Vocalese

Vocalese is a style of jazz singing in which a vocalist performs newly written lyrics fitted, note for note, to a previously recorded instrumental improvisation. The words follow the solo's exact pitches, rhythms and phrasing, so the singer reproduces the articulation of a horn or piano line while telling a verbal story. Developed in bebop circles, the technique demands precise intonation through fast, wide-ranging melodic contours and dense syllabic placement. It is practiced by solo singers such as *Eddie Jefferson* and *King Pleasure* and by vocal groups, above all *Lambert, Hendricks & Ross*, who extended it to entire big-band arrangements.