The beauty of Vocalese is not that it is based upon a song. The beauty is that it is based upon the interpretation of a song. So in essence, the vocalist is capturing the mood of the improvisation. He/She is putting lyrics to a moment of spontaneous creativity.

Take the song “I’m in the Mood for Love” written by Jimmy McHugh with lyrics by Dorothy Fields. The song was published in 1935 and introduced by Frances Langford in the film “Every Night at Eight”. The way the song is heard in the film is the way it was initially intended to be heard, both melodically and lyrically.

Fourteen years later, jazz saxophonist James Moody takes McHugh’s melody and does what a great jazz musician is supposed to do. He applies his own interpretation to the song and in one fell swoop, completely reinvents the tune while unknowingly influencing a slew of future jazz giants. Moody’s interpretation of “I’m in the Mood for Love” maintains the basic premise of the original melody, but, while remaining within the structure of the tune, Moody is able to melodically trace his own path and showcase the song in a way that had never been heard before.

Three years after the recording of Moody’s version of McHugh’s song, lyricist Eddie Jefferson wrote his own lyrics to the tune. Only Jefferson did not write lyrics based on McHugh’s original melody. Instead, Jefferson’s lyrics were based on Moody’s improvisation of the song. The song became a hit when a singer named King Pleasure recorded it in 1954. It was then that it became known as “Moody’s Mood For Love.”

This is not to suggest that Vocalese did not exist before Jefferson wrote lyrics to Moody’s improvisation. But it appears that its biggest impact occurred with the introduction of King Pleasure’s recording of the tune.

I have a soft spot in my heart for King Pleasure. I spent the better part of my freshman year in college going to sleep with my Walkman on, playing the Pleasure album “The Source” over and over again until morning. To me, the man was a genius. It takes a lot of skill to take, not the original melody, but the improvisation of a song and put meaningful lyrics to it.

Listen to Frances Langford’s version, then check out Moody’s improvisation and Pleasure’s song based on Moody’s tune. I have also added “Come on Home” by Horace Silver. Check out what the incredible group, Lambert, Hendricks & Ross does with Silver’s tune. Like Jefferson and Pleasure, LHR were absolute masters of Vocalese.

Frances Langford - I’m in the Mood for Love

Come on Home - Lambert, Hendricks & Ross