1. How do jazz singers count in?
A. One – two, you know what to do
B. My pianist always counts in
C. Of course, I can count, I don’t have to prove it
D. One – two, one, two, three, four
2. Who said: he was my source of inspiration and irritation, and why?
A. George Gershwin, about Ira Gershwin – it’s a thing between brothers
B. Rodgers about Lorenz Hart, because of his heavy drinking
C. Every couple that has been married for over 10 years
D. Marilyn Monroe about Einstein. Because everything is energy
3. What combination never happened?
A. Ella & Marilyn
B. Ella & Louis
C. Ella & Frank
D. Ella & Bruno
4. From which opera is the song Summertime?
A. Don Giovanni
B. Porgy & Bess
C. The living is easy
D. You’re the top
5. Which scale can you sing to a minor 7 chord?
A. The Dorian
B. The Yanks
C. The Ritz
D. The Lydian
6. How do jazz singers change a lightbulb?
A. They allow others to do it
B. They stand straight with one arm high and wait for the world to evolve around them
C. They are from the candlelight era
D. They sing for their supper and get breakfast, no lightbulbs involved
7. Which song did Billie Holiday sing but not write?
A. Forgotten fruit
B. Strange fruit
C. Old fruit
D. Vegan delight
8. Which song is not about food?
A. Frim Fram Sauce
B. Two For Tea
C. When I Take My Sugar To Tea
D. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
9. Who invented the saxophone?
A. Alexander Graham Bell
B. Adolphe Sax
C. The saxophone has always been there
D. S. O’phone
10. Who said: I never sing a song the same way twice?
A. Celine Dion
B. Billie Holiday
C. Sarah Vaughan
D. Ella Fitzgerald
Solutions:
- D – just keep on practicing
- B – as Hart would disappear without a trace
- D – but what if, what IF!
- C – check out the version with Sammy Davis Jr. as Sporting Life
- A – the Dorian: flat 3, flat 7. Of course!
- A, B, C and D
- B – Heart Wrenching
- D – A song written by Charles Mingus as an elegy for saxophonist Lester Young
- B – That wasn’t that hard, right?
- B. She also said: if I sing a song the same way twice, I needn’t sing at all. Just so you know! Heeeeere’s to jazz singers!
How many did you get right?
1 – 3 You’re getting there
4 – 6 Wonderful, marvelous (in a way)
7 – 9 I’d love to have coffee with you
10 You’re a real pro
