Scat singing

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Scat singing is vocalizing either wordlessly or with nonsense words and syllables (e.g. "bippity-bippity-doo-wop-razzamatazz-skoobie-doobie-bee-bop-a-lula-shabazz") as employed by jazz singers who create the equivalent of an instrumental solo using only the voice. Also it is a type of voice instrumental. While the use of nonsense syllables in singing long predates scat, scat singing is distinguished by the fact that rather than using the sounds to exactly reproduce the melodic line, improvisations are made with the melody and rhythm, much as in other jazz improvisations.

Another form of jazz singing, vocalese, is closely related, but uses lyrics rather than nonsense syllables. Often, rather than improvising melodies, practitioners of vocalese sing lyrics to improvisations by instrumental performers.

1 History
2 Notable scat singers (in chronological order)
3 See also
4 Further reference
5 External links

[edit] History

Before the national spread of jazz in the United States, a type of scat singing was already in use by ragtime vocalists. Ragtime pioneer Ben Harney and New Orleans pianist Tony Jackson were said to be scat singing in the early years of the 20th century. One early master of ragtime scat singing was Gene Greene who recorded scat choruses in his song "King of the Bungaloos" and several others between 1911 and 1917. Star entertainer Al Jolson even scatted through a few bars in the middle of his 1911 recording of "That Haunting Melody".

A frequently repeated legend alleges that Louis Armstrong invented scat singing on the spot when he dropped the lyric sheet while singing during his recording of "Heebie Jeebies" in 1926. The story is false and Armstrong himself made no such claim. Jazz musicians Don Redman, Cliff Edwards, and Red Nichols all recorded examples of scat earlier than Armstrong. However, the record "Heebie Jeebies" and subsequent Armstrong recordings introduced scat singing to a wider audience and did much to popularize the style. Armstrong was an innovative singer who experimented with all kinds of sound and improvised with his voice as well as on his instrument. In one famous example, Armstrong scatted a passage on "I'm a Ding Dong Daddy from Dumas"—he sings "I've done forgot the words!" in the middle of recording before taking off in scat.

On October 26, 1927 Duke Ellington's Orchestra recorded "Creole Love Call" featuring Adelaide Hall singing wordlessly. "She sounds like a particularly sensitive growl trumpeter", according to Nat Hentoff. The creativity must be shared between Ellington and Hall as he knew the style of performance he wanted, but she was the one who was able to produce the sound. In 1932, Ellington repeated the experiment in one of his versions of "The Mooche", with Baby Cox singing scat after a muted similar trombone solo by Tricky Sam Nanton.

According to Dick Higgins, "In Black American music there is a sound poetry tradition, possibly based originally on work calls, which we find [transformed] into the scat singing of the popular music of the 1930s, in the long nonsense-like passages in Cab Calloway's singing of "Minnie the Moocher", for example".

Ella Fitzgerald further popularized scat singing as a vocal jazz art form, most particularly exemplified in her 1947 recording of George and Ira Gershwin's "Oh, Lady be Good!".

Sarah Vaughan was also a great proponent of scat, sometimes inventing whole new melodic lines in her improvisation. She may not have had the popularity of Ella Fitzgerald but aficionados rate her as the finest scat singer ever, the John Coltrane of scat.

Scat singing influenced the development of doo-wop and hip hop. It has also appeared in various genres of rock music. Jim Morrison of The Doors sings a chorus of slow scat on the song "Cars Hiss By My Window", and it also notably opens the b-side of Joe Walsh's 1973 album The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get with the song "Meadow". The technique was employed in the song "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd.

Scat also makes appearances in newer genres, including industrial music, in the chorus of Ministry's 1991 song "Jesus Built My Hotrod"; heavy metal music, in the band Korn whose lead singer Jonathan Davis has incorporated scat singing into songs such as "Twist", "Freak on a Leash", "B.B.K." and "Liar"; and the heavy metal subgenre of death metal, where scat singing is used by John Tardy of the band Obituary. Legendary jazz artist Scatman John (John Paul Larkin) renewed interest in the genre briefly during the mid-90s. Jack Black also scats in Tenacious D's "Tribute."

The term skat is used in Jamaican music for a verbal representation of a popular guitar sound. The master Jamaican guitarist Ernest Ranglin, said that "the offbeat guitar scratching" that he and other musicians played was referred to as "skat! skat! skat!". Some music experts believe that this term is the source of the name of ska music, which was a predecessor to reggae.

Another method of scat singing is practiced by guitarists who scat along with their solos note for note. Notable practicioners include George Benson, Sheldon Reynolds, and Rik Emmett.