How much is left in the tank?

[Hardbopjazz]

I always like the music of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. Jon writes some bad ass lyrics to solo, but how much is left as a singer at 90? I would like to go see this. I first saw Jon Hendricks in 1981. He bought me a beer for being a very excited fan.

Jon Hendricks & Annie Ross

FEATURING:

Jon Hendricks, vocals

Annie Ross, vocals

Other musicians, TBA

Jon Hendricks is not only one of the world's favorite jazz vocalists, but is widely considered to be the "Father of Vocalese", the greatest innovator of the art form. Vocalese is the art of setting lyrics to recorded jazz instrumental standards (such as the big band arrangements of Duke Ellington and Count Basie), then arranging voices to sing the parts of the instruments. Thus is created an entirely new form of the work, one that tells a lyrically interesting story while retaining the integrity of the music. Hendricks is the only person many jazz greats have allowed to lyricize their music, for no one writes hipper, wittier, or more touching words, while extracting from a tune the emotions intended by the composer, more sympathetically than Hendricks. For his work as a lyricist, jazz critic and historian Leonard Feather called him the "Poet Laureate of Jazz" while Time dubbed him the "James Joyce of Jive."

Born in 1921 in Newark, Ohio, young Jon and his fourteen siblings were moved many times, following their father's assignments as an A.M.E. pastor, before settling permanently in Toledo. As a teen Jon's first interest was in the drums, but before long he was singing on the radio regularly with another Toledo native, the extraordinary pianist Art Tatum...link

[paul secor]

Annie Ross is 80. Might be the last time you'll get to hear them together.

[Chuck Nessa]

Tank is past empty but take Paul's advice.

[paul secor]

Paying respects while people are still around isn't a bad thing.

[Hardbopjazz]

  On 4/15/2011 at 11:01 PM, paul secor said:

Paying respects while people are still around isn't a bad thing.

I always do.

[Unk]

I've enjoyed my chats with him - a nice cat. "Father of Vocalese" is a bit of a stretch though. Beeks? Babs? Jefferson?

[JSngry]

  On 4/15/2011 at 10:58 PM, Chuck Nessa said:

Tank is past empty but take Paul's advice.

Yeah, even running on fumes is still running, and it's not like this is a thing where you can call AAA to come get you started again.

Records are only half (or less of the whole story for this type music & these type people.,.you need to see them in person to get a sense of their vibe, their aura, what it is that they are besides performers captured on a relative handful of recordings. The ration of music made "in person" to music made on/for recorded consumption is something that gets more and more overlooked as more and more of this generation dies and recordings are all we have left.

If they really suck, just don't pay attention to that. Keep your eyes wide open and feel the vibe. It'll be a life lesson, maybe.

[medjuck]

  On 4/16/2011 at 2:54 AM, Unk said:

I've enjoyed my chats with him - a nice cat. "Father of Vocalese" is a bit of a stretch though. Beeks? Babs? Jefferson?

Hate to display my ignorance but who's Beeks?

[JSngry]

Clarence.

[Jim R]

  On 4/16/2011 at 3:26 AM, JSngry said:

Records are only half (or less of the whole story for this type music & these type people.,.you need to see them in person to get a sense of their vibe, their aura, what it is that they are besides performers captured on a relative handful of recordings. The ration of music made "in person" to music made on/for recorded consumption is something that gets more and more overlooked as more and more of this generation dies and recordings are all we have left.

If they really suck, just don't pay attention to that. Keep your eyes wide open and feel the vibe. It'll be a life lesson, maybe.

I've never had the pleasure (no pun intended) of seeing Hendricks (or Ross), but I've seen him many times in perfomance videos, television, interviews, etc, and he has a tremendous spirit, positive energy, and wisdom that is (for me) as important and appealing as his music. Of course, it's really all one thing, especially when we're talking about a veteran like JH. I defintely think the term "aura" applies here.

Enjoyment of singing and singers is always a very personal and subjective thing, and the qualities of Hendricks' singing are such that I can easily understand why some would not dig him. For some reason, despite that, I have always enjoyed listening to him. Part of it is his phrasing and sense of swing, as well as his sincerity and dedication. His poetry is the icing on the cake, and I've always been relatively passive about lyrics in general.

[Unk]

  On 4/16/2011 at 4:29 AM, medjuck said:

  On 4/16/2011 at 2:54 AM, Unk said:

I've enjoyed my chats with him - a nice cat. "Father of Vocalese" is a bit of a stretch though. Beeks? Babs? Jefferson?

Hate to display my ignorance but who's Beeks?

Sorry, I guess I was in an obtuse frame of mind. Yes, as Jsngry says, Clarence. aka King Pleasure. I would guess that you, medjuck, know him. But for any who don't I'd be doing a disservice if I didn't provide a formal introduction.

Why isn't there a website fansite for this guy? At least not that a quick Bing showed.

[LWayne]

I saw Hendricks a couple of years ago here in Pittsburgh and enjoyed the concert very much for what it represented.

LWayne

[medjuck]

Saw Hendricks a couple of times in the '60s. Once in London. Ross joined him on stage. (It was an anti-Vietnann war benefit at the Royal Albert Hall at which the members The Nice painted an American flag and then burned it while playing Bernstein's "America", for which they were forever banned from the RAH. I presume that means Emerson Lake and Palmer never played there.)

Edited April 16, 2011 by medjuck