''Spontaneous Inventions'' is a 1986

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

by American vocalist

Bobby McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter, and conductor (music), conductor. His Vocal pedagogy, vocal techniques include singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in Pitch (music), pitch—fo ...

, released by

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by History of the Jews in Germany, German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it deriv ...

. The album reached number 103 on the ''Billboard'' 200, number 62 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

s R&B Albums chart, number 6 on the Top Jazz Albums chart, and number 2 on the Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. The album features special guests, amongst them

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...

(vocals on "Beverly Hills Blues") and

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

(piano on "Turtle Shoes"). McFerrin later performed a modified version of the song Thinkin' About Your Body in a series of UK Cadbury's chocolate adverts in 1989/1990.

Track listing

Personnel

*Cheryl Bentyne – Vocal Arrangement, Vocals *Bruce Botnick, Judy Clapp, Leslie Ann Jones, Elliot Scheiner – Engineer *Linda Goldstein, Tim Hauser – Producer *Herbie Hancock – Piano *Tim Hauser, Jon Hendricks, Janis Siegel, Robin Williams – Vocals *Mary Mack – Photography *The Manhattan Transfer – Group, Vocals *Bobby McFerrin – Bass, Percussion, Producer, Vocal Arrangement, Vocals *Paula Scher – Design *Rhonda Schoen – Digital Editing *Wayne Shorter – Sax (Soprano) *Jack Skinner – Mastering

References

{{Authority control 1986 albums Bobby McFerrin albums Blue Note Records albums