Dave Lambert,
Jon Hendricks |
Featuring
Annie Ross
Sing a Song of Basie
With
The
Basie Rhythm Section
Nat Pierce, Piano
Freddie Green, Guitar
Eddie Jones, Bass
Sonny Payne, Drums
Recorded at
Beltone Studios
New York, NY
Irv Greenbaum , Engineer
Vocal for tracks 2,5, 8, and 9 on September 16;
for tracks 3 and 6 September 20; for tracks 1, 4, 7 and 10 on October
11
Overdubs for tracks 6, 7, and 10 on October 28; for tracks 1, 3, and 4
on November 26
Tracks 1-10 original-LP issue: Sing a Song of Basie ABC-Paramount
ABC 223
Recorded May 12, 1955
Tracks 11 and 12 original 78-rpm and 45-rpm issue: Decca 29572
Track 13 is previously unissued
Awarded GRAMMY BEST JAZZ PERFORMANCE, GROUP 1958
Inducted into GRAMMY HALL OF FAME 2000
Produced by 
(except tracks 11-13 produced by Milt Gabler)
Catalog Number:
314 543 827-2
Format: CD
Release Date: February 6, 2001
Label: Verve (ABC Paramount/Impulse) |
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Click on tracks
 to hear sound samples.
1. Everyday
(5:18)
2. It's Sand, Man! (2:27)
3. Two for the Blues (2:42)
4. One O'Clock Jump (3:01)
5. Little Pony (2:29)
6. Down for Double (2:11)
7. Fiesta in Blue (3:15)
8. Down For the Count (2:59)
9. Blues Backstage (2:58)
10. Avenue C (2:53)
11. Four Brothers (3:07)*
12. Cloudburst (2:38)*
13. Standin' on the Corner
(Whistlin' at the Pretty Girls) (2:25)* |
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Producer's Note
Irv Greenbaum and I recorded this entire project on a 1/4” 15 IPS
analogue monotape. Dave Lambert’s arrangements for voices, i.e. “instruments,”
were recorded (overdubbed) 1 track at a time. The trumpet parts were sung
by Annie Ross. The trombones and saxes were Dave and Jon. Annie, Dave or
Jon performed the solos. We recorded and mixed each track as we proceeded
to build the finished recording. Once completed, there was no turning back
to remix the project. The technology that was to come was not available.
– Creed Taylor
Sing a Song of Basie marked the birth of the jazz vocal group, and the arrival
of the Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross trio before they had even found their
name and identity. First released in 1958, it’s still a joyous romp
through some Basie hits, with arranger Dave Lambert, lyricist Jon Hendricks,
and lead singer Annie Ross defining the new form for posterity. Will Friedwald’s
new liner notes chronicle the birth pains, including Lambert and Hendricks’s
initial struggles to do the material with a choir of pop backing singers
before hitting on the potential of new overdubbing technology to multiply
three voices that could actually sing jazz. The ultimate results created
a sensation, and none of the preliminary struggles show in the finished
product. The three singers do some extraordinary simulations of horn parts
– both ensembles and solos – with Hendricks’s casually
tongue-twisting, finger-snapping hip lyrics verbalizing the spirit of jazz
in a fresh way. Tunes such as “One O’Clock Jump” and “Blues
Backstage” swing with the ease of the Basie Band itself, propelled
by pianist Nat Pierce and the Basie rhythm section of the day, guitarist
Freddie Green, bassist Eddie Jones and drummer Sonny Payne.
– Stuart Broomer
The liner notes give a fascinating glimpse into the birth of this album
– which forever changed the face of vocal jazz – as three singers
literally starved while recording it for months, such was their belief in
their work. To say that this is the album that changes listeners’
lives would be an understatement: it’s a kind of album that starts
lifelong relationships with these singers and it’s just natural that
after this, you will search high and low for more of their work. As for
me, at the moment when I heard it yesterday, it made me forget where I am
coming from, where I am going, what day I had behind me and what’s
waiting in the future – It’s simply madness, genius and bliss
that brings us closer to something divine.
– Sasha Lampic
On the Town: Verve’s Latest Master Edition Reissues
LAMBERT, HENDRICKS ROSS hit the heights early on with the ambitious program
assembled on the 1957 release Sing a Song of Basie. Produced by Creed Taylor
and initially released on ABC Paramount, this landmark album was subsequently
reissued on Impulse and had been available previously on compact disc. This
new version gives us the original cover, improved sound quality and three
bonus tracks. The art of vocalese, fitting lyrics to instrumental solos,
was virtually defined here, with such Basie classics as "Everyday,"
"Blues Backstage" and "Avenue C" obtaining a full big
band sound through the use of overdubbing. Simply put, this collection belongs
in any comprehensive collection.
– Chris Horan
Sing a Song of Basie
The original Sing A Song of Basie LP was released in 1958 after being recorded
in 1957. The early 1950s were a time of great change in the jazz world;
the LP record had caused all the jazz names to rethink their performances
to accommodate the new media. The term vocalese was invented at that time,
to mean the use of the human voice, to replace the instruments of the orchestra.
Roy Krall and Jackie Cain were featuring vocalese with the Charlie Ventura
Band, Annie Ross had a hit with "Twisted," which was a vocalese
version of the Wardell Gray blues composition. King Pleasure was also into
the vocalese business at that time, but what had not been done was to use
the human voice to replace all the horns in a big band. Lambert and Hendricks
were great Basie fans and they wrote out the Basie arrangements for voices
and rhythm section. They hired studio singers and were ready to record but
it just didn't work. The studio singers could "sight-sing," but
they couldn't swing! Annie Ross was brought into the group and it was decided
that the three singers would multi-track record all the parts. Multi-tracking
was unknown at that time, but eventually the album was complete and the
rest is history. Lambert, Hendricks and Ross became the most famous vocal
group in jazz and appeared throughout the world!
The music has stood the test of time very well, if you missed it in 1957.
This is a must for any jazz record collection. Tracks 11 to 13 record previous
attempts Lambert and Hendricks made prior to joining up with Ross. To me
only "Four Brothers" is worthy of inclusion, but the others help
to explain the way vocalese happened.
– Don
Mather
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Dave, Annie and Jon
Photos by Chuck Stewart |
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