Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
Encyclopedia
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross were a vocalese
trio
formed by jazz
vocalists Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks
and Annie Ross
.
for Paramount Records
. The album featured versions of Count Basie
standards and was successful enough that the Count Basie Orchestra collaborated with them on Sing Along With Basie (1959), which was awarded a Grammy Hall of Fame Award
in 1998.
Beginning in 1959, the trio recorded three LPs with Columbia Records
. Their song "Twisted," featuring Ross's lyrics set to a Wardell Gray
melody, was featured in Woody Allen
's Deconstructing Harry
(1997) and has been covered by Joni Mitchell
, Bette Midler
and others. Their High Flying won a Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group
in 1962. Lambert, Hendricks & Ross were voted Best Vocal Group in the Down Beat
Readers Poll from 1959 to 1963.
Annie Ross left the group in 1962, replaced by vocalist Yolande Bavan
. The renamed Lambert, Hendricks and Bavan made three live albums before disbanding in 1964. Lambert, Hendricks and Bavan appeared at the 1962 Newport Jazz Festival, and their performance of "Comin' Home" and "Moanin'" can be seen in Buddy Bregman
's film The 1962 Newport Jazz Festival.
The group was also known as Lambert, Hendricks and Moss when Canadian jazz singer Anne Marie Moss briefly replaced Annie Ross.
Any hopes of a reunion of the original trio ended with Lambert's death in a road accident in Connecticut
in 1966.
Vocalese
Vocalese is a style or genre of jazz singing wherein lyrics are written for melodies that were originally part of an all-instrumental composition or improvisation. Whereas scat singing uses improvised nonsense syllables, such as "bap ba dee dot bwee dee" in solos, vocalese uses lyrics, either...
trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
formed by jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
vocalists Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks
Jon Hendricks
Jon Hendricks is an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is considered one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and replaces many instruments with vocalists...
and Annie Ross
Annie Ross
Annie Ross is an English jazz singer, and actress, best known as a member of the trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross.-Early years:...
.
History
The group formed in 1957 and recorded their first album Sing a Song of BasieSing a Song of Basie
Sing a Song of Basie is a 1957 album by Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. -Track listing:# "Everyday I Have the Blues" – 5:18# "It's Sand, Man!" – 2:27...
for Paramount Records
Paramount Records
Paramount Records was an American record label, best known for its recordings of African-American jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey and Blind Lemon Jefferson.-Early years:...
. The album featured versions of Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
standards and was successful enough that the Count Basie Orchestra collaborated with them on Sing Along With Basie (1959), which was awarded a Grammy Hall of Fame Award
Grammy Hall of Fame Award
The Grammy Hall of Fame Award is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance"...
in 1998.
Beginning in 1959, the trio recorded three LPs with Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. Their song "Twisted," featuring Ross's lyrics set to a Wardell Gray
Wardell Gray
Wardell Gray was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who straddled the swing and bebop periods.Today often overlooked, Gray's playing displays a unique style, an unmatched tone and a strong presence.-Early years:...
melody, was featured in Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
's Deconstructing Harry
Deconstructing Harry
Deconstructing Harry is a black comedy film by Woody Allen released in 1997. This film tells the story of a successful writer called Harry Block, played by Allen himself, who draws inspiration from people he knows in real-life, and from events that happened to him, sometimes causing these people to...
(1997) and has been covered by Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
, Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
and others. Their High Flying won a Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group
Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group
The Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group was awarded from 1961 to 1968. In its first year, the award specified that a "vocal group" contains two to six artists. This award was presented alongside the award for Best Performance by a Chorus...
in 1962. Lambert, Hendricks & Ross were voted Best Vocal Group in the Down Beat
Down Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
Readers Poll from 1959 to 1963.
Annie Ross left the group in 1962, replaced by vocalist Yolande Bavan
Yolande Bavan
Yolande Bavan is a singer and actress. Born in Ceylon , she toured Australia and Asia as a performer with Graeme Bell's band early in her career. She is best known for replacing Annie Ross in the legendary vocal group Lambert, Hendricks & Ross after Ross was forced to leave the group due to poor...
. The renamed Lambert, Hendricks and Bavan made three live albums before disbanding in 1964. Lambert, Hendricks and Bavan appeared at the 1962 Newport Jazz Festival, and their performance of "Comin' Home" and "Moanin'" can be seen in Buddy Bregman
Buddy Bregman
Buddy Bregman is an American musical arranger, record producer and composer.He has worked with many of the greatest musical artists of 20th Century popular music including; Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Matt Monro, and Frank Sinatra.Born in Chicago, he studied...
's film The 1962 Newport Jazz Festival.
The group was also known as Lambert, Hendricks and Moss when Canadian jazz singer Anne Marie Moss briefly replaced Annie Ross.
Any hopes of a reunion of the original trio ended with Lambert's death in a road accident in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
in 1966.
Lambert, Hendricks and Ross albums
- Sing a Song of BasieSing a Song of BasieSing a Song of Basie is a 1957 album by Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. -Track listing:# "Everyday I Have the Blues" – 5:18# "It's Sand, Man!" – 2:27...
(1957) - Sing Along With Basie (1958)
- The Swingers! (1958)
- Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross!Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross!Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross!, also known as The Hottest New Group In Jazz, is an album by Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. The CD reissue combines the full original album with the LPs "Lambert, Hendricks & Ross Sing Ellington" and "Rarities".-Disc one:...
(aka "The Hottest New Group In Jazz") (1960) - Lambert, Hendricks & Ross Sing Ellington (1960)
- The Real AmbassadorsThe Real AmbassadorsThe Real Ambassadors is a jazz musical developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s by Dave and Iola Brubeck, in collaboration with Louis Armstrong and his band. It addressed the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, the music business, America’s place in the world during the Cold War, the nature of God, and...
(1962) - High Flying with Lambert, Hendricks & Ross (aka The Way-Out Voices of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross) (1962)
Lambert, Hendricks and Bavan albums
- Live At Basin Street East (1963) (live)
- At Newport '63 (1963) (live)
- Havin' a Ball at the Village GateHavin' a Ball at the Village GateHavin' a Ball at the Village Gate is an album by Lambert, Hendricks & Bavan, the re-formed vocal group featuring Dave Lambert and Jon Hendricks with Yolande Bavan after Annie Ross left the group in 1962...
(aka Lambert, Hendricks and Bavan at the Village Gate) (1964) (live)