Once dubbed the “poet laureate of jazz,” Mr. Hendricks expanded the vocabulary of jazz singing as the leading exponent of a style known as vocalese. Lambert, Hendricks & Ross’s bravura performances on “Sing a Song of Basie” went beyond anything that had been attempted before. As the group’s primary lyricist and songwriter, Mr. Hendricks helped push jazz singing to new heights of virtuosity. “All the kids would go out and play,” Mr. Hendricks told the Associated Press in 1996. Mr. Hendricks said U.S. military police officers fired at him and other black soldiers they suspected of consorting with French women.

Source: Washington Post November 23, 2017 00:07 UTC