I found an old cassette my parents had of Lady Day. "The Best Of", I believe. Her voice was very distinct, and I actually enjoyed quite a lot of the songs on the album. They were cute! And fun.
In grade nine, I joined the school jazz band on tenor sax. We had quite the repertoire that year and I just fell in love. I later switched to alto sax. In played for the Kitchener Musical Society Band (which always had a few jazzy numbers here and there.) And the Rainbow Concert Band out in Vancouver with some similar pieces.
I am a fan of karaoke; when I recognized some of the same songs from the Billie Holiday album in the catalogue, I decided to see if I could remember them all... As it turns out, the jazzy kinds of tunes are well suited to my type of voice.
I was finding more and more songs I recognized by different artists, particularly Old Blue Eyes, of course... When I sing other styles, like Carole King or Simon and Garfunkel, I don't get nearly the positive responses from the audience as I do after a bluesy ballad or an up-beat swing. I may have found my niche and I like it.
