Dave Lambert (June 19, 1917 – October 3, 1966), American jazz lyricist, singer, and an originator of vocalese. He was best known as a member of the trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Lambert spent a lifetime experimenting with the human voice, and expanding the possibilities of its use within jazz.
Born David Alden Lambert in Boston, MA on June 19, 1917. His sole musical education came at age 10 when he played drums for a year. He picked up the drums again in the late 1930s, when he worked summers playing with the Hugh McGuinness trio. Before joining the Army in 1940, he earned his living as a tree surgeon. Lambert was discharged from Army in 1943 then joined Gene Krupa's band a year later, where he teamed up with fellow vocalist Buddy Stewart to perform "What's This?", regarded upon its release in 1945 as the first-ever bop vocal recording. Lambert later formed a musical group, and his band debut was with Johnny Long's Orchestra in the 1940s. Along with early partner Buddy Stewart, he successfully brought singing into modern jazz (concurrently with Ella Fitzgerald).
Lambert pursued this modernist take on jazz singing through a variety of formats, including the Dave Lambert Singers, which backed Charlie Parker on such 1953 recordings as "Old Folks" and "In the Still of the Night."
In the first half of the 1950s, Lambert worked primarily as a studio singer and freelance arranger, whiel explored ways to expand and deepen the possibilities for vocal jazz ensembles. He pooled his efforts with those of an Ohio-born law student named Jon Hendricks, with whom Lambert recorded, in 1955, a vocalese version of the Woody Herman standard, "Four Brothers."
In the late 1950s Lambert teamed with wordsmith and vocalese pioneer Jon Hendricks. The two were later joined by Annie Ross, and the lineup was a hit.
After Ross left the group in 1962, Lambert and Hendricks went on without her by using various replacements, but the partnership ended in 1964. He then formed a quintet called "Lambert & Co." which included the multiple voices of Mary Vonnie, Leslie Dorsey, David Lucas, and Sarah Boatner. The group auditioned for RCA, and the process was documented by filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker in a 15-minute documentary entitled Audition at RCA, and the Charlie Parker with Voices. It was one of the last images recorded of Lambert, as several months later he was killed in an auto accident.
Lambert was on the Connecticut Turnpike, heading to New York City to deliver a tape of his weekly WBAI-FM radio program, when his car had a flat tire. While changing it, he was fatally struck by a tractor-trailer truck driven by Floyd H. Demby, in the early hours of October 3, 1966
Dave Lambert was only 49.
In 2009 Dave Lambert was posthumously inducted into the JAZZ WALL OF FAME by ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers).
Born David Alden Lambert in Boston, MA on June 19, 1917. His sole musical education came at age 10 when he played drums for a year. He picked up the drums again in the late 1930s, when he worked summers playing with the Hugh McGuinness trio. Before joining the Army in 1940, he earned his living as a tree surgeon. Lambert was discharged from Army in 1943 then joined Gene Krupa's band a year later, where he teamed up with fellow vocalist Buddy Stewart to perform "What's This?", regarded upon its release in 1945 as the first-ever bop vocal recording. Lambert later formed a musical group, and his band debut was with Johnny Long's Orchestra in the 1940s. Along with early partner Buddy Stewart, he successfully brought singing into modern jazz (concurrently with Ella Fitzgerald).
Lambert pursued this modernist take on jazz singing through a variety of formats, including the Dave Lambert Singers, which backed Charlie Parker on such 1953 recordings as "Old Folks" and "In the Still of the Night."
In the first half of the 1950s, Lambert worked primarily as a studio singer and freelance arranger, whiel explored ways to expand and deepen the possibilities for vocal jazz ensembles. He pooled his efforts with those of an Ohio-born law student named Jon Hendricks, with whom Lambert recorded, in 1955, a vocalese version of the Woody Herman standard, "Four Brothers."
In the late 1950s Lambert teamed with wordsmith and vocalese pioneer Jon Hendricks. The two were later joined by Annie Ross, and the lineup was a hit.
After Ross left the group in 1962, Lambert and Hendricks went on without her by using various replacements, but the partnership ended in 1964. He then formed a quintet called "Lambert & Co." which included the multiple voices of Mary Vonnie, Leslie Dorsey, David Lucas, and Sarah Boatner. The group auditioned for RCA, and the process was documented by filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker in a 15-minute documentary entitled Audition at RCA, and the Charlie Parker with Voices. It was one of the last images recorded of Lambert, as several months later he was killed in an auto accident.
Lambert was on the Connecticut Turnpike, heading to New York City to deliver a tape of his weekly WBAI-FM radio program, when his car had a flat tire. While changing it, he was fatally struck by a tractor-trailer truck driven by Floyd H. Demby, in the early hours of October 3, 1966
Dave Lambert was only 49.
In 2009 Dave Lambert was posthumously inducted into the JAZZ WALL OF FAME by ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers).
Dave Lambert (June 19, 1917 – October 3, 1966), American jazz lyricist, singer, and an originator of vocalese. He was best known as a member of the trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Lambert spent a lifetime experimenting with the human voice, and expanding the possibilities of its use within jazz.
Born David Alden Lambert in Boston, MA on June 19, 1917. His sole musical education came at age 10 when he played drums for a year. He picked up the drums again in the late 1930s, when he worked summers playing with the Hugh McGuinness trio. Before joining the Army in 1940, he earned his living as a tree surgeon. Lambert was discharged from Army in 1943 then joined Gene Krupa's band a year later, where he teamed up with fellow vocalist Buddy Stewart to perform "What's This?", regarded upon its release in 1945 as the first-ever bop vocal recording. Lambert later formed a musical group, and his band debut was with Johnny Long's Orchestra in the 1940s. Along with early partner Buddy Stewart, he successfully brought singing into modern jazz (concurrently with Ella Fitzgerald).
Lambert pursued this modernist take on jazz singing through a variety of formats, including the Dave Lambert Singers, which backed Charlie Parker on such 1953 recordings as "Old Folks" and "In the Still of the Night."
In the first half of the 1950s, Lambert worked primarily as a studio singer and freelance arranger, whiel explored ways to expand and deepen the possibilities for vocal jazz ensembles. He pooled his efforts with those of an Ohio-born law student named Jon Hendricks, with whom Lambert recorded, in 1955, a vocalese version of the Woody Herman standard, "Four Brothers."
In the late 1950s Lambert teamed with wordsmith and vocalese pioneer Jon Hendricks. The two were later joined by Annie Ross, and the lineup was a hit.
After Ross left the group in 1962, Lambert and Hendricks went on without her by using various replacements, but the partnership ended in 1964. He then formed a quintet called "Lambert & Co." which included the multiple voices of Mary Vonnie, Leslie Dorsey, David Lucas, and Sarah Boatner. The group auditioned for RCA, and the process was documented by filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker in a 15-minute documentary entitled Audition at RCA, and the Charlie Parker with Voices. It was one of the last images recorded of Lambert, as several months later he was killed in an auto accident.
Lambert was on the Connecticut Turnpike, heading to New York City to deliver a tape of his weekly WBAI-FM radio program, when his car had a flat tire. While changing it, he was fatally struck by a tractor-trailer truck driven by Floyd H. Demby, in the early hours of October 3, 1966
Dave Lambert was only 49.
In 2009 Dave Lambert was posthumously inducted into the JAZZ WALL OF FAME by ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers).
Born David Alden Lambert in Boston, MA on June 19, 1917. His sole musical education came at age 10 when he played drums for a year. He picked up the drums again in the late 1930s, when he worked summers playing with the Hugh McGuinness trio. Before joining the Army in 1940, he earned his living as a tree surgeon. Lambert was discharged from Army in 1943 then joined Gene Krupa's band a year later, where he teamed up with fellow vocalist Buddy Stewart to perform "What's This?", regarded upon its release in 1945 as the first-ever bop vocal recording. Lambert later formed a musical group, and his band debut was with Johnny Long's Orchestra in the 1940s. Along with early partner Buddy Stewart, he successfully brought singing into modern jazz (concurrently with Ella Fitzgerald).
Lambert pursued this modernist take on jazz singing through a variety of formats, including the Dave Lambert Singers, which backed Charlie Parker on such 1953 recordings as "Old Folks" and "In the Still of the Night."
In the first half of the 1950s, Lambert worked primarily as a studio singer and freelance arranger, whiel explored ways to expand and deepen the possibilities for vocal jazz ensembles. He pooled his efforts with those of an Ohio-born law student named Jon Hendricks, with whom Lambert recorded, in 1955, a vocalese version of the Woody Herman standard, "Four Brothers."
In the late 1950s Lambert teamed with wordsmith and vocalese pioneer Jon Hendricks. The two were later joined by Annie Ross, and the lineup was a hit.
After Ross left the group in 1962, Lambert and Hendricks went on without her by using various replacements, but the partnership ended in 1964. He then formed a quintet called "Lambert & Co." which included the multiple voices of Mary Vonnie, Leslie Dorsey, David Lucas, and Sarah Boatner. The group auditioned for RCA, and the process was documented by filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker in a 15-minute documentary entitled Audition at RCA, and the Charlie Parker with Voices. It was one of the last images recorded of Lambert, as several months later he was killed in an auto accident.
Lambert was on the Connecticut Turnpike, heading to New York City to deliver a tape of his weekly WBAI-FM radio program, when his car had a flat tire. While changing it, he was fatally struck by a tractor-trailer truck driven by Floyd H. Demby, in the early hours of October 3, 1966
Dave Lambert was only 49.
In 2009 Dave Lambert was posthumously inducted into the JAZZ WALL OF FAME by ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers).
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