09 Vocalese, A Cappella and Unexpected Instruments
Broadcast December 7, 2014
Vocalese is the setting of lyrics to established jazz orchestral instrumentals. The word was coined by jazz critic Leonard Feather to describe the first Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross album, Sing a Song of Basie.
So Jon Hendricks, Dave Lambert and Annie Ross can be thought of as the originators of this style. Some would disagree, citing Eddie Jefferson (who replaced a solo instrumental line with a vocal, rather than a whole horn section) or scat singing (which is vocal improvisation on a chord sequence using nonsense syllables rather than words.
A Cappella (Italian for as in chapel) means unaccompanied singing and as you might guess has a long history, from Gregorian Chant onwards.
Unexpected instruments :- instruments being used in unusual contexts.
Due to a cock-up on my (AlanDJ’s) part, not all the planned tracks got sent to Edison in time for the show. The missing tracks were added in to the next show in the post-show set.
| Title | Artist | Album/Performance | Year | Style/Instrument |
| Cotton Tail | Lambert, Hendricks & Ross | Everybody’s Boppin’ | 1959 | Vocalese |
| Birdland | The Manhattan Transfer | Extensions | 1979 | Vocalese |
| Freddie Freeloader | Jon Hendricks, Bobby McFerrin, Al Jarreau | Arsenio Hall Show | 1987 | Vocalese |
| Drive | Bobby McFerrin | live, BBC Later | 2012 | Vocalese |
| Chiraa-Khoor | Huun Huur Tu | live concert | 2011 | Throat Singing |
| It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) | Modern Jazz Quartet | Pyramid | 1959 | Vibraphone |
| Here We Go Again | Dave Mason | Headkeeper | 1972 | Harpsichord |
| Break it Down | Tony Levin | Resonator | 2006 | Chapman Stick |
| Mother Nature’s Son | Gryphon | Raindance | 1975 | Bassoon |
| Percolations – Part I & Part II | Gong | Gazeuse! | 1976 | Percussion |
| The Tears Of A Clown | Smokey Robinson and The Miracles | Compilation | 1970 | Bassoon |
| Sock Puppets – Flyover | Iain Ballamy | MirrorMask | 2005 | Accordian |
| Special Delivery Stomp | Artie Shaw | Traffic Jam | 1949 | Harpsichord |
| Throwdown at the Hoedown | Béla Fleck & The Flecktones | Left of Cool | 1998 | Banjo |
| Twist in My Sobriety | Tanita Tikaram | Ancient Heart | 1988 | Oboe |
| White Wheeled Limousine | Bruce Hornsby | Hot House | 1995 | Banjo |
| Winds On The Mountain | Incantation | On the Wing of a Condor | 1982 | Pan pipes |