The Voice (Bobby McFerrin album)

Last updated
The Voice
Mcferrin0007559600.jpg
Live album by
Released1984
RecordedMarch 17–26, 1984
VenueLiederhalle (Stuttgart)
Musikhalle (Hamburg)
Rosengarten (Mannheim)
Club Bahnhof Ehrenfeld (Cologne)
Genre Jazz, acappella
Length43:12
Label Elektra/Musician
Bobby McFerrin chronology
Bobby McFerrin
(1982)
The Voice
(1984)
Spontaneous Inventions
(1986)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [1]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Village Voice B− [3]

The Voice is a live album by vocalist Bobby McFerrin that was released in 1984. This was the first album by a jazz singer to be recorded without accompaniment or overdubbing. [1]

Contents

Background

When McFerrin's album was released in 1984, it was exceptional for several reasons. The use of computers, synthesizers, and electronics in music was on the rise while McFerrin relied solely on his voice. One of the songs on the album is called "I'm My Own Walkman". He fit in the tradition of bebop vocalists for whom sound dominated lyrics and who imitated the sounds of saxophones and trumpets. But like Al Jarreau, he went beyond them by imitating all the instruments: drums, bass, flute, horns, guitar. He thumped his chest with his hands for percussive effects. He was the first jazz singer to sing while inhaling in addition to exhaling. He gave concerts as a soloist without instrumental accompaniment. [4] His vocal styles varied, too, sometimes within one song in which he sang improvised lines with quick changes in register, falsetto, pops, grunts, while maintaining melody, harmony, and rhythm. One should also note his range. He is the son of an opera singer. He was voted Best Male Vocalist in DownBeat magazine in 1984 and 1985. [5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bobby McFerrin except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Blackbird"3:07
2."The Jump" 4:48
3."El Brujo" 4:11
4."I Feel Good" James Brown 3:19
5."I'm My Own Walkman" 4:02
6."Music Box" 3:56
7."Medley: Donna Lee/Big Top/We're in the Money"7:22
8."I'm Alone" 4:41
9."T.J." 3:48
10."Take the "A" Train" Billy Strayhorn 3:58

Personnel

Production

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References

  1. 1 2 Yanow, Scott. "The Voice - Bobby McFerrin". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  2. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. US: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 134. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
  3. Christgau, Robert (November 27, 1984). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . New York. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  4. Berendt, Joachim-Ernst; Huesmann, Gunther (2009). The Jazz Book: From Ragtime to the 21st Century (7 ed.). Chicago, Illinois: Lawrence Hill Books. p. 558. ISBN   978-1-55652820-0.
  5. Hatch, Marty; Kernfeld, Barry (2002). Kernfeld, Barry (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). New York: Grove's Dictionaries. pp. 654–655. ISBN   1-56159-284-6.