Demonstrating her creative and vocal prowess, Ella Fitzgerald refers to Louis via vocal impressions when she sings several lines in Louis' characteristic husky low register. Sarah Vaughan also covers a big band hit "Perdido." Vaughan is backed by a big band ensemble. Nevertheless, the singer's voice does not compete with the horn section. Her voice integrates itself perfectly with the big band backing her. Like Fitzgerald, Vaughan displays extraordinary range, flitting from one octave to the next. Her tone is rich and thick. Vaughan includes vocal flourishes such as shrieks and trills, and she does include scat at the end. Her command of "Perdido" is admirable, and she comes across as the band leader as well as the lead vocalist. Carrying the melody, Vaughan hits individual notes along a long scale as if her voice were a piano and when timing calls for it, she also inserts vocalizations as a horn section would.

Both Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan are legendary jazz vocalists, especially during the swing, big band, and bebop...

Fitzgerald and Vaughan share much in common in terms of their wide vocal range, rich tones, phrasing, and ability to intersperse trills, scat and other flourishes amid clearly enunciated lyrics. Although I have come to appreciate the two vocalists almost equally, Ella Fitzgerald's vocal range and especially her improvisational skills trump those of her contemporary.
Works Cited

"Bebop." HyperMusic: History of Jazz. Retrieved April 27, 2010 from http://www.hypermusic.ca/jazz/bop.html

"Big Band Music Information." Swing Music Net. Retrieved April 27, 2010 from http://www.swingmusic.net/Big_Band_Playlist.html

Fitzgerald, Ella. "Mack the Knife." YouTube video retrieved: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRyDB4RWJdw&feature=related

Vaughan, Sarah. "Perdido." YouTube video retrieved: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m1X6y9Gzhs&playnext_from=TL&videos=4DedhmpW2ZA

"What Jazz Has to Do with it." Swing Music Net. Retrieved April 27, 2010 from http://www.swingmusic.net/