The singer-slash-horn player is a rare phenomenon in jazz, mostly because singing and horn playing are mutually exclusive. There are, of course, standouts, including the two Louises, Armstrong and Jordan. Dizzy Gillespie and James Moody sang, too, and memorably, but never all that seriously. There’s Valaida Snow, who sang and played trumpet, along with the little-known bebop-and-blues saxophonist Vi Redd.
The list thins out as you make your way to the present. There’s the trumpeter and vocalist Bria Skonberg, and the young alto saxophonist Grace Kelly occasionally sings, but she’s better known for the precocious virtuosity she brings to her instrument.
Enter Camille Thurman, the 30-year-old jazz vocalist and tenor saxophonist who is equally at home channeling John Coltrane and paying homage to the jazz-vocal tradition extending from Bessie Smith.…
