How It All Began
Singing the horn parts of big band arrangements is an unusual, but not unprecedented art form. Even during the big band era, the musicians would sometimes sit around a table singing their parts, but it was rarely ever in an organized environment.
Over the years, the "vocalize" became more common in recordings from such artists as Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, The Double Six, The Swingle Singers, Manhattan Transfer and others, but outside of school jazz choirs, it was seldom ever done live, due to the difficulty reproducing the instrumental lines vocally, and the number of singers necessary.
In 2007, Jim Raycroft re-discovered the 1979 Swingle Singer album Skyliner, which was an album of classics from the big band era with the horn parts sung to scat syllables or to actual words. Upon contacting Ward Swingle in Paris about the arrangements, Swingle told him that a live performance of those arrangements was something he had always dreamed of, but didn't think he could get singers good enough to do it. Jim replied "I can get singers good enough to do it!", and a month later a large box arrived from Paris with all the arrangements from the Skyliner album.
After examining the arrangements, it became clear to him that Swingle had chosen only the most unusual, creative, outside-the-box pieces from the big band era for that album, and that the book would have to be filled out with the barn-burners. Swingle agreed to proofread the new arrangements, and many months later, the book was complete.
The band was assembled by inviting the very best singers in the Los Angeles area to participate, singers who were not only extremely strong technical singers, but who also had a well-cemented feel for big band swing. A rhythm section was formed from the best players available, and the Singers Elite Vocal Big Band came to life. Interestingly, considering the renown and stature of the musicians involved, no one declined to participate - everyone wanted to be involved. The video was recorded live in 3 hours on the night of the Academy Awards, which was the only night everyone was free, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Singing the horn parts of big band arrangements is an unusual, but not unprecedented art form. Even during the big band era, the musicians would sometimes sit around a table singing their parts, but it was rarely ever in an organized environment.
Over the years, the "vocalize" became more common in recordings from such artists as Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, The Double Six, The Swingle Singers, Manhattan Transfer and others, but outside of school jazz choirs, it was seldom ever done live, due to the difficulty reproducing the instrumental lines vocally, and the number of singers necessary.
In 2007, Jim Raycroft re-discovered the 1979 Swingle Singer album Skyliner, which was an album of classics from the big band era with the horn parts sung to scat syllables or to actual words. Upon contacting Ward Swingle in Paris about the arrangements, Swingle told him that a live performance of those arrangements was something he had always dreamed of, but didn't think he could get singers good enough to do it. Jim replied "I can get singers good enough to do it!", and a month later a large box arrived from Paris with all the arrangements from the Skyliner album.
After examining the arrangements, it became clear to him that Swingle had chosen only the most unusual, creative, outside-the-box pieces from the big band era for that album, and that the book would have to be filled out with the barn-burners. Swingle agreed to proofread the new arrangements, and many months later, the book was complete.
The band was assembled by inviting the very best singers in the Los Angeles area to participate, singers who were not only extremely strong technical singers, but who also had a well-cemented feel for big band swing. A rhythm section was formed from the best players available, and the Singers Elite Vocal Big Band came to life. Interestingly, considering the renown and stature of the musicians involved, no one declined to participate - everyone wanted to be involved. The video was recorded live in 3 hours on the night of the Academy Awards, which was the only night everyone was free, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Vocal Big Band Members with Ward Swingle
(Paris, France - 2013)
(Paris, France - 2013)