swap_horiz Kurt Elling Alternatives

1

Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong was a pivotal figure in early 20th-century American music. As a trumpeter and vocalist, he significantly...

Classic Swing Vocals New Orleans

9.9 Brilliant

2

Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday was an American jazz musician renowned for her distinctive vocal style. Her interpretations of blues and...

Classic Blues Swing Vocals

9.7 Brilliant

3

Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald is an iconic American jazz vocalist celebrated globally for her exceptional vocal range and improvisatio...

Classic Songbook Swing Vocals

9.6 Brilliant

4

Sarah Vaughan

Sarah Vaughan was a U.S. singer whose wide range and bebop phrasing earned her major postwar acclaim and a 1989 Grammy L...

Virtuoso Classic Bebop Vocals

9.3 Excellent

5

Nat King Cole

Nat King Cole was an American jazz pianist and singer who led the King Cole Trio from 1937 and hosted a national televis...

Classic Piano Swing Vocals

9.2 Excellent

6

Nina Simone

Nina Simone was an American singer, pianist, and civil rights voice whose 1964 song Mississippi Goddam joined jazz, clas...

Classic Piano Jazz Soul

8.9 Great

7

Fats Waller

Fats Waller was a U.S. pianist, organist, and songwriter who advanced stride piano and recorded widely popular jazz side...

Classic Piano Organ Vocals

8.8 Great

8

Dinah Washington

Dinah Washington was an American jazz and blues singer, nicknamed Queen of the Blues, whose 1959 hit What a Diff'rence a...

Classic Jazz Rnb Blues

8.7 Great

9

George Benson

George Benson is an American guitarist and singer whose jazz-pop crossover reached a wide audience with the 1976 Grammy-...

Classic Guitar Smooth Jazz Vocals

8.5 Great

10

Dianne Reeves

Dianne Reeves is an American jazz singer from Denver whose rich contralto and improvising earned Grammy wins for four co...

Modern Songbook Soulful Vocals

8.5 Great

11

Cecile McLorin Salvant

Cecile McLorin Salvant is an American jazz singer from Miami whose theatrical phrasing won the 2016 Grammy for For One t...

Modern Songbook Theatrical Vocals

8.5 Great

12

Carmen McRae

Carmen McRae was an American jazz singer and pianist from Harlem, born in 1920, noted for precise phrasing and influenti...

Classic Bebop Vocals Ballads

8.4 Great

13

Betty Carter

Betty Carter was an American jazz vocalist known for bold improvisation; her 1988 album Look What I Got! won the Grammy...

Classic Avant Garde Bebop Vocals

8.4 Great

14

Mel Torme

Mel Torme was an American jazz singer, drummer, and songwriter, nicknamed the Velvet Fog and co-writer of The Christmas...

Classic Swing Cool Vocals

8.4 Great

15

Cassandra Wilson

Cassandra Wilson is an American singer from Mississippi who blended jazz with blues and folk, winning a 1996 Grammy for...

Modern Jazz Blues Roots

8.4 Great

16

Jack Teagarden

Jack Teagarden was a U.S. trombonist and singer whose fluid technique and blues feeling made him a leading jazz trombone...

Classic Trombone Brass Swing

8.3 Great

17

Anita O'Day

Anita O'Day was an American jazz singer noted for rhythmic phrasing, rising with Gene Krupa's band in 1941 and appearing...

Classic Swing Cool Bebop

8.2 Great

18

Dee Dee Bridgewater

Dee Dee Bridgewater is an American jazz singer and actress who won a Tony Award in 1975 for The Wiz and later led Grammy...

Modern Theater Swing Vocals

8.2 Great

19

Gregory Porter

Gregory Porter is an American jazz singer and songwriter whose warm baritone won Grammy awards for Liquid Spirit in 2014...

Modern Songbook Vocals Soul Jazz

7.6 Good

20

Jazzmeia Horn

Jazzmeia Horn is an American jazz vocalist from Dallas who won the 2015 Thelonious Monk Institute vocal competition and...

Modern Vocals Scat Bandleader

7.2 Good