JazzWax List: With Voices

Adding a vocal choir behind a jazz instrumentalist probably dates back to May 25, 1953, when Charlie Parker was teamed with the Dave Lambert Singers for a Clef recording session (see my two-part post here). A failed experiment (there were simply too many voices), the concept began to catch on again in the late 1950s and beyond as influences from the church and civil rights movement merged with jazz and soul. By then, the choir sound was less vocalese and more spiritual in nature.

Here are six albums by jazz instrumentalists with a soulful vocal choir lending support:

• Donald Byrd—A New Perspective (1963)  
• Mary Lou Williams—Presents Black Christ of  the Andes (1963)
  
• Donald Byrd—I'm Trying to Get Home (1964)
• Stan Getz—Voices (1966) 
• Mary Lou Williams—Mary Lou's Mass (1970)
• Horace Silver—Silver 'n' Voices  (1976)

Have others in mind? Add them to the Comments section of this post!

Comments

[O'Sullivan, "Red"]

That Ahmad Jamal album, mentioned above, "Cry Young", is a wonderful, wonderful record. One of my very favourites.
I also dig Shearing's "Concerto For My Love" (Capitol, '61) where the arrangements are his own.

[Devra Hall Levy]

Admitted bias, but perhaps two tracks (The Wind and Waltz For Debby) on Jim Hall's By Arrangement CD qualify for addition to this list.

[Jery Rowan]

" ...a pianist who is under most listeners' radar."

Thanks for your blip on Jack Brownlow. I had the very great pleasure of having Bruno in my group for the better part of a year in the '70s. He was an incredible player with an enormous catalogue of tunes filed away in his noggin. Can't say I ever remember him getting stuck on even the most off-the-wall request.

Seeing his photo on your Hidden Jazz Downloads (Vol. 13) reminded me of the dry wit buried away under his solemn exterior. One of his favorite things to do when someone would come up to the bandstand and compliment his playing by saying something like "That was beautiful, Jack" was to turn on the person and coldly reply, "I'll be the judge of what's beautiful around here!". Then he'd bat his eyes at the startled individual and purr, "You are." No matter how often we heard those lines, it always cracked us up.

Thanks for reminding me of one of my favorite people, Marc.