Skoodle-dee-doo
.................. goes SCAT SINGING

Skip-scat, Skoodle-dee-doo .. dah-bah-dah .. hi-dee-ho ... This Is How Scat Singing Goes. But What It Actually Is, How It Has Evolved, Who Its Famous Proponents Are .. You'll Soon Be Enlightened!


Hi, Jazz Fan:

Scat singing is a style of jazz singing without real words, where the human voice is made to sound like a musical instrument.

Nonsense syllables replace intelligible words, and singers use their voices as instruments.

This "voice-as-instrument" jazz technique was reputedly invented by Louis Armstrong during the recording of his piece "Heebie Jeebies" in 1925.

Armstrong popularised scatting and had illustrious followers in the 1930s - Cab Calloway, Leo Watson and Ella Fitzgerald.

This singing style evolved as the general jazz scene developed, and singers suited their styles to the music of their times.

In the mid-1940s bebop era, Jon Hendricks and Sarah Vaughan adopted bebop-scat in their presentations.

In the 1940s and 1950s, Ella Fitzgerald scat-improvised to match the players of the saxophone, trumpet and other instruments.

In the 1960s, the Swingle Singers, a Parisian ensemble of eight, elevated scatting to the classical concert stage with popular scat arrangements of familiar classical themes.

And in the 1980s, Betty Carter and Kurt Elling raised the sophistication of scatting to new heights while adding all sorts of unusual vocal sounds.

RENOWNED SCAT SINGERS - - a Famous Dozen

1 Louis Armstrong
2 Ella Fitzgerald
3 Cab Calloway
4 Bing Crosby
5 Leo Watson
6 Jon Hendricks
7 Sarah Vaughan
8 Betty Carter
9 Kurt Elling
10 Urszula Dudziak
11 Eddie Jefferson
12 King Pleasure

SCAT SINGING - FOR FUN
And now let's have some fun by clicking on the LINKS below > > >

(1) DIGITAL SCAT SINGING
Synthesized Voice of Louis Armstrong

* Click "Heebie Jeebies" - and enjoy.
* Then go to "Please Choose".
* Click on your favourite song.

(2) LEARN TO SCAT-SING
Vocal Improvisation Techniques

*Scroll down to bottom of page.
* Click Audio Samples 1 ... 2... 3

(Please ignore call to buy.)

(3) SCAT - WHAT IS IT?
Scatting Defined, and Some Scat Singers.