BTOT _The Birth of a Musical Genre called Jazz vocalese (Ristich) Pecha Kucha style (20 slides, 20 seconds each) Pecha Kucha means chit chat in Japanese, so this is a format to introduce others to a topic they might know nothing about. Here is the accompanying text: Remember, this is the super truncated version with many details left out to suit the brevity of the time constraint. Resource list on request: ristich54@gmail Jazz vocalese is a style of jazz singing where lyrics are written in story form to melodies that were originally part of an all-instrumental composition or improvisation. Vocalese is a “play on the word” vocalize... the suffix -ese, is meant to indicate a sort of language. In the pre-vocalese era of the early 1900s jazz musicians started improvising with syllables—known as scat singing-- most notably Louis Armstrong in 1926 on this recording of Heebie Jeebies. Entertainers Jelly Roll Morton (left), Tony Jackson (right) and others preceeded him. In 1935 Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh wrote the love song “Im in the Mood for Love”, hoping for another hit like “I Cant Give you Anything but Love” but circumstances were less favorable. To make matters worse for its money making potential the song became identified with Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer from an episode of the Little Rascals called The Pitch Singer. Errol Garner and Nat Cole revived the song in the early 1940s with Billy Eckstine enjoying a top 20 hit in 1945. In Oct of 49 tenor saxophonist James Moody picked up an alto sax and recorded a whirlwind improvisation in one take--on the chord changes to Im in the Mood for Love at a session in Sweden—never stating the melody. Singer Eddie Jefferson wrote lyrics to match James Moodys sax solo and another vocalist, King Pleasure recorded it first and enjoyed an R&B hit in the summer of 1952 (on Prestige records) with his version of the song now dubbed “Moodys Mood for Love”. Singer Annie Ross met Prestige Records owner Bob Weinstock asked her to write lyrics to a blues tune called Twisted by tenor player Wardell Gray. The next day she presented him with the lyrics--which would go on to become a classic example of the jazz vocalese genre. She recorded it on her first LP with Prestige in 1952 and on an LP she made with King Pleasure which became an underground hit. Be-bop singers Dave Lambert and Jon Hendricks were looking for a group to record vocalese arrangements of Count Basie recordings. Annie Ross came on as a vocal consultant for this group.....and the vocal trio of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross was born. By overdubbing all the reed and brass sections parts (with words) and all the solos, they recreated these famous Basie recordings with inventive lyrics. Next they did an entire LP of Ellington songs. The group became an international hit—performing all over the world. They recorded 7 LPs between 1957 and 1962 before moving on. The lyrics are brilliantly clever and the singers swing hard. French singer & lyricist Mimi Perrin was inspired by Lambert, Hendricks & Ross and started a revolving group of 6 singers, writing the vocalese lyrics herself. They would record their parts, then double them---hence the name...The Double Six of Paris (Les Double Six). They recorded 4 LPs between 1959 and 1964. This is Lester Youngs tuneTickletoe. The Swingle Singers, then Swingle II was formed by Ward Swingle after Mimis tragic death. Lyrics were penned by Tony Vincent Isaacs. They do a very clever version of Fats Wallers Alligator Rag. Youll have to buy the CD to hear it! Many groups and soloists have evolved their own style of jazz vocalese including Manhattan Transfer (with lyrics by Jon Hendricks) to Joe Zawinul and Weather Reports tune Birdland. Pause. This is the ever inventive New York Voices—here singing Mark Murphys lyrics to Oliver Nelsons tune Stolen Moments. Here is a young Mark Murphy on the left-- and lastly Kurt Ellingbon the right who wrote lyrics to a bass solo by Charlie Haden from his Quartet West band on the ballad Moonlight Serenade. PS. I read somewhere that when the young singer Elliott Yamin performed Moodys Mood for Love on American Idol in 2006 Simon Cowells comment was “You cant win a show like THIS with a song like THAT.” _______ FOLLOW LIPSapp Smooth Radio _______ FB: r-js/1wsLIZx / TW: r-js/1wsLDoS / Listen to LIPSapp Smooth Radio r-js/1dOIQ18 #jazz #blues #randb #mariahcarey #tonibraxton #tedeschitrucks #davekoz #boneyjames
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 03:15:27 +0000
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