Eddie Jefferson
Eddie Jefferson | |
|---|---|
Jefferson at Half Moon Bay, California, October 10, 1978 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | August 3, 1918 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | May 9, 1979 (aged 60) Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument | Vocals |
Eddie Jefferson (August 3, 1918 – May 9, 1979) was an American jazz vocalist and lyricist. He is credited as an innovator of vocalese, a musical style in which lyrics are set to an instrumental composition or solo. Jefferson himself claims that his main influence was Leo Watson. Perhaps Jefferson's best-known song is "Moody's Mood for Love" which was recorded in 1952 by King Pleasure and catapulted the contrafact into wide popularity (King Pleasure even cites Jefferson as a personal influence). Jefferson's recordings of Charlie Parker's "Parker's Mood" and Horace Silver's "Filthy McNasty" were also hits.