly sung, off pitch, terribly arranged or a bad song choice for her range? And maybe she didn't express her natural self by "overscatting" because she wasn't feeling it that way? It is so frustrating to hear and see reviews of this caliber because it imposes an narrow idea of what "Jazz" actually is and can be. It is musical freedom of expression, polyrhythmic beats, riffing, exchange between musicians and always a sense of soul from the very depths of the performers arsenal of talents. Peace...

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