Circlesongs | |
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Studio album by | |
Released | April 1, 1997 |
Studio | The Hit Factory (New York, NY) |
Genre | Vocal jazz |
Length | 42:29 |
Label | Sony Classical |
Producer | Linda Goldstein |
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Circlesongs is a 1997 studio album by American vocalist Bobby McFerrin, released by Sony Classical.
In 2018, McFerrin toured with his ensemble the Voicestra, performing material from Circlesongs, as well as improvisational works with audience improvisation encouraged. [2]
The music on the album is performed by "circle singing", an improvisational technique created by McFerrin in 1986. [3] In circle singing, a leader in a circle of singers directs one sub-group in the circle to sing an improvised musical part, and then the leader improvises another part for another sub-group to sing overlayed onto the first part, and so on until the whole circle is singing different improvised parts. The song evolves as the leader changes the improvisation for different groups. [4]
Originating in vocal jazz, scat singing or scatting is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, the singer improvises melodies and rhythms using the voice solely as an instrument rather than a speaking medium. This is different from vocalese, which uses recognizable lyrics that are sung to pre-existing instrumental solos.
The 28th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 25, 1986, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year, 1985. The night's big winner was USA For Africa's "We Are The World", which won four awards, including Song of the Year which went to Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. It marked the first time in their respective careers that they received the Song of the Year Award. For Richie, it was his sixth attempt in eight years. The other three awards for the latter single were given to the song's producer, Quincy Jones.
Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. is an American jazz singer and songwriter. He is known for his vocal techniques, such as singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in pitch—for example, sustaining a melody while also rapidly alternating with arpeggios and harmonies—as well as scat singing, polyphonic overtone singing, and improvisational vocal percussion. He is widely known for performing and recording regularly as an unaccompanied solo vocal artist. He has frequently collaborated with other artists from both the jazz and classical scenes.
Undermind is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Phish, released on June 15, 2004 by Elektra Records. The album was the group's last release before they disbanded in August 2004. It is also their final studio release for Elektra Records ; When the band reunited in 2009, their subsequent albums would be released through their own JEMP Records label which had launched in December 2005 for live releases.
For All You've Done is the thirteenth album in the live praise and worship series of contemporary worship music by Hillsong Church. The live album was released on 4 July 2004 on Hillsong label, which peaked at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart. It had been recorded in February of that year at the Sydney Entertainment Centre with production by Darlene Zschech, Raymond Badham, Joel Houston and Reuben Morgan.
You Are My World is the tenth album in the live praise and worship series of contemporary worship music by Hillsong Church. The album reached the ARIA Albums Chart Top 100.
Vocalese is the ninth studio album by Jazz band The Manhattan Transfer, released in 1985 on the Atlantic Records. Recording sessions took place during 1985. Production came from Tim Hauser and Martin Fischer. This album is considered to be The Manhattan Transfer's most critically acclaimed album. It received 12 Grammy nominations, making it second only to Michael Jackson's Thriller as the most nominated individual album. It also received extremely high ratings from music critics, including a 4.5 out of 5 stars rating from Allmusic. The album peaked at number 2 on the Top Jazz Albums and number 74 on the Billboard 200. The album's title Vocalese refers to a style of music that sets lyrics to previously recorded jazz instrumental pieces. The vocals then reproduce the sound and feel of the original instrumentation. Jon Hendricks, proficient in this art, composed all of the lyrics for this album.
Life, Love & Other Mysteries is the third album by contemporary Christian music group Point of Grace. It was released in 1996 by Word and Epic Records.
Bobby McFerrin is the debut album by Bobby McFerrin, released in 1982.
Play is an album by Bobby McFerrin and Chick Corea.
Hush is a collaborative album by vocalist Bobby McFerrin and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. It was released on the Sony Masterworks label in 1992. The pair first met at a 1988 celebration of Leonard Bernstein.
Simple Pleasures is the fourth studio album by American singer and musician Bobby McFerrin, released in 1988 by Manhattan Records.
Di•a•lects, Music for solo synthesizers and voices is the fourth studio album by Joe Zawinul which was released in 1986. It was created by Zawinul alone with his programmed synths and rhythm machines, using vocoders on his own vox and importing Bobby McFerrin's improvised onomatopoeics and a vocal trio singing in a Zawinul-created language on other tracks."
Spontaneous Inventions is a 1986 live album by American vocalist Bobby McFerrin, released by Blue Note Records.
Bang!Zoom is a 1995 studio album by American vocalist and jazz/folk musician Bobby McFerrin, released by Blue Note Records. The line-up includes several members of the jazz fusion band Yellowjackets.
Dreamland is an album by the American jazz group Yellowjackets, released in 1995. The album reached a peak position of number twelve on Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart.
Bob Stoloff is an American jazz musician and teacher.
All the Sad Young Men is a 1962 album by Anita O'Day, arranged by Gary McFarland and produced by Creed Taylor.
The Best Is Yet to Come is a 1982 studio album by American jazz musician Grover Washington Jr., released via Elektra label. The album includes his major hit "The Best Is Yet to Come" recorded with Patti LaBelle.
The Imperials Sing the Classics, also titled Sing the Classics, is a 1984 studio album by Christian music vocal group The Imperials. It is their final album on the DaySpring label as they switched to Word Records' Myrrh label for their next album Let the Wind Blow (1985). The Imperials Sing the Classics is the group's 30th studio album as they were celebrating their 20th year of music and ministry by singing four-part harmony, reminiscent of their early years. It is an album of covers singing classic contemporary Christian music songs from the 1970s and early 1980s with production by Neal Joseph and arranged and conducted by Don Hart. The album peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Top Inspirational Albums chart.