Eddie Jefferson • Body and Soul

 

Eddie Jefferson (3 de agosto de 1918, Pittsburgh, Pensilvania, Estados Unidos – 9 de mayo de 1979, Detroit, Michigan, Estados Unidos), un ex-bailarín de claqué y cantante, tuvo la idea un día de 1952, de poner letra a la bella y extraordinaria improvisación que el saxofonista, James Moody, había realizado a la balada «I’m in The Mood For Love» con músicos suecos en 1949. Después de él vinieron muchos otros, incluso con gran éxito como fue el caso del cantante, King Pleasure, pero, Jefferson fue el primero. Y con el nació el estilo vocal conocido como «vocalese».

Eddie Jefferson, cantaba la letra recogiendo todas y cada una de las inflexiones del sólo de saxo de Moody yendo mas allá del scat,  – el canto improvisado sin palabras – y por tanto creando las bases para una nueva canción. Al principio de su carrera, Jefferson, había introducido esporádicamente en sus espectáculos de clubes, breves versiones vocales de solos de Chu Berry y Lester Young. Ya antes, en 1939, hizo algo parecido con el tema de Coleman Hawkins, «Body and Soul».  Y fue cuando Jefferson estaba trabajando en el «Cotton Club» de Cincinnati en 1950, cuando King Pleasure se presentó en el Teatro Apollo de Harlem y ganó su concurso para aficionados con el tema de Jefferson.

En 1953, Eddie Jefferson se asoció con el saxofonista, James Moody y su grupo durante una década donde tuvo la oportunidad de grabar varios discos para los sellos: Argo, Prestige y Riverside. Durante los años setenta, formó pareja con el también saxofonista, Richie Cole, grabando con él varios discos para el sello «Muse» antes de morir trágicamente asesinado a las puertas de un club de Detroit en donde trabajaba.
https://apoloybaco.com/jazz/eddie-jefferson/

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Biography by Scott Yanow
The founder of vocalese (putting recorded solos to words), Eddie Jefferson did not have a great voice, but he was one of the top jazz singers, getting the maximum out of what he had. He started out working as a tap dancer, but by the late '40s was singing and writing lyrics. A live session from 1949 (released on Spotlite) finds him pioneering vocalese by singing his lyrics to "Parker's Mood" and Lester Young's solo on "I Cover the Waterfront." However, his classic lyrics to "Moody's Mood for Love" were recorded first by King Pleasure (1952), who also had a big hit with his version of "Parker's Mood." Jefferson had his first studio recording that year (which included Coleman Hawkins' solo on "Body and Soul"), before working with James Moody (1953-1957). Although he recorded on an occasional basis in the 1950s and '60s, his contributions to the idiom seemed to be mostly overlooked until the 1970s. Jefferson worked with Moody again (1968-1973), and during his last few years often performed with Richie Cole. He was shot to death outside of a Detroit club in 1979. Eddie Jefferson, who also wrote memorable lyrics to "Jeannine," "Lady Be Good," "So What," "Freedom Jazz Dance," and even "Bitches' Brew," recorded for Savoy, Prestige, a single for Checker, Inner City, and Muse; his final sides appeared in 1999 under the title Vocal Ease. 
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/eddie-jefferson-mn0000168784#biography

 

 

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