It’s holiday music time again, and this year we have a stocking stuffed with vocal sounds from a capella groups who sing and swing holiday music without instruments—their voices provide the rhythms, beats, and harmonies.
A capella music:
A cappella music was originally used in religious music, especially church music as well as anasheed and zemirot. Gregorian chant is an example of a cappella singing, as is the majority of secular vocal music from the Renaissance. The madrigal, up until its development in the early Baroque into an instrumentally-accompanied form, is also usually in a cappella form. Jewish and Christian music were originally a cappella, and this practice has continued in both of these religions as well as in Islam.
The Manhattan Transfer is one of my favorite jazz “vocalese” groups.
Vocalese is a style or musical genre of jazz singing wherein words are sung to melodies that were originally part of an all-instrumental composition or improvisation. Whereas scat singing uses improvised nonsense syllables, such as "bap ba dee dot bwee dee" in solos, vocalese uses lyrics, either improvised or written and set to pre-existing instrumental solos, sometimes in the form of a tribute to the original instrumentalist. The word "vocalese" is a play on the musical term "vocalise" and the suffix "-ese", meant to indicate a sort of language.
The inventor and most prolific practitioner of vocalese was Eddie Jefferson, whose rendition of Coleman Hawkins's "Body and Soul" became a hit on its own. Pioneers of vocalese include King Pleasure and Babs Gonzales, Jefferson's former dance partner. Pleasure first gained popularity singing Jefferson's vocalese classic "Moody's Mood for Love", based on a James Moody saxophone solo to "I'm in the Mood for Love".
The best-known practitioners and popularisers are probably Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, which group was made up of Jon Hendricks, Dave Lambert and Annie Ross. The term vocalese is believed to have been coined by jazz critic Leonard Feather to describe the first Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross album, Sing a Song of Basie. Ross's 1952 lyrics for the song "Twisted", a blues improvisation by saxophonist Wardell Gray, are considered a classic of the genre. Other performers known for vocalese include Bob Dorough, Giacomo Gates, Kurt Elling, Al Jarreau, Mark Murphy, Roger Miller, New York Voices, and The Manhattan Transfer, whose Grammy-winning version of Weather Report's "Birdland" featured lyrics by Jon Hendricks.
The Manhattan Transfer—History:
It’s been nearly forty years since Tim Hauser, a former Madison Avenue marketing executive, paid his bills by driving a New York City cab while aspiring to form a harmony vocal quartet sui generis that could authentically embrace varied musical styles, and still create something wholly unique in the field of American popular song. Hauser had been in doo-wop groups, folk groups, and even in a short-lived quintet named The Manhattan Transfer, but as the sounds of jazz, R&B, pop, rock ‘n’ roll, salsa and swing poured out of brownstones, Hauser now dreamt of four-part harmonies without limits.
In the Fall of 1972, Hauser’s taxi fare was an aspiring young singer named Laurel Massé, who was familiar with the sole album by Hauser’s earlier Manhattan Transfer combo, and was looking to form a group. A few weeks later, another of Hauser’s fares invited him to a party where he met Brooklyn native Janis Siegel; although already in a group, Siegel agreed to help out on some demos and before long she was the third member of The Manhattan Transfer. As Hauser, Massé and Siegel began rehearsing, Massé’s then-boyfriend, who was drumming in a Broadway pit band, introduced Hauser and Siegel to Alan Paul, who was co-starring in the original production of Grease, and the rest, as they say, is history. In 1974 the group began performing regularly throughout New York City at Trude Hellers, Mercer Arts Center, Max’s Kansas City, Club 82, and other cutting edge cabaret venues. By the end of the year they were the number one live attraction in New York City, prompting Newsweek to send a writer to their show at Reno Sweeney’s in Greenwich Village to report on this growing phenomenon.
Signed to Atlantic Records by the legendary head of the label, Ahmet Ertegun, the group released their self-titled debut in 1975; the second single from the album, a remake of the Friendly Brothers gospel classic “Operator,” gave the group their first national hit. “Operator” took radio stations by storm, from the opening four-part a cappella intro to Siegel’s emotional lead vocal, eventually peaking in the Top 20. As “Operator” rose up the charts, the group was invited to make guest appearances on various variety shows and television specials. Hollywood took notice; and the band was soon tapped to helm a weekly hour-long summer replacement comedy-variety show. The Manhattan Transfer show premiered on August 10, 1975, broadcast in CBS’ old Ed Sullivan time slot, Sunday nights at 8:00PM. Despite censors restricting performances of some of their more risqué songs (“Well Well Well, My Cat Fell In The Well”), and some in the writing staff trying to appeal to youngsters who normally watched The Wonderful World of Disney at that hour, the band still managed to do some wonderful things including featuring Bob Marley and the Wailers in their first US television appearance.
Also known for their superb vocal stylings were The Singers Unlimited.
The Singers Unlimited were a four-part jazz vocal group formed in 1971 by Gene Puerling. Members of the group included Len Dresslar (better known as the Jolly Green Giant in General Mills commercials), Bonnie Herman, Don Shelton and Puerling himself. Gene Puerling and Don Shelton had formed part of Puerling's successful all-male vocal group, The Hi-Lo's, some years previously, though Shelton was a 1959 replacement for original HiLo Bob Strassen. The Singers Unlimited group were originally formed to record for commercials in the USA, but as time passed, they were persuaded to enter the recording studio to record a series of albums. On the recommendation of pianist Oscar Peterson (who was also signed to the label at the time), they gained a contract with German label MPS. They recorded two albums in 1971, the first a cappella, the second, In Tune with Peterson's then-current trio.
The group produced 15 albums, of which arguably the most well-known is their Christmas album (which was actually recorded before the group's association with MPS.) All of the 14 albums they recorded specifically for MPS (between the years 1971-1982) are collected in the 7-CD box set entitled Magic Voices. Puerling's Singers Unlimited arrangements earned him the reputation as one of the best vocal writers in the world. Members of the renowned jazz-gospel vocal group Take 6 often give credit to Puerling and the Singers Unlimited as innovators in the a cappella world, claiming that they "went to school" on Puerling's arrangements.
Puerling took advantage of cutting-edge multitracking techniques of German studio engineer Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer to create his advanced harmonic concepts and the group's signature sound. In the overdubbing process, baritone Puerling and tenor Shelton would often add two additional middle parts, after which all parts were "doubled" and "tripled." Creating these extra tracks created the fuller, richer sound of the group's recordings, and is now a common recording practice. Gene Puerling died on March 25, 2008.
No collection of holiday vocals would be complete without New York Voices:
The group was formed in 1987 from an Ithaca College alumni group. The original group consisted of Darmon Meader, Peter Eldridge, Kim Nazarian, Caprice Fox and Sara Krieger. They released their first, self-titled album on GRP Records in 1989. They won a Grammy award for their 1996 collaboration with the Count Basie Orchestra, “Count Basie Orchestra with New York Voices Live at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild”. The New York Voices are now a quartet, who, aside from performing, give jazz clinics at schools and universities and individually have their own solo careers. The New York Voices have to date released seven studio albums, all blends of classical, pop, R&B, Brazilian and American jazz
This is a medley from their holiday album Let it Snow:
Another world-renowned group formed on a college campus is Take 6:
Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel music sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama.[1] The group sings contemporary R&B style, integrating jazz influences with spiritual or inspirational lyrics. They have ten Grammy wins (in several categories in 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1997, and 2002), as well as ten Dove Awards, one Soul Train Award and two NAACP Image Award nominations. They have collaborated with other artists such as Ray Charles, Nnenna Freelon, Gordon Goodwin, Don Henley, Whitney Houston, Al Jarreau, Quincy Jones, k.d. lang, Queen Latifah, Brian McKnight, Luis Miguel, Marcus Miller, Joe Sample, Ben Tankard, CeCe Winans, The Manhattan Transfer, and Stevie Wonder.
TAKE 6 is the most awarded a cappella group in history, with ten Grammy’s, ten Dove Awards (Gospel Music Awards), Best Jazz Vocal Group honors for seven consecutive years in Downbeat’s prestigious Reader’s and Critic’s Poll, a Soul Train Music Award, BRE (Black Radio Exclusive) Vocal Group of the Year, two NAACP Image Award nominations, induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and countless other musical and humanitarian citations.
Showing the global appeal of this phenomenal group, they celebrated their 25th Anniversary last year with a World Tour including stronghold favorite markets Asia, South America, eastern and western Europe and the United States and TAKE 6 opened up new markets with debut tours of Australia and Canada. They receive rave reviews and overwhelming audience reception wherever they go. From New York’s famed Blue Note to the Montreux Jazz Festival, from PBS to ABC-TV specials, they remain the quintessential and pre-eminent a capella group in the world, working harder than ever, and loving every minute of it.
What had me excited is that they have been touring with Manhattan Transfer! Here’s a link to the story and upcoming tour dates.
Vocal Sampling is an a capella group known around the world—and they are from Cuba.
Everything began in 1989, as a game in their leisure at Havana Arts University, when they simulated the sound of different instruments with their voices.
This way and, little by little, they went tuning their throats to the sound of the metals, the percussions and the strings and created the unique sound of Vocal Sampling.
1993 “Una forma mas” was their debut album. Henceforth, the sextet conformed by professional musicians has been protagonist of a beautiful musical career that has taken them to the most important and diverse scenarios all over the world.
The group have gained the attention of artists such as Bobby McFerrin, Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon.
In 1996, at the artists’ invitation, Vocal Sampling performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival alongside artists such as Chaka Khan, Phil Collins, Mick Hucknall and Toots Thielemans to celebrate Quincy Jones’s 50 years career.
Vocal Sampling has had a very busy tour schedule. Every year they have been present in the most important circuits of the World Music and Jazz of Europe, as well as Japan, Latin and North America....
Last but not least is the youthful a capella group Pentatonix:
Pentatonix (often abbreviated as PTX) is an American a cappella group from Arlington, Texas, consisting of five vocalists: Avi Kaplan, Scott Hoying, Kirstin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola, and Mitch Grassi. Their work, which is mostly in the pop style, consists of covers of existing songs, sometimes in the form of medleys, along with their original material. Their music is defined by their own arrangement style, tight vocal harmonies, extensive vocal riffing, deep and steady vocal basslines, and a diverse range of vocal percussion and beatboxing.
Pentatonix formed in 2011 and came to prominence the same year by winning the third season of The Sing-Off on NBC, their victory earning them $200,000 and a recording contract with Sony Music. After being dropped from Epic after The Sing-Off, the group formed its popular YouTube channel and distributed its music through Madison Gate Records, a small independent label owned by Sony Pictures that mainly distributes movie soundtracks. The group also makes effective use of social media to interact with its fan base.
Having now eclipsed 11.5 million subscribers and more than 1.80 billion total views, Pentatonix's official YouTube channel is currently the 13th most subscribed music video channel and the 44th most subscribed channel overall, with their most viewed music video being a tribute to Daft Punk that has accumulated over 210 million views
Not into a capella, or looking for more traditional music? You can always go back and explore some of my past year’s offerings too:
The king of Christmas soul
Christmas in her soul: Laura Nyro
Holiday time is music time
A merry and musical Christmas to all.