![scat singing scat singing](https://d3i71xaburhd42.cloudfront.net/c14bf9b57cbcc9fe8234688625977c083fd8a9d3/18-Figure6-1.png)
![scat singing scat singing](https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000051895039-n2fsss-t500x500.jpg)
That was way before Louis Armstrong's time. Morton: Oh, I'll sing you some scat songs.
![scat singing scat singing](https://academy.jazz.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Marion_04.jpg)
Lomax: Well, what about some more scat songs, that you used to sing way back then? Here is a transcription of a conversation between Alan Lomax and Jelly Roll Morton where Morton explains the history of scat: Jelly Roll Morton credited Joe Sims of Vicksburg, Mississippi, as the creator of scat around the turn of the 20th century. One of the early female singers to use scat was Aileen Stanley, who included it at the end of a duet with Billy Murray in their hit 1924 recording of " It Had To Be You" (Victor 19373).
![scat singing scat singing](https://cdn2.jazztimes.com/2014/12/200703_044-822x577.jpg)
Harry Barris, one of Paul Whiteman's " The Rhythm Boys", along with Bing Crosby, scatted on several songs, including " Mississippi Mud", which Barris wrote in 1927. Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards scatted an interlude on his 1923 "Old Fashioned Love" in lieu of using an instrumental soloist. Gene Green's 1917 "From Here to Shanghai", which featured faux-Chinese scatting, and Gene Rodemich's 1924 "Scissor Grinder Joe" and "Some of These Days" also pre-date Armstrong. Entertainer Al Jolson scatted through a few bars in the middle of his 1911 recording of "That Haunting Melody". 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 19. Though Louis Armstrong's 1926 recording of " Heebie Jeebies" is often cited as the first song to employ scatting, there are many earlier examples. For example, in her 1960 recording of " How High the Moon" live in Berlin, she quotes over a dozen songs, including " The Peanut Vendor", " Heat Wave", " A-Tisket, A-Tasket", and " Smoke Gets in Your Eyes". The 1958 song " Witch Doctor" by Ross Bagdasarian Sr., creator of Alvin and the Chipmunks, employs the technique of humorous scatting in its chorus of nonsense syllables (oo ee oo ah ah), another one is Will Stamper with Emphasis on Scat.Įlla Fitzgerald drew extensively on popular music. Leo Watson, who performed before the canon of American popular music, frequently drew on nursery rhymes in his scatting. In addition to such nonsensical uses of language, humor is communicated in scat singing through the use of musical quotation. Other examples of humorous scatting include Slim Gaillard, Leo Watson, and Bam Brown's 1945 "Avocado Seed Soup Symphony", in which the singers scat variations on the word "avocado" for much of the recording. Cab Calloway exemplified the use of humorous scatting. Humor is another important element of scat singing. The comparison of the scatting styles of Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan reveals that Fitzgerald's improvisation mimics the sounds of swing-era big bands with which she performed, while Vaughan's mimics that of her accompanying bop-era small combos. The choice of scat syllables can also be used to reflect the sounds of different instruments. Syllable choice also differentiated jazz singers' personal styles: Betty Carter was inclined to use sounds like "louie-ooie-la-la-la" (soft-tongued sounds or liquids) while Sarah Vaughan would prefer "shoo-doo-shoo-bee-ooo-bee" ( fricatives, plosives, and open vowels). Syllable choice influences the pitch articulation, coloration, and resonance of the performance. The deliberate choice of scat syllables is also a key element in vocal jazz improvisation. Will Friedwald has compared Ella Fitzgerald to Chuck Jones directing his Roadrunner cartoon-each uses predetermined formulas in innovative ways. All of Ella Fitzgerald's scat performances of " How High the Moon", for instance, use the same tempo, begin with a chorus of a straight reading of the lyric, move to a "specialty chorus" introducing the scat chorus, and then the scat itself. As well, scatting usually incorporates musical structure. Though scat singing is improvised, the melodic lines are often variations on scale and arpeggio fragments, stock patterns and riffs, as is the case with instrumental improvisers. Characteristics Structure and syllable choice In scat singing, the singer improvises melodies and rhythms using the voice as an instrument rather than a speaking medium. In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all.