He is a “singer”, period. I would not pigeonhole his singing with a style or genre because he sings everything so brilliantly. Several generations of “singers” attempt emulating him by overdoing meslismas (vocal melodic runs). Just watch every competition vocal/performance show on tv. They’re all very poorly attempting Stevie Wonder. No one sings melismas like Stevie Wonder. Is he a jazz singer? He just sings everything.
He is a “singer”, period. I would not pigeonhole his singing with a style or genre because he sings everything so brilliantly. Several generations of “singers” attempt emulating him by overdoing meslismas (vocal melodic runs). Just watch every competition vocal/performance show on tv. They’re all very poorly attempting Stevie Wonder. No one sings melismas like Stevie Wonder. Is he a jazz singer? He just sings everything.
Not at all.....however, his voicings on the piano and his compositions often have jazz elements