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It’s worth mentioning that not all jazz singers scat – some prefer to focus simply upon interpreting the melody and lyrics – and those that do generally use the technique sparingly.Īlbums by Fitzgerald and Vaughan, for example, certainly do not include improvised solos on every track. Other notable scat singers include Anita O’Day, Eddie Jefferson, Carmen McRae and John Hendricks. Meanwhile, Mel Tormé’s relaxed virtuosity perhaps owes something to the cool jazz of the West Coast, where he was based. Later on, Betty Carter was celebrated as a master vocal soloist, her deeply emotive and somewhat wild style reflecting the intense and increasingly spiritual jazz that came about in the 1960s. Whereas Sarah Vaughan’s improvising is rooted in the bebop tradition, which is no surprise, given her early collaborations with Clifford Brown and Dizzy Gillespie. The scat singing styles and syllables used by the great practitioners of the art form tended to reflect the periods and scenes in which they existed.Įlla Fitzgerald’s snappy jazz scat singing is reminiscent of the saxophones and trumpets of the swing and big band era during which she came to prominence. Further development of scat singing in jazz It has also been suggested that scatting has roots in the music of West Africa, in which fixed syllables are assigned to percussion pitches. Pianist, composer and New Orleans innovator Jelly Roll Morton claimed that a comedian named Joe Sims invented scat singing “ way before Louis Armstrong’s time”. In fact, there were probably examples of similar singing styles that predated Armstrong’s seminal 1926 recording, with various ragtime vocalists, early pop singers and entertainers using scat-like techniques in the early 20th Century.
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His recording of “Hotter Than That” is another fabulous early example, in which Louis uses his voice to create a spontaneous masterpiece that is full of vibrant personality and rhythmic sophistication. The song became a hit, and Armstrong added the technique to his regular musical arsenal. “I dropped the paper with the lyrics-right in the middle of the tune… And I did not want to stop and spoil the record which was moving along so wonderfully… So when I dropped the paper, I immediately turned back into the horn and started to Scatting… Just as nothing had happened… When I finished the record I just knew the recording people would throw it out… And to my surprise they all came running out of the controlling booth and said-’Leave That In.’ – Louis Armstrong Trumpeter & vocalist Louis Armstrong is generally regarded as the inventor of scat singing in jazz.Īccording to legend, while he was recording “Heebie Jeebies” with his band The Hot Five in 1926, his sheet music fell off the stand during the middle of a take.Īs he couldn’t remember the lyrics, he sang an improvised solo with nonsensical syllables instead of the proper words. If a saxophonist, for example, has a decent understanding of harmony, he or she can press the relevant keys on their instrument to produce a note that they know will fit with the underlying chord.Ī singer cannot do this: they have to use their ears and contextualise the notes they choose in a way that is arguably more challenging.Ĭheck this great concise video with examples from Michael Mwenso and Brianna Thomas as part of Jazz at The Lincoln Centre’s Jazz Academy. Traditionally, in a jazz group, the vocalist sings the melody and accompanying lyrics to the song, before an instrumentalist might play an improvised solo over the tune’s chord sequence.īut by taking a scat solo, the singer is freed from the constraints of the lyrics, and is able to improvise creatively in the way that a saxophonist or trumpeter might.
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The exact syllables and sounds used will vary with the period and style, but some examples might include:ĭoo, be, shoo, bop, ooh, dee, doo, sha-bam Often credited as being ‘invented’ by Louis Armstrong, scat singing is when a jazz vocalist uses meaningless syllables to take an improvised solo.