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 |