Vocalese is a style or genre of jazz singing wherein lyrics are written for melodies that were originally part of an all-instrumental composition or improvisation. Where scat singing uses improvised nonsense syllables in solos, vocalese uses lyrics, either improvised or set to pre-existing instrumental solos. The word "vocalese" is a play on the musical term "vocalise" and the suffix "-ese", meant to indicate a sort of private language. A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Jump to: navigation, search Jazz master Louis Armstrong remains one of the most loved and best known of all jazz musicians. ... Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, often constrasted with speech. ... Lyrics are the written words in a song. ... Look up melody in Wiktionary, the free dictionary In music, a melody is a series of linear events or a succession, not a simultaneity as in a chord. ... Musical composition is: an original piece of music the structure of a musical piece the process of creating a new piece of music // A musical composition A piece of music exists in the form of a written composition in musical notation or as a single acoustic event (a live performance... Improvisation is the act of making something up as it is performed. ... Jump to: navigation, search Scat singing is vocalizing either wordlessly or with nonsense words and syllables as employed by jazz singers who create the equivalent of an instrumental solo using only the voice. ... The term solo has different meanings in a different context. ... Lyrics are the written words in a song. ... Jump to: navigation, search A vocalise is a vocal exercise (often one suitable for performance) without words, which is sung on one or more vowel sounds. ... Suffix has meanings in linguistics, nomenclature and computer science. ...

Pioneers of vocalese include King Pleasure, Eddie Jefferson and Babs Gonzalez. The best-known practicioners are probably Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, which was made up of Jon Hendricks, Dave Lambert and Annie Ross. Ross's 1952 lyrics for the song "Twisted", a blues improvisation by saxophonist Wardell Gray, are considered a classic of the genre. Latter-day performers known for vocalese include Al Jarreau and Manhattan Transfer. King Pleasure (March 24, 1922 - March 21, 1982) was a jazz vocalist and an early master of vocalese, where a singer sings words to a famous instrumental solo. ... Eddie Jefferson was a jazz vocalist and the founder of vocalese, where a singer sings words to a famous instrumental solo. ... ... Jon Hendricks, was a jazz lyricist who was one of the originators of vocalese, which put lyrics to existing instrumental songs. ... Annie Ross (born 25 July 1930) is a jazz singer. ... Jump to: navigation, search Saxophones of different sizes play in different registers. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Alwyn Lopez Jarreau (born March 12, 1940 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin), known popularly as Al Jarreau, is an American, Grammy Award–winning jazz singer. ... The Manhattan Transfer is an American vocal group that was established in New York City in 1972. ...

Some performers, notably Slim Gaillard, Cab Calloway and Leo Watson, combine vocalese improvisations with scat singing. ggg Bulee Slim Gaillard (January 4, 1911 or 1916 - February 26, 1991) was an American jazz singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist, noted for his scat singing and wordplay. ... Cab Calloway, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1933 Cab Calloway (December 25, 1907–November 18, 1994), born Cabell Calloway III, was a famous American jazz singer and bandleader. ...

See also

• doo-wop
• voice instrumental

Doo-wop is a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music popular in the mid-1950s to the early 1960s in America. ... Voice instrumental music is the term used for compositions and improvisations for the human voice. ...

References

• J. Bradford Robinson: "Vocalese". Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy. Accessed 25 Jun 05 (subscription access).