RFI: Vocal jazz songform

listened to the title track, good stuff

Yeah, and forgot to mention that the album sometimes reminds me of Sheila Jordan and Steve Kuhn's albums, also that they and Steve Swallow performed the music he wrote for Robert Creeley's poems, on the album Home. Playground might be a better place to start w Kuhn-Jordan or Jordan-Kuhn projects overall, but think this is the most thread-relevant.
(Complete personnel:
Steve Swallow - electric bass
Sheila Jordan - voice
Steve Kuhn - piano
David Liebman - saxophones
Lyle Mays - synthesizer
Bob Moses - drums)

And I was wondering about who sings Coltrane, when I saw this, on Rolling Jazz--if my first ever attempt to post a link from one thread to another doesn't work, just search on there (or YouTube) for John Coltrane Giant Steps Carnatic Scatting
Rolling Jazz Thread 2020

I love Les Double Six's version of Naima. Big influence on Robert Wyatt, I think.

Will have to check Les Double Six, thanks for reminder.

Last night on John Pizzarelli's and Jessica Molasky's xpost Radio Deluxe, LH&R casually twisted me a new earhole once again, sending me toward rabbithole--now I'm wondering about these 4-albums-on-2-CDs sets, reissued on Avid, also others on Acrobat, Jasmine, Sony Canada, for that matter---do they sound good??
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=lambert+hendricks+and+ross&crid=2FOPQHGG1GODK&sprefix=lambert+h%2Caps%2C195&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_9

I’ve never listened to that show but it sounds like I finally should. John’s website has them but it seems to be a week behind?

Oh but the show has its own site as well.

There might be more that they've posted on Soundcloud---see the one I linked upthread.
B-but you didn't answer *my* question!

Mixcloud, that is (the link is right).

I must say I’ve been enjoying Dee Dee Bridgewater’s Horace Silver album a lot... but I think I love her album of Kurt Weill songs even more. Favorite new-to-me artist of the year!

Great, glad you dig her. I like Ja'l Deux Amours too, from 2007, when she was living in France:
Dave Gelly of The Guardian stated, "'J'ai Deux Amours' was the number with which Josephine Baker captivated Paris in the early 1930s, and Dee Dee Bridgewater is her nearest equivalent today, a star both at home in the US and in her adopted country. Her singing is as expressive as ever, but what really caught my attention was the arrangements, a collaborative effort by the singer and her band. Harmonically sophisticated and at times fairly abstract, they quickly banish any idea of sentimental, Gallic wallow."
...Jason MacNeil of AllMusic commented, "These Parisian café tunes bring out the best in this stellar jazz singer, particularly on the opening title track. Accompanied by accordion, which introduces the song, Dee Dee Bridgewater takes you from Paris down to the French Riviera with a warm, slightly island sound as she sings en français. And she has no problem creating her soothing jazz pipes regardless of language."
...[1] The Buffalo News review stated, "Bridgewater still shows her skill at shaping a phrase, her ability to bring out the depths of every word. She sings in French with obvious relish. But I hope she doesn't forget her fans back home."[3] She hasn't, but
also went further South and made Red Earth with Mali musicians.
More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%27ai_Deux_Amours

Sounds rad, will check it out!

There might be more that they've posted on Soundcloud---see the one I linked upthread.
B-but you didn't answer *my* question!

Sing A Song Of Basie is phenomenal!!

It’s sand, man!

Yeah, that one is great.

jaymc would something like amina claudine myers' african blues fit with style you were looking for? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk2fg2cE27I

So today on WBGO for Dave Brubeck’s centennial (which is actually today), Michael Bourne played a musical Brubeck wrote with his wife Iola, The Real Ambassadors, starring Louis Armstrong and featuring Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, which I was glad to hear, since I had read about but never listened to it. The musical was recorded in the studio first, but by the time it was performed live at the Monterey Jazz Festival Annie Ross was gone and had been replaced by Yolande Bavan. I went down a tiny rabbit hole and found this [u=https://www.jazzwax.com/2007/11/a-chat-with-yol.html]extremely interesting 3-part interview[/u] with Bavan, and am now listening to the live albums of that trio, including Live at Newport ‘63, featuring another centennial artist of this month, Clark Terry.

Oh yeah, Clark Terry's "Mumbles" routine counts as vocalese or close enough. Had neglected the LH & Bavan era, thanks for tip.

Yeah, I enjoyed a few of those Mumbles routines today, "Mumbles" itself and this one called "Never."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7XtciQyhJA

LH & Bavan from the 1962 (not 1963) Newport Jazz Festival
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgxfCsGTVhY

Thanks! Don't think I've ever heard that line-up before---what a position to be in, having to follow the tenure of starpowered Annie Ross. So I think I read that Dave Lambert stopped to help a stranded, maybe injured motorist and got struck himself, fatally. Hendricks, with his offspring or whomever, used to irritate me on radio shows in the 80s: his voice had gotten too dry and stiff for all that spotlight, and maybe it always was, other than brief solo breaks in the trio format. But good to hear more prime-of-life trio, thanks again.

Yes, that’s what happened to Dave Lambert, unfortunately. Bavan tells a somewhat detailed version of the story in that interview I linked.

Yeah, didn't want details; I know and know of several people that's happened to, resulting in major injury at least (Andre Dubus got all tore up, lastingly). Reminds me also of a transcribed conversation between Jon Savage and JG Ballard: Savage mentions how motorway design and construction lead to psychopathic behavior, making it so easy to hit and be hit, thus hard not to run.

In some areas, anyway.

Hey, check it out. https://jazztimes.com/reviews/books/peter-jones-this-is-bop-jon-hendricks-and-the-art-of-vocal-jazz-equinox/

Reviewer A.D. Amorosi in the spirit: "Having a fellow jazz singer and the author of the award-winning This Is Hip: The Life of Mark Murphy tackle the roots of bop vocalese and its firestarter...is sort of like asking one of the Apostles to take on the entire Bible...requires nothing less than a surgeon’s skills and a comedian’s ability to pace oneself to the punchline." Author Peter Jones is a jazz singer too? Is he good?

No idea. Good question.

Michelle Hendricks, daughter of Jon, brings words, voice, and something of a new spark to an old fave, "Song from The Old Country," by and with the now late great, always jumpin' Adams-Pullen Quartet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpZW5ulfWYM

(Lewis Nash in there, doing just fine in the wake of Dannie Richmond RIP)

Should have said "Michele," sorry.

Speaking again of xpost "Song For My Father"---this was posted just now on So, does anyone know what "Rikki, Don't Lose That Number" is about?

I did find this:

In his 2006 autobiography, Let's Get to the Nitty Gritty, Silver recalled events leading up to the iconic 1964 recording following a visit to Brazil as a guest of pianist Sergio Mendes during the week-long Carnival festivities.

"Believe me, Carnival provided much excitement," he wrote. "After returning home to New York from my visit with Sergio and (drummer) Dom Um, I was haunted by the bossa nova rhythm I had heard in Brazil. So I said to myself, 'I'm going to try to write a song using that rhythmic concept.' I sat down at the piano for a few hours and came up with a new song using the bossa nova rhythm. However, the melody didn't sound Brazilian to me; it sounded more like some of the old Cape Verdean melodies my dad had played. Dad had always wanted me to take some of the old Cape Verdean songs and do jazz interpretations of them. This didn't appeal to me, but when I realized I had written a new song with a Brazilian rhythmic concept and a Cape Verdean melodic concept, I immediately thought about dedicating the song to Dad. So I titled it 'Song for My Father'."

https://www.wrti.org/arts-desk/2021-06-18/the-story-behind-horace-silvers-song-for-my-father

― birdistheword, Monday, October 4, 2021

(Because of the "SFMF" lift on "Rikki")

To be fair:
Fagen told All About Jazz in 2011: “There was never a conscious thought about picking up Horace Silver’s intro… as for the piano line, I think I had heard it on an old Sergio Mendes album. Maybe that where Horace heard it, too (laughs).”

xxxpost Speaking of Dee Dee B. and words added to instrumentals: dunno when Horace Sliver wrote lyrics of "Song For My Father"---maybe when he wrote the melody, but I didn't hear it sung 'til Andy Bey; my fave version is Bridgewater's, but worth hearing by whomever:

I wrote a song for my father in hopes it would give him a thrill after seeing Brazil.
My father’s music came through me but never got to me until
I went down to Brazil---
In Rio all day long, I heard my father’s song...
His father was Portuguese-Cape Verdean, born on a CV island.

― dow, Tuesday, July 28, 2020

(Also performances etc. posted upthread)

Andy Bey just turned 82. Not sure if he is performing anymore these days, but still a lot of recordings to listen to.

Sheila Jordan, "Bird's Song" (based on "Relaxin' at Camarillo"):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1JuKM8lOj4

Oh, man, my heart skipped a beat when Shelia's name just showed there. I went to see her recently and talked to her a a brief moment but of course kept my mask on and was afraid to breathe on her.

She did that “Bird’s Song” recording at the age of 89. She’s 93 now.

Wow, I thought the age was finally beginning to show in her voice, but I still like it.
Xpost Sorry,James! Yeah, that's gonna happen w the actuarial tables kicking in all over the place these days.

Not vocalese, but Susannah McCorkle was one of the most word-wise of jazz singers---also a prize-winning short story writer, but wouldn't do original lyrics, said she didn't have it---did do wonderful English lyrics for Brazilian ballads---no idea how accurate as translations, but they sound great---here's a 17 -minute excerpt of a vintage comma wine-fine Xmas set---singing and comments on some songs---rerun Dec. 24, 2021 (following John Waters on his favorite Christmas songs, so look for that segment too:

TERRY GROSS, HOST:

This is FRESH AIR. We're celebrating Christmas Eve with excerpts of shows from our archive. Next, we go all the way back to 1988 for a great concert of Christmas songs performed by the late Susannah McCorkle. 1988 was also the year she was described as the outstanding female jazz singer of her generation by jazz critic Francis Davis. Full disclosure - he's my husband. Susannah was also a writer and translator, and her love of language was apparent in her interpretation of lyrics. Joining Susannah for this concert in our studio was pianist Lee Musiker and bass player Dean Johnson.
https://www.npr.org/2021/12/24/1066327058/jazz-singer-susannah-mccorkle-performs-a-holiday-concert-for-fresh-air

Not jazz, but out to lunch for sure--John Waters plays some of his Christmas favorites:
https://www.npr.org/2021/12/24/1066805815/filmmaker-john-waters-puts-his-own-spin-on-christmas

O Susannah! Used to love to turn jazz vocal noobs on to her when I worked in the CD store:
We Remember Singer Susannah McCorkle
May 25, 2001 12:00 AM ET
Heard on Fresh Air
with excerpts from her Fresh Air interviews and concerts. She died last weekend after jumping to her death. She was 55. She had 17 albums to her credit and a repertoire of more than 3000 songs. Besides being a literate interpreter of American popular song, she was also a prose writer who published fiction in Mademoiselle, Cosmopolitan and The O. Henry Book of Short Stories. We also talk with Susannah McCorkle's ex-husband and former manager Dan Dinicola.(REBROADCASTS from 7/17/87, 12/23/88, 4/12/91, 7/3/96).
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1123480

Jazz Critics poll 2021 Vocal jazz list

Vocals

Veronica Swift, This Bitter Earth (Mack Avenue) 17
(tie) Gretchen Parlato Flor (Edition) 9
(tie) Sara Serpa, Intimate Strangers (Biophilia) 9
(tie) Jen Shyu & Jade Tongue, Zero Grasses: Ritual for the Losses (Pi) 9
(tie) Jazzmeia Horn and Her Noble Force Dear Love (Empress Legacy) 7
(tie) Esperanza Spalding, Songwrights Apothecary Lab (Concord) 7
(tie). Mary LaRose, Out Here (Little (i) Music
(tie) Kate McGarry + Keith Ganz Ensemble, What to Wear in the Dark (Resilience) 6
(tie) Theo Bleckmann and the Westerlies, This Land (Westerlies Music) 4 (tie) Samara Joy, Samara Joy (Whirlwind) (tie) Roseanna Vitro Sing a Song of Bird (Skyline) 4

So Veronica Swift is breaking out finally?

I guess so. Out of touch with current jazz vocalists me is just hearing of her

II didn't even know she put out a full album yet.

I don't think I ever knowingly heard Susannah McCorkle's voice before today. Man, she really was great.

Yeah, this is one of my faves by her:

Sabia AllMusic Review by Scott Yanow
Susannah McCorkle spoke Italian, Spanish, German, and Portuguese in addition to English; she had worked as an interpreter before she devoted herself to singing. On her second Concord CD, McCorkle sang ten Brazilian songs plus "Estate," switching between English, Portuguese, and Italian. There is no communication problem as far as conveying her feelings and the high quality of the melodies, so this is a more accessible release than one might think. The vocalist's backup group includes pianist Lee Musiker, Scott Hamilton on tenor, and guitarist Emily Remler.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4c8rcJ4rVw

Veronica Swift, This Bitter Earth (Mack Avenue)-- Jazz critic poll winner

Veronica Swift's opening rendition of the title track has a different and contemporary arrangement to it, but the rest sounds more traditional and even studied to me

Listening to this now. First track is really interesting. Have been on the fence about her singing for the past two years. She's obvious got a Big Voice and this album of diverse material may be suited to her but we will see.