Happy Birthday, Jon Hendricks

Jazz singer and lyricist Jon Hendricks was born on September 16, 1921 in Newark, Ohio. He was a member of the trio Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross and is one of the originators of vocalese, a technique that adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs. The great jazz singer Al Jarreau called Hendricks "pound-for-pound the best jazz singer on the planet."

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends the Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross album, The Best of Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross (Columbia C-32911 or JCS-8198). Unfortunately, the album is only available in vinyl. Jim Determan, who has updated Lyons's list of albums for CD, recommends instead the following title:

• Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross: Everybody's Boppin' (Columbia Jazz Masterpieces) (Buy at Barnes & Noble)

A good example of vocalese is Hendricks's version of the Herbie Hancock piece, "Watermelon Man":

Robert
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