Scat Singing

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 Improvisation s.

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.

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 other songs from 1911 to 1917. Popular 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 on 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 he did 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.

According to Dick Higgins, "In Black American Music there is a sound poetry tradition, possibly based originally on work calls, which we find {Link without Title} 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 (see in particular her 1947 recording of George and Ira Gershwin s' '' Oh, Lady Be Good! '').

Scat singing influenced the development of ''; Heavy Metal Music , in the band Korn whose lead singer Jonathan Davis has incorporated skat singing into songs such as ''Twist'', ''Freak On A Leash'', ''B.B.K.'' and ''Liar''; and the heavy metal subgenre of Death Metal , where skat singing is used by John Tardy of the band Obituary . More recently, Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós used a form of scat singing called Hopelandic on their album '' ( ) ''. Dance act Scatman John (John Larkin) renewed interest in the genre briefly during the mid-90's.

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 authorities believe that this term is the source of the name of Ska music, which was a predecessor to Reggae .

NOTABLE SCAT SINGERS

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Scat Singing