Black Music Sunday is a weekly collection highlighting all issues Black music, with over 250 tales protecting performers, genres, historical past, and extra, every that includes its personal vibrant soundtrack. I hope you’ll discover some acquainted tunes and maybe an introduction to one thing new.
After we consider jazz we regularly consider instrumentalists, like horn gamers and pianists, generally overlooking the voice itself as an instrument. Within the realm of jazz, there are two time-honored traditions of utilizing one’s voice to do exactly that, nonetheless they’re usually recognized incorrectly as being one and the identical; I’m speaking about scatting and vocalese and the artists who’re masters of their craft in these traditions.
Give a hearken to vocalist Patti Austin giving a quick lesson on scat to the viewers within the Netherlands at Edison Jazz/World in LantarenVenster:
The Grasp Class web site has this description of scatting:
Musicologists hint the roots of scat singing to West African traditions, however fashionable scatting has origins in twentieth-century jazz historical past.
- Early origins: New Orleans pianist Jelly Roll Morton claimed he used scat singing in dwell performances as early as 1906. Different pioneering jazz musicians, like pianist Tony Jackson, featured scatting of their performances within the early twentieth century.
- Nineteen Twenties: Trumpeter and jazz singer Louis Armstrong’s 1926 recording of “Heebie Jeebies” is likely one of the first outstanding songs to make use of scat syllables.
- Forties–Nineteen Fifties: Scatting flourished through the bop and bebop eras of the Forties and950s. Ella Fitzgerald utilized scat choruses in her jazz singing repertoire, as did different jazz performers like Dizzy Gillespie, Anita O’Day, and bandleaders Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. Throughout this era, singers like Jon Hendricks and Eddie Jefferson developed a type of jazz singing referred to as vocalese. Nevertheless, vocalese isn’t the identical as scatting; vocalese singers use recognizable phrases to imitate jazz.
- As we speak: Entertainer Mel Tormé used scatting in his jazz vocals within the Nineteen Sixties and Nineteen Seventies, and John Paul Larkin—also called Scatman John—launched scatting to bop, pop, and hip-hop sounds. Bobby McFerrin is a recent scat vocalist.
Cab Calloway really sang a tune entitled “The Scat Song”:
I admit I grinned after I learn this piece from The Guardian on Calloway and his lack of rationalization with regards to scatting:
Irrespective of into what ecstasies Mr Cab Calloway urges his audiences on the Palladium he’ll sorely disappoint the musical students who go to him hopefully for an evidence of “scat” singing when it comes to aesthetics or musical derivation. When requested immediately how scat singing took place, and the way he devised his “hi-de-his,” “ho-de-hos,” and the opposite unintelligible sounds, half between a gurgle and a gargle, which he punctuates the rhythm of his “hot” jazz tunes, he shrugged his lean shoulders and stated fairly modestly that he didn’t know fairly the place they got here from. They had been, he stated, improvisations which got here into his head as he sang, and he was modest sufficient to shun the phrase “inspiration.” Sure sounds suited sure notes, sure rhythmic teams – that was all. And when he was requested how the phrase scat took place he would solely say: “Well, you know, when you say ‘scat,’ meaning ‘get away’ – well it doesn’t mean ‘scat’ in that way,” and discreetly left it at that.
You’ll be able to hear Louis Armstrong scat on this 1933 movie clip from his tour in Denmark:
On the 1976 Grammy Awards ceremony, Mel Tormé asks Ella Fitzgerald “How do you clarify to folks what jazz is? They then proceed to carry the home down with an unbelievable scat duet.
Earlier than I go away the topic of scat, I’ve to put up this well-known “Scat Duel” comedy sketch from Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, identified for his or her comedy collection Key & Peele:
As said earlier, vocalese is usually confused with scatting—and they aren’t the identical.
James Zimmerman, a senior producer on the Smithsonian Nationwide Museum of American Historical past and a vocalese musician, provides an summary and historical past of vocalese by way of on track on this video produced for the museum:
Having fun with Jazz Music has this definition of vocalese in addition to the distinction between that and scatting:
Vocalese is a type of appreciation of the solo performances of a Jazz composition incorporating vocals. This music model has a root phrase “vocal”. It’s really lyrics of a melody which was initially a part of an all instrumental composition or improvisation. Jazz critic Leonard Feather used this time period to clarify the track of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross album entitled “Sing a Song Basie.” He defined that the overdubbing of the track was utilizing the voice of the three singers to switch the whole horn part of Depend Basie Orchestra.
So, primarily based on this rationalization we are able to see the distinction with scatting. Scat itself is a singing improvisation which includes nonsense syllable. An instance of which is “doo wap ba dee do wap”. Attempt to sing the syllables utilizing swing to get an thought of the model. However after we are talking about this model, it’s all an organized lyrics which turn into a track. This model is initially developed by Eddie Jefferson. He used the tune of Coleman Hawkins entitled “Body and Soul.”
[…]
Pioneers of this style would come with names similar to King Pleasures and Bab Gonzales. The group incorporating this model again in these days was the Lambert, Hendricks and Ross which had members who had been John Hendricks, Dave Lambert, and Annie Ross. Different performer of this model embrace Bob Dorough, Giancomo Gates, Kurt Elling, Al Jarreau, Mark Murphy, Roger Miller, Manhattan Switch, and Take6.
The place issues get a bit complicated is the attribution of the beginnings or originators of the craft. There have been a number of contributors to what developed as a jazz style.
Right here’s King Pleasure’s recorded model, adopted by Eddie Jefferson performing it dwell.
Vocalese as an artwork type could be placed on the map by the jazz trio of Lambert, Hendricks & Ross:
The premier jazz vocal act of all time, Lambert, Hendricks & Ross revolutionized vocal music through the late ’50s and early ’60s by turning away from the more and more crossover slant of the pop world to embrace the sheer musicianship inherent in vocal jazz. Making use of the ideas of bop harmonies to swinging vocal music, the trio reworked dozens of instrumental jazz classics into their very own songs, taking scat solos and buying and selling off licks and riffs in exactly the identical vogue of their favourite improvising musicians. Vocal arranger Dave Lambert wrote dense clusters of vocal traces for every voice that, whereas solely distantly associated, got here collectively splendidly. Jon Hendricks wrote intelligent, witty lyrics to jazz requirements like “Summertime,” “Moanin'” and “Twisted,” and Ross proved to be one of many strongest, most dexterous feminine voices within the historical past of jazz vocals. Collectively Lambert, Hendricks & Ross paved the way in which for vocal teams like Manhattan Switch whereas incomes respect from vocalists and jazz musicians alike.
The act grew out of condo jam periods by Lambert, a pioneering arranger and bop vocalist who had appeared in teams led by Gene Krupa and Buddy Stewart — although he had additionally gained infamy main a vocal choir on the disastrous “Charlie Parker with Voices” session recorded for Clef in 1953. That very same yr, Lambert met Jon Hendricks, who had comparable vocal specialties that prolonged to lyrical modifications. The pair debuted with a radically reworked model of “Four Brothers,” which featured lyrics by Hendricks and note-for-note duplications of the unique solos by Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Stan Getz and Woody Herman. They recorded a number of different sides however had been unsuccessful till an opportunity assembly with solo vocalist Annie Ross hit paydirt.
The primary LP by Lambert, Hendricks & Ross was 1957’s Sing a Tune of Basie. Although the trio initially supposed to rent an entire vocal choir to complement their voices, the final incompetence of the studio voices led them to multi-track their very own voices. The outcomes had been wonderful, unbelievable vocal recreations of full solos from Basie classics like “One O’Clock Jump,” “Down for Double” and “Avenue C” with added lyrics by Hendricks. The following yr’s follow-up, Sing Together with Basie, featured the bandleader himself and his group in a supporting function.
Right here they’re performing “Avenue C” dwell with Depend Basie, a tune from their first album, “Sing a Song of Basie”:
I used to be a scholar on the Excessive College of Music & Artwork in New York within the Nineteen Sixties and a gaggle of us used to collect exterior the constructing and sing Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Our “rite of hipness” was the power to sing “Cloudburst” all over. I can nonetheless do it.
To get extra of an thought of instrumentals turning into vocals, give a hearken to Miles Davis’ 1959 instrumental “Freddie Freeloader” which he recorded with John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Wynton Kelly, and Paul Chambers.
Right here’s the “Freddie Freeloader” vocalese model, which Jon Hendricks recorded with associates Bobby McFerrin, Al Jarreau, and George Benson:
Final, however not least (I’ll be posting tons extra scat and vocalese to the feedback part beneath) is that this Jon Hendricks & Firm full live performance from 1982.
Because the World of Jazz notes on Jon Hendricks and this live performance:
Jon Hendricks, the originator of ‘vocalese’ which provides lyrics to current instrumental songs, was performing along with his group Firm during which he was sharing the vocal duties with spouse Judith Hendricks, his daughter Michele Hendricks, and Bob Gurland.
Jon Hendricks is probably the most swinging bebop singer identified in jazz historical past. He’s clearly born to scat sing, simply maneuvering by way of troublesome twists and turns in Charlie Parker solos, swinging by way of Depend Basie’s guide and singing Duke Ellington’s music with integrity and spirit.
The album ‘Love’ was a collaboration with daughter Michelle, spouse Judith, and Bob ‘The Human Trumpet’ Gurland, which was launched in February 1982. Consequently they toured Europe and visited the North Sea Jazz Pageant in the summertime of 1982 when this live performance was recorded.On this live performance John Hendricks, Michelle Hendricks, Judith Hendricks and Bob Gurland play repertoire together with;‘Sandman’ (Depend Basie)‘Caravan’ (Duke Ellington )‘I’ve obtained a thoughts to ramble’ (Alberta Hunter) that includes Bob Gurland ‘The Human Trumpet’ Gurland ‘One o’clock leap’ (Depend Basie)
The live performance was recorded on the North Sea Jazz Pageant 17 July 1982 in The Hague, The Netherlands.
For extra on vocalese, take a look at this 2020 story.
Please be a part of me within the feedback part beneath and put up your favourite scatting and vocalese.
