Mary Sings Jazz.

**Ollie9** · 11-12-2013, 01:32 PM

There have been a lot of messages over the years regarding Mary Wilson singing Supremes songs in concert. A good deal of these postings mention how awful she sounds when attempting to sing lead on these songs. The fact is nearly every singer i have ever heard, no matter how talented generally pales when conpared to Diana's original vocals. These songs were written with her voice in mind. Mary has proved she has a great jazz voice. That is the genre of music she should have been singing decades ago, not wasting her jazz chops on pop valentines, as classic as they are. Talented singers such as Casandra wilson or Lalah Hathaway who have deep smokey voices i'm sure would sound pretty bad attempting Baby Love or Stop In The Name Of Love. IMO there is only one female singer that can ever interprete these songs and that is Diana herself..

RossHolloway · 11-12-2013, 01:49 PM

Well I've been to two Mary Wilson concerts, and both times she has sounder WONDERFUL in concert, especially singing Supreme material.

**marybrewster** · 11-12-2013, 01:57 PM

Lalah Hathaway is BADASS. Miss Woman can sing CHORDS. Blows ANY artist out of the water.

Check out starting at 6:14. That's some joyful noise.

**Ollie9** · 11-12-2013, 02:37 PM

Luuuv it!!! Such a talented singer. This is the direction Mary should have gone years ago. The jazz stylings in her voice are lost on Supremes songs. Like pouring fine wine into a bowl of punch me thinks.

supremester · 11-12-2013, 06:03 PM

Everyone's taste is different. I think Mary is not a Supremes classic singer, but I like her ballads etc. I think Mary was so emeshed in The Supremes' milieu, that going in a perhaps more realistic direction didn't occur to her until it was decades later, but she wanted to be a pop star or rock star or whatever. After all, she saw her childhood bud become a legend, I think she thought she could as well........ and might have if pointed in the right direction. If I had been Mary's hubby [[and thus, managing The Supremes) I'd have given mary a ten minute cool jazz solo segment in the show and not have her lead on any of the hits except her duets. There is a missed opportunity there for sure. Hathawy is off the chart! OMG

**marv2** · 11-12-2013, 06:44 PM

Mary is excellent! Here is one of my more recent favorite performances of hers:

**Ollie9** · 11-13-2013, 04:18 AM

Great performance. She really does have her own unique sound and style. In a perfect world Mary would be signed to Blue Note and recording the sixth jazz/soul album by now....but thats life i guess. Have always thought she was the most underrated Supreme. Not so keen on that frock though!!

**luke** · 11-13-2013, 01:42 PM

I saw Mary's show about 18 months ago. I think she only sang two full Supremes song, one of which was the best version of My World is Empty Without Babe Ive ever heard. I do think she should never sing You Cant Hurry Love.

**marv2** · 11-13-2013, 09:05 PM

Originally Posted by luke

I saw Mary's show about 18 months ago. I think she only sang two full Supremes song, one of which was the best version of My World is Empty Without Babe Ive ever heard. I do think she should never sing You Cant Hurry Love.

When she sang "Stoned Love" out at Coney Island, I was floored! I had not heard her sing it in concert since the 80's and she nailed it! Her band is super talented.

**marv2** · 11-13-2013, 10:26 PM

Mary sings the best version of "Body and Soul" I've heard [[other than Sarah Vaughn).

**luke** · 11-14-2013, 01:22 PM

Marv, when was the Coney Island concert?

**skooldem1** · 11-14-2013, 01:30 PM

Mary has a nice smooth tone but what she lacks is emotional depth. She is no Gladys Knight, Lalah Hathaway, Oleta Adams, Anita Baker or Toni Braxton.

**marv2** · 11-14-2013, 07:49 PM

Originally Posted by luke

Marv, when was the Coney Island concert?

Luke, it was around the end of July 2011.

**rod_rick** · 11-14-2013, 09:38 PM

Ross
I agree with you Mary sounds pretty good singing most of the Supreme songs, and she she has the right to do so. It's funny how people keep saying that Mary should have been singing jazz long ago but Mary has said herself those are songs [[Supreme recordings) people want to hear. If you notice when she does her Jazz set they are in small intimate club as opposed to when she does her Supreme set in larger venues. Mary has to make money so I don't mind her doing the Supreme songs.

**detmotownguy** · 11-15-2013, 01:50 AM

Thanks marv for the refresh on this interpretation of I don't know why. She sounds so sexy.

**detmotownguy** · 11-15-2013, 01:53 AM

And they said she couldn't sing!

**detmotownguy** · 11-15-2013, 01:57 AM

I saw Mary nearly replicas Nathan jones a while back....she nailed it!

honest man · 11-15-2013, 10:36 AM

Mary has a nice smooth tone but what she lacks is emotional depth. She is no Gladys Knight, Lalah Hathaway, Oleta Adams, Anita Baker or Toni Braxton. no she is none of the above great singers,she is a BACKGROUND SINGER in reality,GET BACK TO YOUR MICROPHONE[ As Diana used to to tell her]Cheers.

**luke** · 11-15-2013, 11:25 AM

Doesnt make sense. Ive never seen "just" a background singer keep a career going for 36 years as a solo performer and get a rave from the NY TImes etc.

**marv2** · 11-15-2013, 11:54 AM

Originally Posted by luke

Doesnt make sense. Ive never seen "just" a background singer keep a career going for 36 years as a solo performer and get a rave from the NY TImes etc.

and you never will , because she is NOT a background singer! She was assigned and held that position for 9-10 years of her 54 year career! She's been out front and singing lead for over 35 years.

**splanky** · 11-16-2013, 03:38 PM

I'm never followed Mary Wilson career after the Supremes , there were, still are too many
other singers putting in serious work over the years with a wide range of mostly self
chosen material. But I'm not here to knock Mary, in fact I was pleasantly suprised by nice
she sounded with the Rhythm Kings. It actually sounded to me like someone HAD actually
been studying Cassandra Wilson work in vocal delivery and arrangement. Was that Mary or
her musical director? I don't know. If she thinks she has the chops and sensibilities to
start a jazz career she so best to assemble a band, get into a studio and just go at it. She's
too old to chase a pop career for the most part but jazz don't care how old you are or get.
You can sing post strokes, amputations even dementia long as your chops hold up.
The second thing is I do not at all agree with Ollie9's statements about D.R. being the only
singer who could interpret those songs and there no rule saying, again back to Cassandra
Wilson couldn't sing Baby Love if she found a different arrangement to suit her voice. She's
a true jazz singer, that's what they do. She did a bang up version of Papa Was A Rolling Stone
on Regina Carter's Motor City Moments album...
But the real reason I came on this thread, my first time on a Mary Wilson one, I think,
was to comment on that Lalah Hathaway with Snarky Puppy. I have a few things with Lalah on them and maybe two of her release but I've always been able to take or leave most of
her stuff. She's never impressed me enough to pay more than a few head bobs. Til today.
I'm a skeptic by nature, a cynic to the grave and I'm still of the opinion that there was probably some electronic hocus-pocus to her performance but if she has actually developed
the ability to sing CHORDS [[!) that is a bigger deal than this little corner of the web we have
on the Motown Forum. I know Dianne Reeves has in recent years paid closer attention to
her upper register, utilising it more, check out her Temptation's song Just My Imagination,
but if this chord singing is something better singers than Lalah can learn and perform
consistently it could change the whole game all around. Dianne herself, Rene Marie, Cyrille
Aimee, Gretchen Parlotta, the incredible Cecile Mcloren Salvant...This is a development I'll
be watching....

**Roberta75** · 11-16-2013, 04:03 PM

Originally Posted by luke

Doesnt make sense. Ive never seen "just" a background singer keep a career going for 36 years as a solo performer and get a rave from the NY TImes etc.

Stand by your man
And show the world you love him
keep giving all the love you can
Stand by your man.

I hope Marv propose real soon Luke. Lol

**marv2** · 11-16-2013, 04:39 PM

Mary Wilson - Ne Me Quitte Pas [[If You Go Away) :

**Ollie9** · 11-16-2013, 06:12 PM

For Baby Love to work for a singer such as Cassandra Wilson the style of the song would have to be totally reworked into a jazz arrangement. Yes i agree, it could indeed be done. When i said i think Diana is the best female interpreter of such songs i meant in the way the songs were originally written and intended.....Motown style. Mary has said herself Diana's light lilting pop voice is better suited to such songs. Mary really comes into her own singing jazz.

**marv2** · 11-16-2013, 06:59 PM

Originally Posted by Ollie9

For Baby Love to work for a singer such as Cassandra Wilson the style of the song would have to be totally reworked into a jazz arrangement. Yes i agree, it could indeed be done. When i said i think Diana is the best female interpreter of such songs i meant in the way the songs were originally written and intended.....Motown style. Mary has said herself Diana's light lilting pop voice is better suited to such songs. Mary really comes into her own singing jazz.

Yeah, but if you don't care for those types of songs and you're over the age of 13, it really doesn't matter who is singing them. I like Mary Wilson's uptempo songs like "Red Hot", "Walk the Line", "Floy Joy", "Early Morning" and especially "Turn Around" to list a few. I just love her voice and delivery. The bottomline [[for me and many others....) is that Mary Wilson can and does sing Pop, Rock, Soul and Jazz very well. She performs all music of all those genre's in her different concerts [[Upclose, Symphonies, Rock aka Supremes Oldies and the Lena Horne Project......

**marv2** · 11-16-2013, 07:03 PM

and here is one of my all time favorites of Mary's.......

**Ollie9** · 11-17-2013, 05:20 AM

I guess it all boils down to personal taste. IMO Mary sounds fine singing songs such as "The One I Love" but there are also a lot of pop tunes where to me her voice sits uneasy in the arrangements and simply does not sound comfortable. When i first heard her singing jazz songs it was a revelation. Her deep, smokey voice sounded fantastic as opposed to good and she really seemed connected to the song. Even more noteworthy is how her voice has stood the test of time. She still sounds fantastic today......So for me, it's jazz all the way.