Lambert, Hendricks & Ross were an American

vocalese Vocalese is a style of jazz singing in which words are added to an instrumental soloist's improvisation. Definition Vocalese uses recognizable lyrics that are sung to pre-existing instrumental solos, as opposed to scat singing, which uses nonsen ...

trio formed by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

vocalists Dave Lambert,

Jon Hendricks John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and re ...

and Annie Ross. From 1962 to 1964, Ross was replaced by vocalist

Yolande Bavan Yolande Bavan (born June 1, 1942) is a Sri Lankan singer and actress. Career Bavan 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 jazz vocal group Lambert, ...

History

The group formed in 1957 and recorded their first album '' Sing a Song of Basie'' for

ABC-Paramount Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels befo ...

. The album featured versions of

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

standards and was successful enough that the Count Basie Orchestra collaborated with them on ''Sing Along With Basie'' (1959). ''Sing a Song of Basie'' was awarded a

Grammy Hall of Fame Award The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

in 1998. Beginning in 1959, the trio recorded three LPs with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. They recorded a version of Ross's 1952 song " Twisted", featuring her lyrics set to a

Wardell Gray Wardell Gray (February 13, 1921 – May 25, 1955) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who straddled the swing and bebop periods. Biography Early years Gray was born in Oklahoma City, the youngest of four children. He spent his early chil ...

melody. Their ''High Flying'' album won a

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 ...

in 1962. Lambert, Hendricks & Ross were voted Best Vocal Group in the ''

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' Readers Poll from 1959 to 1963. Annie Ross left the group in 1962, replaced by vocalist

. The band was renamed Lambert, Hendricks and Bavan and made three live albums before disbanding in 1964. Lambert, Hendricks and Bavan appeared at the 1962

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

, and their performances of "Comin' Home" and "

Moanin' ''Moanin'' (originally titled ''Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers'') is a jazz album by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers recorded in 1958 for the Blue Note label and released in 1959. Background This was Blakey's first album for Blue Note ...

" can be seen in

Buddy Bregman Louis Isidore "Buddy" Bregman (July 9, 1930 – January 8, 2017) was an American arranger and conductor. Biography Bregman was born in Chicago. His father was an executive in the steel industry. His uncle was songwriter Jule Styne. He spen ...

's film ''The 1962 Newport Jazz Festival''. The group was also known as Lambert, Hendricks and Moss when Canadian jazz singer

Anne Marie Moss Anne Marie Moss (February 6, 1935 – February 29, 2012) was a Canadian-born jazz vocalist and music educator. She was born in Toronto, Ontario. She did not study music formally except for some lessons on breath control from Portia White. 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 on October 3, 1966. In 2012, '' No One But Me'', a documentary film about Annie Ross, featured contributions from Hendricks and contained footage of the duo reuniting for a performance. Jon Hendricks died on November 22, 2017. Annie Ross died on July 21, 2020.

Discography

* '' Sing a Song of Basie'' (

ABC-Paramount ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels bef ...

, 1957) * ''

Sing Along with Basie ''Sing Along with Basie'' is an album by vocalese jazz group Lambert, Hendricks & Ross with Joe Williams and the Count Basie Orchestra recorded in 1958 and originally released on the Roulette label.Kitora, R.Count Basie Discography Retrieved Nov ...

'' (

Roulette Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...

, 1958) * ''The Swingers!'' (

Pacific Jazz Pacific Jazz Records was a Los Angeles-based record company and label best known for cool jazz or West coast jazz. It was founded in 1952 by producer Richard Bock (1927–1988) and drummer Roy Harte (1924–2003). Harte, in 1954, also co-founded ...

, 1958) * ''

The Hottest New Group in Jazz ''The Hottest New Group in Jazz'', also known by its full title ''Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross!: "The Hottest New Group in Jazz"'' or alternatively considered self-titled, is the fourth album by Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, released in 1960. The titl ...

'' ( Columbia, 1960) * ''Lambert, Hendricks & Ross Sing Ellington'' (Columbia, 1961) * ''High Flying with Lambert, Hendricks & Ross'' (Columbia, 1962) * '' Recorded "Live" at Basin Street East'' (Lambert, Hendricks and Bavan) (

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

, 1963) * '' At Newport '63'' (Lambert, Hendricks and Bavan) (RCA Victor, 1963) * ''

Havin' a Ball at the Village Gate ''Havin' a Ball at the Village Gate'' is the last album by the reformed jazz vocal group Lambert, Hendricks & Bavan, of Dave Lambert and Jon Hendricks with Yolande Bavan. The group was formed after Annie Ross left the vocal group in 1962. The al ...

'' (Lambert, Hendricks and Bavan) (RCA Victor, 1964) * ''Swingin' Til the Girls Come Home'' (Lambert, Hendricks and Bavan) (RCA Bluebird, 1964)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Hendricks and Ross American jazz ensembles from New York City Grammy Award winners Musical groups established in 1957 Musical groups disestablished in 1964 Vocalese singers Vocal jazz ensembles American vocal groups 1957 establishments in the United States 1964 disestablishments in the United States