Black Music Sunday is a weekly collection highlighting all issues Black music, with over 250 stories overlaying 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, typically 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 trendy 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–Fifties: Scatting flourished in the course of 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 known as vocalese. Nonetheless, vocalese shouldn’t be the identical as scatting; vocalese singers use recognizable phrases to imitate jazz.
- At present: Entertainer Mel Tormé used scatting in his jazz vocals within the Nineteen Sixties and Seventies, and John Paul Larkin—also referred to as Scatman John—launched scatting to bop, pop, and hip-hop sounds. Bobby McFerrin is a up to date scat vocalist.
Cab Calloway really sang a tune entitled “The Scat Tune”:
I admit I grinned once I learn this piece from The Guardian on Calloway and his lack of clarification in the case of 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 by way of aesthetics or musical derivation. When requested in the present day how scat singing happened, 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 “scorching” jazz tunes, he shrugged his lean shoulders and mentioned fairly modestly that he didn’t know fairly the place they got here from. They had been, he mentioned, 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 happened he would solely say: “Properly, , once you say ‘scat,’ which means ‘get away’ – effectively it doesn’t imply ‘scat’ in that method,” and discreetly left it at that.
You may 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 convey the home down with an unimaginable scat duet.
Earlier than I depart the topic of scat, I’ve to publish this well-known “Scat Duel” comedy sketch from Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, recognized 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 means of on tune 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 fashion 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 tune of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross album entitled “Sing a Tune Basie.” He defined that the overdubbing of the tune was utilizing the voice of the three singers to interchange your entire horn part of Depend Basie Orchestra.
So, based mostly on this clarification we are able to see the distinction with scatting. Scat itself is a singing improvisation which contains nonsense syllable. An instance of which is “doo wap ba dee do wap”. Attempt to sing the syllables utilizing swing to get an concept of the fashion. However after we are talking about this fashion, it’s all an organized lyrics which turn out to be a tune. This fashion is initially developed by Eddie Jefferson. He used the tune of Coleman Hawkins entitled “Physique and Soul.”
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Pioneers of this style would come with names reminiscent of King Pleasures and Bab Gonzales. The group incorporating this fashion 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 fashion 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 advanced 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 in the course of 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 remodeled 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 trend 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 condominium 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 12 months, Lambert met Jon Hendricks, who had comparable vocal specialties that prolonged to lyrical adjustments. The pair debuted with a radically reworked model of “4 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 couple 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 overall incompetence of the studio voices led them to multi-track their very own voices. The outcomes had been glorious, unimaginable vocal recreations of full solos from Basie classics like “One O’Clock Leap,” “Down for Double” and “Avenue C” with added lyrics by Hendricks. The subsequent 12 months’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 pupil on the Excessive Faculty of Music & Artwork in New York within the Nineteen Sixties and a bunch of us used to assemble outdoors the constructing and sing Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Our “ceremony of hipness” was the flexibility to sing “Cloudburst” all over. I can nonetheless do it.
To get extra of an concept of instrumentals changing 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 friends Bobby McFerrin, Al Jarreau, and George Benson:
Final, however not least (I’ll be posting heaps extra scat and vocalese to the feedback part under) 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 present instrumental songs, was performing along with his group Firm wherein he was sharing the vocal duties with spouse Judith Hendricks, his daughter Michele Hendricks, and Bob Gurland.
Jon Hendricks is essentially the most swinging bebop singer recognized in jazz historical past. He’s clearly born to scat sing, simply maneuvering by means of troublesome twists and turns in Charlie Parker solos, swinging by means of Depend Basie’s e-book 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 Competition 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 acquired a thoughts to ramble’ (Alberta Hunter) that includes Bob Gurland ‘The Human Trumpet’ Gurland ‘One o’clock bounce’ (Depend Basie)
The live performance was recorded on the North Sea Jazz Competition 17 July 1982 in The Hague, The Netherlands.
For extra on vocalese, check out this 2020 story.
Please be a part of me within the feedback part under and publish your favourite scatting and vocalese.
