Your musical taste is a little highbrow for me, but
Have you heard Pavarotti singing It's a man's world, with James Brown.
Check it out on YouTube, and tell me what you think.
There are actually very few singers I take the trouble to listen to, tbh Paul, but my "taste" is er, well my job so I guess the two are pretty intertwined. But I have been drawn to certain types of voice such as Kathleen Ferrier, some Russian vocalists, also the likes of Petula Clark and Lou Rawls, oh and Nat King Cole
I've always been fascinated by collaborations between two genres - you might remember the great jazz violinist Stephane Grapelli with whom Yehudi Menuhin went into brief partnership. Having had pianists who are involved in light music or improvising come for lessons because they feel somehow guilty, less able or just that they aren't doing it "properly", there is no doubt in my mind that a sort of envy exists between musical types, but unjustifiably so. It implies that one form of music is better than another which I'm not prepared to accept. When you think of the popular appeal and connection non-classical music creates I don't know how one (without becoming a snob basically) can argue for a table of merit.
What floats one's boat however is
entirely different!
It is heartening though to witness the respect for each other's qualities in performances such as the one you directed me to - I found it interesting but unlikely to draw me into repeat viewing.....however I have been known, as might have been divulged elsewhere, to ferret around in some heavy metal (no Dad, it's ROCK music, my eldest lad insists
) in more recent years, which has shown me an extra dimension of understanding and enjoyment regarding rhythm - I find it useful when offering descriptions to students even if it only makes the lesson a tad more interesting!
