Jazz, blues and nostalgia, by Sjaak Roodenburg. Today: Peggy Lee.
Like no other, Peggy Lee understood the Art of Omission. She had a voice that was labelled with such terms as smoky or breathy – sensual to the highest degree. Although she only had a small voice, she was able to give a large concert hall the allure of an intimate nightclub. It is striking that Peggy Lee did not just become one of the very greatest in pop-culture (she is the only female singer to have had top ten hits in the 40s, 50s and 60s, with songs such as ‘Fever’ and ‘It’s a Good Day’), but that she also managed to achieve that same feat in jazz music. She was wonderful at performing songs in which the lyrics were the most important element (such as ‘Black Coffee’, ‘Don’t Smoke in Bed’ or ‘Is That All There Is?’) and just as easily worked with comical repertoire (for example ‘Mañana’). Despite that small voice she managed to effortlessly hold her own beside the force of Benny Goodman’s big band and could swing infectiously with the combo of pianist George Shearing.
Jazz author Leonard Feather remarked: “If you don’t feel a thrill when Peggy Lee sings, you’re dead, Jack.” We will find out that this is indeed the case, in this first part of the diptych about The Silent Seduction of Peggy Lee.
