University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Vocal jazz repertoire from 1920-1960: a selection of unpublished repertoire by the Mills Brothers, the Boswell Sisters, and the Hi-Lo's for use in classical choral programming

(USC Thesis Other)

Vocal jazz repertoire from 1920-1960: a selection of unpublished repertoire by the Mills Brothers, the Boswell Sisters, and the Hi-Lo's for use in classical choral programming

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content VOCAL JAZZ REPERTOIRE FROM 1920-1960:
A SELECTION OF UNPUBLISHED REPERTOIRE BY THE MILLS BROTHERS,
THE BOSWELL SISTERS, AND THE HI-LO’S FOR USE IN
CLASSICAL CHORAL PROGRAMMING

by

Dawn Elizabeth Brooks

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE THORNTON SCHOOL OF MUSIC
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS
(CHORAL MUSIC)

December 2009

Copryright 2009 Dawn Elizabeth Brooks
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you all of my professors at USC, who have helped me strengthen my resolve to
be an excellent educator by their example. Thanks also to my parents, Janet and Bill
Brooks, who have supported me unconditionally throughout my education and my career
as a musician. A special thanks to my husband Cory Johnson, without whom this degree
would not have been possible, and my son Cole, who lived happily inside me during my
last year as a student.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii
LIST OF FIGURES v
ABSTRACT vi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1
CHAPTER TWO: TEACHING VOCAL JAZZ TO CLASSICAL CHOIRS 4
Introduction of Educational Topics in Vocal Jazz 4
Jazz Education and Improvisation 7
Searching for Unpublished Repertoire 12

CHAPTER THREE: THE MILLS BROTHERS 13
Biography 13
Mills Brothers Repertoire for Men’s Chorus 17
“It Don’t Mean a Thing” 19
“Some of These Days” 22

CHAPTER FOUR: THE BOSWELL SISTERS 26
Biography 26
Boswell Sisters Repertoire for Women’s Chorus 31
“Shout, Sister, Shout” 33
“Roll On, Mississippi, Roll On” 36

CHAPTER FIVE: THE HI-LO’S 40
Biography 41
Hi-Lo’s Repertoire for Mixed Ensemble 44
“My Romance” 46

CHAPTER SIX: THE PEDAGOGY OF VOCAL JAZZ 51
Repertoire 52
Vocal Health 55
Vibrato 56
Education Through Listening 57
Rhythm 59
Interpretation 61
Performance Decisions 62
iv
Memorization 62

CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSION 64

BIBLIOGRAPHY 66
APPENDICES
A. TRANSCRIPTIONS 69
It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) 69
Some Of These Days 87
Shout, Sister, Shout 97
Roll On, Mississippi, Roll On 105
My Romance 114

B. DISCOGRAPHY 118
C. VIDEOGRAPHY 121

v
LIST OF FIGURES

1. Transcribed first half of the Don Mills solo from “Tiger Rag” 18
2. Transcription “It Don’t Mean a Thing” mm. 10-19 20
3. “It Don’t Mean a Thing” mm 42-51 21
4. Transcription of muted horn imitation mm. 87-90 22
5. Transcription of Don Mills’ “Sweep” solo 23
6. Transcription of group passage from “Some of These Days” 24
7. Transcription of scat solo from “Some of These Days” 25
8. Opening vocal line of “Shout, Sister, Shout” 33
9. Slow section of “Shout, Sister, Shout” 34
10. Fast, scat section of “Shout, Sister, Shout” 35
11. Connee’s solo verse in “Roll On, Mississippi” 37
12. First refrain of “Roll On, Mississippi” 37
13. Free section from “Roll On, Mississippi” 38
14. Scat passage from the end of “Roll On, Mississippi” 38
15. Opening of “My Romance,” parallel third voicing 47
16. “Guitar” word painting in “My Romance” 48
17. Middle section of “My Romance” 49
18. Transition to D in “My Romance” 50

vi
ABSTRACT
This dissertation proposes that conductors should consider quality vocal jazz
arrangements for traditional choral concert programs. The music offers an opportunity
for education in many areas of jazz music and in the social and cultural aspects of
American history. In addition to published works, jazz groups’ recorded arrangements, if
transcribed, are ideal for choirs. The author suggests that this music is appropriate for
women’s, men’s, and mixed ensembles, and encourages that conductors transcribe
recordings of unpublished repertoire for performance.
Educational topics related to the performance of vocal jazz can include: aspects of jazz
history, biographical information about the performers and songwriters, instruction about
healthy vocal versatility, melodic and rhythmic musicianship skills, and an appreciation
of jazz arranging. Teaching improvisation, as an essential component of jazz music, is
considered necessary by jazz educators. Introducing concepts of beginning improvisation
into a choral rehearsal setting can be effective, and some methods will be suggested.
The Mills Brother, The Boswell Sisters, and The Hi-Lo’s are used as examples of
early vocal jazz groups whose repertoire deserves attention. A biography of each
ensemble, suggestions of possible repertoire for use by choral ensembles, and analysis of
five arrangements transcribed by the author are included as support for the thesis of the
paper. Finally, to assist choral conductors who are interested in educating themselves
about vocal jazz, the author has included a chapter suggesting various ways to introduce
jazz concepts to choir, including: repertoire, vocal production, listening exercises,
rhythmic exercises, interpretation of lyrics, and performance decisions.
CHAPTER ONE:
INTRODUCTION
Vocal jazz repertoire rarely appears on the programs of classical choral ensembles.
The causes are several. Some conductors lack a performance background in jazz, and as
a result may be unwilling or afraid to teach compositions in this genre. Some conductors
may not be able to identify which arrangements are appropriate for their choir from the
wide variety of vocal jazz repertoire that is available. Much of this repertoire was
composed or arranged for groups specializing in vocal jazz and therefore may require a
rhythm section or sound amplification, or some of it may be more appropriate for show
choirs. Other conductors are concerned that they will be unable to address issues of vocal
production given the continuing confusion regarding the differences between popular and
classical vocal technique. Finally, many directors are not convinced that there is
educational value in teaching either jazz history or its music. All of these are valid
concerns, but they will be addressed in this paper.
Vocal jazz deserves a place in choral repertoire for several reasons. Programming
vocal jazz gives conductors the option of introducing historical, musical, and technical
topics that are specific to the study of jazz. The inclusion of vocal jazz in a choral
concert exposes the singers to what may be a new art form for them, and it also preserves,
renews, or inspires an audience’s interest in jazz. Because of the eclectic nature of most
choral concerts, there are numerous ways a director can program one or two vocal jazz
arrangements within a set: they can be combined with music of other genres (spirituals,
American music, show tunes, Barbershop or Sweet Adeline), with works of similar
thematic content, and they can serve as a concert closer.
2
The history of vocal jazz groups begins in the 1920s in the United States and
continues until the present day. Early ensembles developed their arrangements
collaboratively by ear, using contemporary popular songs, while later groups relied upon
one or two arrangers, often from among their singers, who would write, notate, and
eventually publish arrangements. (These later published arrangements are readily
available.) This paper seeks to explore and transcribe the equally worthy, but unknown,
unpublished repertoire found on the recordings of three groups: The Mills Brothers, The
Boswell Sisters, and The Hi-Lo’s.
The Mills Brothers enjoyed their first success in the 1920s. They were introduced to
an enthusiastic international audience through live concerts, radio shows, and
appearances in full-length movies and animated shorts. The career of three of the
brothers, Don, Harry, and Herbert Mills, spanned six decades of live performances. Their
early recordings were especially creative and included features that had not been heard in
earlier recordings of vocal jazz, incorporating lengthy scat solos and group passages, re-
structured songs, and vocal imitations of jazz instruments. The career of The Boswell
Sisters lasted only six years from1930 to 1936, but in that time they produced a large
volume of work, which continues eighty years, later to garner critical acclaim. Their
arrangements transformed popular songs into extended jazz compositions that were
almost unrecognizable. The Hi-Lo’s were the brainchild of Gene Puerling in the 1950s
and he wrote most of the group’s vocal arrangements. Their eclectic repertoire included
jazz standards, folk songs, and show tunes, and their live performances were enhanced by
witty banter and a flawless, unified sound. They were often accompanied by a full big
3
band, with instrumental charts written by Los Angeles area arrangers. All three groups
produced vocal arrangements that are suitable to be programmed for traditional choirs.
Conductors may avoid selecting vocal jazz repertoire because they question its
educational benefits or the quality of the arrangements. Evidence of those benefits will
be briefly discussed in the paper. An argument will be made that teaching vocal jazz to
traditional choirs provides many topics for exploration: jazz history, and American social
and cultural history; the lives and careers of the performers and artists; vocal versatility;
and jazz arranging. In addition, the challenging harmonies, intervals, and complex
rhythms of vocal jazz arrangements would improve the musicianship skills of any choir.
A further deterrent for teachers and conductors is the long-running debate as to whether
improvisation must be included by choral ensembles studying vocal jazz repertoire. This
debate will be examined from the perspective of two leading jazz educators, and include
suggestions for incorporating beginning improvisation into rehearsal from the author. It
is argued that the need for high-quality repertoire can be satisfied by transcribing existing
arrangements; the author includes five such transcriptions in the Appendix.
Conductors often feel inadequately prepared by their education to teach jazz concepts.
The final chapter of this paper will give detailed, practical suggestions about how to
introduce these concepts into a choral situation. Selection of repertoire, instruction on
healthy vocal production, examination of listening examples, execution of rhythm
through exercises designed for accuracy and feel, interpretation of lyrics, and suggestions
about performance decisions will all be discussed. It is hoped that this project will
provide conductors who have little or no experience with jazz with enough information to
feel comfortable introducing jazz into their choral rehearsals and performances.
4
CHAPTER TWO:
TEACHING VOCAL JAZZ TO CLASSICAL CHOIRS
Modern choral conductors regularly program a wide variety of music for their
ensembles and present eclectic concerts that present music from many periods and
countries, and that include African-American spirituals or arrangements of multi-cultural
works. This approach to programming works from a wide range of cultures provides an
opportunity to introduce the singers to unfamiliar musical genres and composers,
addresses differences in performance practice, and gives singers experiences of language
other than their native tongue. Conductors often select compositions that can also serve
as a vehicle for teaching musicianship or theory skills, such as music particularly that
which incorporates complex rhythm or extended harmony. In this way teaching vocal
jazz repertoire contributes to educating musicians of any age. High-quality vocal jazz
repertoire contains intricate rhythm, advanced concepts of harmony, and provides
multiple paths by which singers can learn about American musical and cultural history.
The following chapter will expand on the benefits of programming vocal jazz repertoire
by suggesting a variety of related educational topics, by exploring the contrasting
opinions about the necessity of teaching improvisation, and by making an argument for
the transcription of unpublished repertoire.

Introduction of Educational Topics in Vocal Jazz
Introducing any music to a choir provides an opening for instruction about the
composer, musical era, harmonic and rhythmic techniques, language, and other possible
broad and specific topics within music education. Many conductors consider these
5
instructional components when programming their concerts exposing their choir to a
wide range of music and pedagogical subjects. The inclusion of vocal jazz arrangements
in an educational setting provides the conductor with new areas of learning including:
jazz history, jazz musicians, vocal versatility, musicianship skills, and the art of jazz
arranging. While a detailed discussion of the benefits each of these areas of study is
beyond the scope of this dissertation, a few will be mentioned as a starting point for
conductors.
Jazz History
Jazz is considered one of the only forms of truly American music, although one can
certainly trace the roots of the genre to Africa and the Caribbean. The line connecting the
development of jazz to African-American spirituals, 19
th
century hymnody, song forms,
minstrel singers, and community orchestras in the South has become increasingly clear to
modern historians.
1
The study of the eras of jazz and its performers touches all aspects of
this uniquely American musical history, and can include discussions about region,
racism, and creativity in the midst of personal strife.
Biographical Information
The history of jazz also opens a window to talk about the education, careers, and
contributions of performers, bandleaders, and songwriters. The stories of women and
minorities who achieved success in the genre, in spite of the prejudices they faced, are
inspiring witnesses to students of the importance of perseverance and passion for music.

1
Collier, James Lincoln. “Jazz II. Origins and Early History” in The New Grove
Dictionary of Jazz. (London: Macmillan Press Limited, 1988. Reprint, New York:
St. Martin’s Press, 1994), 580-1.

6
These stories display the tendency of the artistic community to foreshadow or even force
cultural shifts. The Mills Brothers and The Boswell Sisters, explored in detail in the
following chapters, are prime examples of overcoming the adversity of racism, sexism,
and even discrimination against performers with disabilities (in the case of Connee
Boswell).
Vocal Versatility
Studying the many styles of vocal jazz singing also highlights the importance of vocal
versatility, a unified sound, and creates an opportunity to teach healthy tone production in
popular music. Listening to various jazz performers, whether they are soloists or part of
an ensemble, can offer insight into the many approaches to singing jazz and can
encourage students to explore their own abilities and tastes.
Musicianship Skills
The different eras of vocal jazz offer increasing challenges in teaching the basics of
musicianship, including extended harmony and complex rhythms. With vocal jazz in
particular, the arrangements often utilize difficult voicing, and require added attention to
tuning dissonant chords and challenging intervals. The advanced skill of sight-reading
vocal jazz music will lead to improved ability in singing the unusual intervals and
syncopated rhythms that are common to choral music of the 20
th
century. Improving
these skills with vocal jazz repertoire will benefit other performances of music, as well,
as singers’ heightened skills in careful listening and reading advanced notation are
applied to all repertoire.

7
Jazz Arranging
Jazz arrangers, often but not always performers in their own ensembles, have used the
basics of choral writing, learned from classical and barbershop traditions, to create a new
genre. Ensembles like The Boswell Sisters and The Mills Brothers developed their
arrangements as a group; perhaps for this reason they were never notated. Later
arrangers such as Gene Puerling, Phil Mattson, Ward Swingle, and Clare Fischer wrote
for specific groups, and many of their compositions are currently published and available
for purchase and public performance. Many colleges and universities offer courses in
jazz arranging and their ensembles perform scores arranged by students, faculty, or
published arrangers. Exposure to this art form is yet another area of education for
conductors and their ensembles.
There are, of course, myriad other subjects that could be tied into jazz instruction in an
educational setting. These five suggestions represent just a sampling of the many
disciplines connected to the understanding and performance of jazz repertoire. These
would also vary with the specific era of jazz and the difficulty of the selection. Early and
late jazz involve different discussions about contemporary history, style, performance
practice, harmony, and rhythm, but both are valuable areas of study.

Jazz Education and Improvisation
The inclusion of improvisation in choral instruction is an area of debate, both in recent
academic writing and in discussions among educators. Many conductors are deterred
from programming vocal jazz music because of the insistence by most within the jazz
education community about the necessity of improvisation in jazz performance. While
8
conductors may agree that improvisation is a beneficial area of instruction, they probably
lack the skills necessary to teach the discipline. However, much of vocal jazz repertoire
does not rely on improvisation, especially if one selects earlier repertoire, such as the
works described later in this paper. There are also simple ways to introduce concepts of
improvisation, such as transcribing recorded solos by respected performers or developing
scat syllables for a pre-existing solo, that do not require the conductor to have a
background in advanced improvisation.
Kirk Marcy, jazz educator and brief member of the legendary vocal and instrumental
ensemble The Four Freshman, wrote an informative and opinionated article for the
Choral Journal titled, “Is Your Ensemble Creative or Re-Creative?” Although intended
primarily for teachers of vocal jazz ensembles at the high school and college level, he
addresses many issues about programming the repertoire for mainstream choirs (those not
specifically dedicated to vocal jazz), as well. Marcy plainly states why he believes
teaching improvisation is necessary:
At the very heart of jazz performance is the freedom to be creatively expressive.
Serious jazz players and singers embrace the theory that any written music serves
as a point of departure, not a destination. In essence, they strive to creatively get
away from the written music, not work toward it. Dizzy Gillespie said it best:
‘Jazz is caught, not taught!’
2

He continues by applying this strongly held belief to the choral arena:
Immediately, this challenges what many choral directors have been musically
trained to do, and, of equal importance, how they approach this type of music
with their own choirs and ensembles. One need look no further than what music is
in their jazz choir folder to effectively 'point the compass' in a clear direction. At
stake lies a philosophical perspective of allowing, encouraging, and nurturing a
sense of creativity within the students, individually and collectively, versus that of

2
Marcy, Kirk. “Is Your Ensemble Creative or Re-Creative?” in the Choral
Journal 47:6 (December 2006): 60.
9
choosing a more controlled, traditional choral approach to vocal jazz -- one that
steers away from individual creativity and expression, to that of more elaborate,
orchestrated vertical harmony, with a goal of achieving quality intonation, balance
and refinement, in the same vein as a concert choir. It is this author's assertion that
a truly educational experience for our students should embrace both of these
important considerations, not one or the other.
3

Approaching the instruction of improvisation is an undeniably important element of the
genre for an ensemble whose purpose is dedicated to the area of vocal jazz. Fostering the
ability to perform in the moment and understanding the many considerations in planning
a successful improvised solo is imperative for a jazz performer. However, this does not
translate easily to a classical choral situation, where neither the conductor nor the
students have the luxury of focusing exclusively on mastering one singing technique from
one era of music. Does this mean that these ensembles should not approach the
performance of arranged vocal jazz that leaves out the necessity of improvisation?
Should conductors who have not received training in performing or teaching
improvisation therefore feel banned from programming jazz arrangements? The
insistence that jazz is the most important element of jazz discounts the importance of all
of the other musical characteristics that combine to create the jazz genre. Even Marcy,
later in the article, discusses the value of appreciating and demonstrating different
techniques, explaining:
From an educational perspective, this author chooses to expose students to the
music of the Singers Unlimited and the Real Group, not for their sense of
spontaneity, but for their brilliant sense of balance, intonation, and precision.
Conversely, students are exposed to the music of Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross
(LH&R), not for their precision and intonation, but for their brilliant
improvisation and sense of musical adventure. LH&R are not necessarily good
examples of intonation or balance. But they are great ambassadors of creativity

3
Ibid, 60.
10
and are without question more looked upon by instrumentalists in jazz, as being
true to the art.
4

Marcy asserts throughout the article that one must have improvisation in jazz to be, as
stated above, “true to the art,” but his argument also devalues all of the other techniques
and skills that unite to create a great jazz performance. Others in the jazz community
argue that one does not need to force the art form of jazz into one narrow definition of
performance. This argument defines the difference between preserving, honoring, and
studying tradition and fostering creativity and new areas of exploration, which is an area
of debate in every discipline of art. Paul Rinzler, in his excellent book The Contradictions
of Jazz, presents the following example of appreciating both traditions:
Another way to see that tradition and creativity are not mutually exclusive is to
view them as separate, distinct pleasures. Imagine that you are in a jazz club and
the band plays two songs: one is a hard-swinging, soulful tune that gets the
audience up on its feet, hands clapping; the other conducts an experimental
approach to improvisation that few have heard before. One does not need to
reject the pleasures of newness and surprise fund in the second piece in order to
appreciate the pleasures of the groove in the first piece, and jazz is big enough for
both if one does not require mutual exclusion as the only means of opposition.
5

In addition, knowledge of tradition is an essential component of the later exploration of
creativity, since all improvisation is a variation on something that already exists. Just as
a student in art school learns about historical movements and copies the style of earlier
artists in order to understand the development of their subject, a student embarking on the
study of jazz needs to be exposed to the styles and performers throughout the evolution of
the genre before they can understand how to vary and build upon that history.

4
Ibid, 61.
5
Paul Rinzler. The Contradictions of Jazz. (Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow
Press, Inc., 2008), 134.

11
Transcribing music and performing accurate re-creations of early arrangements is an
introduction to the appreciation of jazz music and could inspire students to further
explore the genre.
Marcy’s argument that performers are only true ambassadors or the art form if
improvisation is present is narrowing the definition of the genre, because it dismisses the
importance of rhythm, harmony, style, voicing, and songwriting. Improvisation mostly
applies to soloists (instrumental or vocal) or solo sections within a larger composition.
Most larger jazz ensembles use arrangements, from Duke Ellington, who believed in a
kind of simulated improvisation (composing spontaneous-sounding passages at times to
prevent badly executed solos), to Count Basie, who allowed for sections of solo
improvisation within the controlled structure of a “head” arrangement. The only forms of
truly group-improvised jazz involve are found in Dixieland bands or in modern free jazz.
But, even in these situations performers in both types of groups are aware of their “role”
in the process and often use a pre-planned procedure to create an improvised effect.
In a traditional choral setting, there is rarely time to develop a specialized skill such as
improvisation, but introducing the concept in a simple manner can be beneficial. If
conductors limit the performance of jazz to works featuring improvisation, fewer will
include vocal jazz music in their repertoire because of the intensive investment of time
and skill needed to teach improvisation. Vocal jazz has a dying audience (literally), but if
more conductors feature the genre in choral concerts it encourage singers and the
audience to explore other types of jazz. The benefits of programming this distinct
repertoire far outweigh the argument about the necessity of including improvisation for
the music to be considered true jazz. There are numerous methods of teaching basic
12
improvisation skills that can be included in the choral setting which will be discussed
further in the final chapter of this treatise. Nevertheless, learning to execute an advanced
improvisational solo could and should be considered an area of jazz instruction that is
available to those settings in which the teachers and students are devoted to the serious
study of the art of jazz.

Searching for Unpublished Repertoire
A large selection of published vocal jazz music is available for a variety of choral
voicings and ability levels, but there are even more unpublished arrangements on CDs
and LPs that are rarely heard or performed. Some vocal jazz ensemble directors
transcribe arrangements, but mainstream choral conductors are less likely to consider
these recordings as possible sources of repertoire. This, unfortunately, restricts the
availability of early vocal jazz for choral concerts; although the beginning of the genre
dates back to the early 1920s, most of the music dates from the 1960s and later. The
author advocates that conductors take an active role in researching and transcribing this
repertoire, as conductors of Early Music seek to increase their available repertoire by
editing and publishing works from the Medieval and Renaissance eras. In the following
chapters, the repertoire of The Mills Brothers, The Boswell Sisters, and The Hi-Lo’s will
be explored, revealing compositions that exhibit the exciting and educational elements of
jazz while still being appropriate for performance in a choral concert setting. The
author’s transcriptions of five arrangements are included in the Appendix as examples of
possible choral repertoire.
13
CHAPTER THREE
THE MILLS BROTHERS
The early recordings of The Mills Brothers offer an abundance of charming
arrangements, many of which could be included in a Men’s Chorus concert. One of the
earliest successful vocal groups in the 20
th
century, The Mills Brothers, were initially
comprised of four brothers accompanied by guitar. Their signature smooth sound was
complimented by fast, energetic scat solos and the imitation of instrumental sounds in the
midst of complex vocal arrangements. Their performances in live concerts, on the radio,
and in movie shorts exposed this African-American group to a mainstream audience and
gained them acceptance in a music world dominated by white men. They performed with
the major musical stars of their day including Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Jordan,
and, in a particularly creative and successful partnership, with Louis Armstrong. This
chapter will include a brief biography of the group, a list of repertoire for Men’s Chorus,
and a detailed discussion of two complete transcriptions by the author, “It Don’t Mean a
Thing” and “Some of These Days,” both of which are found in the Appendix.

Biography
The brothers were born and raised in Ohio. Their musical taste was influenced early
on by the musical interests of their parents, who owned a barbershop. Donald Mills, the
youngest brother explained: “We started singing barbershop because our father had a
barbershop quartet called the Four Kings of Harmony. And this is where we learned
14
barbershop harmony – from them.”
6
The four brothers began to create their own
arrangements of barbershop songs with Herbert on tenor, Harry on lead, Donald on
baritone, and John singing bass and accompanying on guitar. In 1925 they formed a
group called Four Boys and a Kazoo, featuring imitation instrumental sections using the
popular and inexpensive buzzing pipes. According to the brothers, Harry forgot his
kazoo one day, and in desperation cupped his hands over his mouth attempting to imitate
a trumpet. Donald and Herbert followed his lead and created sounds of lower brass as an
accompaniment.
7
The technique became an identifying part of their sound and they kept
it in the act, changing their name to Four Boys and a Guitar and leaving the kazoos
behind.
The brothers developed their arrangements as a group and never notated their
creations. According to Herbert: “We didn’t have any written arrangements to begin
with, they were all head arrangements. We’d get together and I’d get an idea, Harry
would get an idea, Don would get an idea. We’d put them together and if it worked,
that’s the way we did it. If we didn’t like it we’d try something else.”
8
Their
personalities emerged as they became more experienced performers, with Harry taking on
the role of the charismatic spokesperson for the group, Herbert content to be quietly in
the background singing harmony, Donald singing many of the most famous solos and
scat sections, and John maintaining his role as bass and accompaniment. Their
instrumental vocalizing rendered performing with a big band unnecessary in the early

6
Donald Mills, quoted in The Mills Brothers Story. Directed by Don McGlynn.
(Storyville Films, 1986. DVD), 4’15”.
7
Ibid. 15’
8
Ibid. 11’40”
15
days, although they toured later in life as a trio with a large band. They performed in
local concerts and on the radio, and quickly achieved success as a musical act.
Duke Ellington first heard the Brothers perform in Cincinnati in 1929
9
and helped
them obtain their first record deal. They recorded “Tiger Rag” for Brunswick as The
Mills Brothers that year and this first song was an immediate commercial success.
Because of their realistic “instrumental sounds” Brunswick (and later Decca) printed on
their records: "No musical instruments or mechanical devices used in this recording other
than one guitar." They became known as “One Take Millsys” because they were famous
for preparing thoroughly, recording directly onto the wax the first time
10
, and saving the
recording companies valuable time and money. The brothers became the first African-
Americans to headline their own radio show when they signed a contract with CBS radio
in 1929.
11
In the early 1930s they reached an even wider audience by filming a series of
cartoons and movie shorts that featured “follow the bouncing ball” audience sing-a-longs.
Will Friedwald elaborated on their participation with the cartoon industry:
The brothers shine the brightest on a series of Fleischer cartoons where their ace
off-camera vocalizing provides a perfect counterpart to the animated action.
Instead of photographed actors on the screen, we have highly stylized caricatures
of human beings and anthropomorphic animals; instead of real instruments on the
soundtrack, we have human voices creating an impression of instrumental sound,
again, highly stylized.
12

Their first movie appearance was in The Big Broadcast of 1932 directed by Frank Tuttle,
in which they shared the screen with many of their fellow radio stars including Bing

9
Mort Goode. Liner notes of “The Mills Brothers Story,” (Ranwood Records), 2.
10
Ibid. 33’10’.

11
Tucker, Mark. “Mills Brother” in The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. (London:
Macmillan Press Limited, 1988. Reprint, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994), 108-9.
12
Will Friedwald. Jazz Singing. (New York: Da Capo Press), 175.
16
Crosby, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Cab Calloway, and the Boswell Sisters.
In 1934 The Mills Brothers traveled to London for an extended tour, where John fell
seriously ill for the first time. Over the next year his health deteriorated into a bout with
pneumonia, but the brothers continued to tour in 1935. John died suddenly in January of
1936, and Harry, Herbert, and Don, understandably devastated by the loss of their eldest
brother, considered quitting music altogether. It was their mother who talked them into
continuing their career
13
and they quickly accepted their father John Sr. into the group as
the new bass, simultaneously hiring a new guitar player, Norman Brown. They resumed
touring in 1937, experiencing a tremendous success in England and Europe. By the time
they returned to America a new sound, led by the gospel-inspired Ink Spots, was
dominating the record charts. The brothers worked to re-invent themselves and produced
the biggest hit of their careers with the 1941 release of “Paper Doll.” They had
acclimated to the newer style of crooning ballads and helped to evolve a style of solo and
vocal accompaniment singing that would define the popular “doo-wop” songs in the
1950s.
The Mills Brothers toured with their father and Norman Brown until 1957s, but Harry,
Donald, and Herbert persevered as a trio, even as Harry, unbeknownst to many of their
fans, lost his eyesight. Their last performance was at a jazz festival in 1981, a year before
Harry’s death. Herbert died in 1989, but Donald still toured into the late 1980s with his
nephew, enjoying a career spanning six decades; before he died in 1999. Don summed
up the enduring appeal of the group in his characteristically humble manner:

13
Mills Brothers Story 24’40”.
17
What we tried to do is sing a song as simple as possible, get a different meaning out
of a song that you’re doing, to the point where the person that is listening can sing
along with it or hum along with it or tap their foot. And as long as you can get the
people to do that, I think it’s a wonderful thing.
14

Mills Brothers Repertoire for Men’s Chorus
Programming a transcribed arrangement by The Mills Brothers would be an ideal
opportunity for a conductor of a high school or college level men’s ensemble to introduce
elements of jazz singing without needing to explore the skill of improvisation. Learning
transcribed solos is a common way for students entering the world of jazz to discover the
manner in which great performers used rhythm, harmony, phrasing, and scat syllables to
vary popular songs. Although many proponents of jazz education argue that
improvisation is a critical element of jazz performance, it is also a skill that applies more
to solo performers than groups. Instrumental and vocal groups in popular music, since
the time of the purely improvisational Dixieland groups, have utilized arrangements to
heighten the complexity of musical performance, even when the result appeared to be
improvisational.
The vocal range of the early Mills Brothers repertoire is wide, often including low Cs
in the bass range and high Cs sung in falsetto by the tenor. Most choruses do not have
basses with these notes. The bass voice is simply mimicking a string bass line and a
solution may be to have the notes out of range sung up an octave. Upright bass players
will commonly vary a bass line by changing octaves. It would also be possible to assign
the line to a string bass, leaving the upper three voices for the chorus.
The first popular track by The Mills Brothers was the 1929 release of “Tiger Rag,”

14
Ibid. 53’45”.
18
which contains a trademark scat solo by Don in the middle section. His agility with
rhythm and scat syllables is highlighted by a memorable alternate melody. This particular
solo was pre-planned, as is evident in repetition of the solo in the several recordings of
the brothers performing the same arrangement. Even though the scat solo is not really
improvised, this does not subtract from the impressive and effective interpretation of the
singer. Simply stated: it’s a difficult solo to sing even if notated and memorized. (See
Figure 1)

Figure 1. Transcribed first half of the Don Mills solo from “Tiger Rag”
Teaching a student vocalist to execute such a solo, with its advanced rhythms and scat
syllables, would be a wonderful lesson in agility, comparable to a classical coloratura
passage. The rest of the arrangement contains playful string bass imitation underneath a
simple, but rhythmic version of the jazz standard first recorded in 1917 by the Original
19
Dixieland Jass Band (“jass” was another word used by early performers of jazz). Many
other works by The Mills Brothers would be entertaining and educational additions to a
choral concert, especially their version of Duke Ellington’s “Caravan” and their famous
duet with Louis Armstrong of Hoagy Carmichael and Sidney Arodin’s “Lazy River”.

“It Don’t Mean a Thing”
The Mills Brothers’ recording of Ellington’s 1931 tune “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It
Ain’t Got That Swing)” is a first-rate demonstration of many of the innovative techniques
used by the Mills Brothers. As is customary for the Mills’ arrangements, the melody,
words, and rhythm are slightly altered. The rhythmic variation would be a challenging
exercise for most classical choirs and achieving the appropriate laid-back swing style
would require an understanding of the “hot jazz” feel. This jazz genre of the 1920’s and
30’s is defined as “early jazz and swing of an exciting and energetic nature.”
15
A
discussion of this specific rhythmic feel would offer an excellent opportunity for listening
to examples of contemporary performers and an education about early jazz (or even
earlier jass).
The following musical examples highlight the brothers’ talent for transforming a
popular song into an extended composition.
• The variation of the standard “do wa do wa do wa” portion of the song is
reconstructed into a completely new melody, rhythm, and lyric:

15
Thacker, Eric. “Hot,” The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. (London: Macmillan
Press Limited, 1988. Reprint, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994): 540.
20

Figure 2. Transcription “It Don’t Mean a Thing” mm. 10-19
• Brass choruses mimic the big band instrumental music, an example of one of
many textural changes throughout the arrangement:

21

Figure 3. “It Don’t Mean a Thing” mm 42-51

22
• Several quick passages feature imitations of horns with mutes:

Figure 4. Transcription of muted horn imitation mm. 87-90
The barbershop voicing, with the melody characteristically sung by the lead, would
translate suitably for a TTBB choir. The bass again imitates the sound of an acoustic
string bass and there are several sections of vocal brass imitation, which could be
performed by the entire choir or by a group of soloists. As with all of the early Mills
recordings, the song was originally accompanied by guitar, but it could also be
effectively performed a cappella or with piano accompaniment.

“Some of the These Days”
The Mills’ recording of “Some of These Days” was intentionally different from the
several versions of the Shelton Brooks song first made famous by Sophie Tucker in
1911
16
. The brothers’ version added an easy swing feel, altered the melody, changed

16
Sophie Tucker, “The Last of the Red Hot Mamas.” (Asv Living Era, August
2006, CD).
23
many of the standard rhythms, and added extensive sections of scat solos and
instrumental imitation. The opening statement of the song is simple, but the arrangement
soon includes playful allusions to other popular genres, as is exemplified by the following
samples from the transcription.
• The second solo by Don Mills uses an unusual vocal syllable (“shhp”). This is
reminiscent of popular vaudeville “sand dances” in which tap dancers would
sprinkle sand on the stage and use the amplified sound of “sweeping” as a
rhythmic element within the routine:

Figure 5. Transcription of Don Mills “Sweep” solo

24
• Another feature of the arrangement is the group passages with impressive use of
syllabic scat variation:

Figure 6. Transcription of group passage from “Some of These Days”
• The inclusion of a virtuosic scat solo by Don Mills begins the fourth repetition of
the “head.” This famous solo would be an excellent opportunity for a singer,
interested pursuing in jazz performance, to lay a foundation for future improvising
by learning to execute a difficult jazz line and adding his or her own spontaneous
scat syllables:
25

Figure 7. Transcription of scat solo from “Some of These Days”
The arrangement is challenging enough to offer ample opportunity for instruction
about rhythm and feel, but not vocally or harmonically difficult. It would also be an
entertaining and unique selection for a choral audience, possibly paired with a barbershop
number or later vocal jazz arrangement for a comparison of style. Because the range of
the upper voice parts are not extreme, the entire arrangement could be transposed up a
whole step or minor third to enable the bass section to sing the bass line comfortably.
These few examples of early vocal jazz by The Mills Brother demonstrate the
availability of repertoire that is idiosyncratic to jazz music the 1920s and 30s. The
opportunity to introduce “hot jazz” feel, early scat usage, and songs from the first few
decades of the 20
th
century are directly connected to programming this era of music.
26
CHAPTER 4
THE BOSWELL SISTERS
Women’s chorus conductors often find it challenging to locate playful, bold repertoire
for treble voices in any genre. A large percentage of the catalogue of available published
music is sacred, slow, sentimental or serious, and it can be difficult to program a concert
with a variety of styles and themes. The short career of The Boswell Sisters produced a
multitude of quality arrangements, most of which would work well in a choral setting.
These works have never been published and, until recent resurrection by music historians
and critics, The Boswell Sisters themselves were largely forgotten in the music world.
Though their public career lasted only six years, from their first recording in 1930 to the
end of the group in 1936, The Boswell Sisters were prolific, recording records for the
Victor, Brunswick, and Decca labels, appearing on the radio with stars such as Bing
Crosby, and performing as a featured act in several movies. The three sisters influenced
many young musicians of the time and unintentionally broke through barriers of sexism
and even race in music by gaining acceptance by the white majority in America, since
most radio listeners incorrectly assumed they were African-American because of the
influence of the blues and southern spirituals in their vocal production. Laurie Stras,
contributor to the Journal of the Society for American Music, explains:
The Boswell Sisters' sound was so convincingly black to their audience that
misunderstandings constantly arose during the first year of their stardom. A letter
addressed ‘To Whom It May Concern’ was written soon after they began
appearing on national radio: ‘I should like to know if the Boswell Sisters are
white or colored. I am asking you to settle a long argument to the above question.
I'm thanking you in advance, Herbert A. Bailey, Roxbury, Mass. October 17,
1931.’ Vet Boswell also remembered a publicity caricature depicting the sisters as
27

black women that was issued in Paris prior to their 1933 tour, presumably drawn
on the basis of the artist hearing their blackness rather than seeing it.
17

This chapter will include a brief biography and some suggestions for possible repertoire,
concentrating, finally, on the two complete transcriptions included in this treatise: “Shout
Sister, Shout” and “Roll On Mississippi, Roll On.”

Biography
The Boswell Sisters grew up in New Orleans at the turn of the 20
th
century. They
were surrounded by the history of blues and spirituals, and witnessed the emergence of
jazz music. Their middle-class parents were able to provide them with training in
classical music and the girls often performed as an instrumental trio to entertain
houseguests. While all of the girls played several instruments, Martha usually played
piano, while Connee chose the cello and Helvetia (or Vet, as she preferred to be called)
focused on the violin. They became interested in the new jazz music and associated with
other young white musicians who were excited about experimenting with the songs and
new style of music.
18
Martha continued to play piano, but Connee began to play trumpet
and saxophone, while Vet experimented with guitar and banjo.
19
They incorporated

17
Laurie Stras. “White Face, Black Voice: Race, Gender, and Region in the
Music of the Boswell Sisters.” Journal of the Society for American Music, 1:2 (May
2007): 215-16.
18
Ibid., 217.
19
Gary Giddons. “It Sisters.” The Village Voice 43:11 (17 March 1998): 120.
28
singing into their jam sessions, and experimented with adding vocal harmony. Stras
elaborates:
The sisters reportedly learned gospel and blues from the domestic help, and they
would have heard quartet harmony singing on a regular basis. Recreational
harmony was endemic in early twentieth-century New Orleans, cutting across
white, black, and creole communities; it figured importantly in the Boswell house,
too, for the adults (parents, aunt and uncle) regularly sang together as a quartet.
20

The Boswell girls settled into established vocal ranges, with Martha taking the lowest
part, Vet supplying the higher harmony, and Connee, who was confined to a wheelchair
because of polio, emerging as the lead and singing the melody line in the middle.
The Victor Recording Company arrived in New Orleans in March of 1925 and, during
their search for fresh, young entertainment acts, gave the Boswells an opportunity to
record five songs.
21
Although their father objected to the idea of the girls pursuing a
career in entertainment,
22
they accepted an offer from a Chicago agent, which led to a trip
to Hollywood in 1928 to appear on a radio show. Over the years they had gradually
begun singing in a lower register. This immediately set them apart immediately from
other women performers on the radio. Stras elaborates:
The radio audience in California could only compare what they heard from the
Boswells with known models, and up against the most popular white female
voices of the period, the Boswell Sisters were, quite literally, something else.
Connie and Martha's ultra-low tessitura and the sisters' informal and natural
diction contrast sharply with those of the established white sweethearts of stage
and screen, such as Ruth Etting, Gertrude Lawrence, and the soon-to-be
archetypal Hollywood soprano Jeanette MacDonald.
23

20
Stras, 217.
21
Ibid., 217.
22
Friedwald, 163.
23
Stras, 220.
29
Connee’s singing, in particular, influenced a young Ella Fitzgerald, who said, “My
mother brought home one of her [Connie Boswell's] records, and I fell in love with it. I
tried so hard to sound just like her."
24

They first traveled to New York in 1930 to record for Okeh Records and to appear on
their first national radio show for NBC. In 1931, they returned to the big city and began
to record for Brunswick, the same label that had signed The Mills Brothers a few years
earlier. They were paired with a new instrumental ensemble, which included the Dorsey
Brothers, Tommy and Jimmy and, according to many music critics,
25
produced many of
their most successful arrangements. Jack Kapp from Brunswick had specific ideas about
how to market the sisters and encouraged them to highlight their Southern roots to soften
their public image and win over new fans. Their second two-sided record for the
company featured two adventurous arrangements of songs that accented their southern
roots, “Shout Sister, Shout” and “Roll On Mississippi, Roll On.” Laurie Stras writes that
this decision to promote their Southern femininity was a method of downplaying the
powerful role the ladies played as arrangers, performers, and businesswomen. She
explains her theory:
The Boswells' visual and musical racial ambiguity, and indeed their very
existence as publicly creative women in jazz, had the potential to create anxiety
for the press, the profession, and the public. This potential was nonetheless in
time mitigated by their sustained performance of another social and cultural
stereotype, the southern lady or belle, a social role that is transparently
performative. Those that interact with her are acutely aware that, in the service of
southern gentility and generosity, the belle will do whatever it takes to uphold
decorum and morale, to keep her audience at ease, and to banish reminders of her

24
Stuart Nicholson. Ella Fitzgerald. (London: Indigo, 1996), 10-12.

25
Chilton, John. “Connee Boswell,” The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz.
(London: Macmillan Press Limited, 1988. Reprint, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994):
140.
30
considerable effort on their behalf, and of the even less palatable social and
economic structures that give rise to her (American and white) way of life. The
belle employs a specific construction of exaggerated femininity and decorum, one
that allowed, and still allows, women to assume qualities that would otherwise be
coded unfeminine--for instance, the capacity to manage large tracts of land and
control huge numbers of human souls--but all in the service of upholding white
patriarchy. The Boswells' ultra-feminine, singerly masquerade disguised their
involvement in the arrangement, musical direction, and instrumental
accompaniment of their performances--activities that were almost exclusively
male preserves.
26

Regardless of whether the audience was threatened by the Boswell Sisters’ public
personae, their music became increasingly successful. They were often featured
performers on Bing Crosby’s NBC radio show and he referred to them as “three girls
with but a single fellow-harmony.”
27
They collaborated with many of the leading
instrumental musicians of their day, including Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Joe
Venuti, and Eddie Lang. Will Friedwald, New York music critic, credits collectors of the
recordings of these instrumental giants for keeping the memory of the Boswell Sisters
alive.
28
Their career came to an abrupt end in 1936, when Vet got married and broke up
the act. Connee continued to perform as a soloist, but never reached the same level of
fame or originality achieved by the three sisters working as a team. Many popular music
acts in the following decades followed their example, such as the Andrews Sisters, the
McGuire Sisters, and the Lemon Sisters, but, although each group achieved great success,
in this author’s opinion none approached the level of creativity and musicianship that was
attained by the Boswell Sisters in their brief career.

26
Stras., 207.
27
Giddons, 120.
28
Friedwald, 167.
31
Boswell Sisters Repertoire for Women’s Chorus
Arrangements by The Boswell Sisters would add a new dimension to both the
programming and the education of a women’s chorus. As many critics and historians
have noted, the sisters were able to write distinctive, entertaining and musically
innovative arrangements. Their versions of popular songs often include drastic tempo
changes, added words, and an altered structure. Gary Giddons of the Villiage Voice
provides an illustration:
The best example is "Everybody Loves My Baby;' in which they zip through an
interpolated chorus sounding very much like banjos. That recording is also
notable for Connie's Armstrong-inspired rhythmic slurs, Martha's steady piano
backing, and a vocal chorus of written variations complete with scat, breaks,
melodic inversions, and walloping swing. Connie and Vet worked out the
arrangements, sometimes dictating them to Glenn Miller to translate for the
ensemble. They are so inventive that at times a three-minute record seems more
like a suite, something Ellington and Bill Challis, among others, had already
achieved in big bands.
29

Will Friedwald, New York author and jazz critic, extended the compliment by including
Connee, in particular, in some highly respected jazz company, saying, “As an arranger,
Connee Boswell anticipates Gil Evans (and as arranger-performer, Thelonious Monk) in
that her arrangements differ so much from the original sources that they approach re-
composition.”
30
The quality of the arrangements allow the Boswells to stand out from
the repertoire generated by other sister acts in popular music, and the music would be a
valuable addition to a concert set of spiritual, vocal jazz, or Sweet Adeline arrangements.

29
Giddons, 211.
30
Friedwald, 168.
32
The vocal ranges of the arrangements lie extremely low for a treble choir. The
Boswells transposed the songs to fit their low, rich registers and, through sound
amplification, were still able to be heard when performing live. The lowest voice part
often lies between F and G below middle C (in the Alto II range) with the melody a third
higher. Even the highest voice rarely sang above B or C above middle C. Translating
these arrangements for a women’s choir usually requires an upward transposition of a
whole step or a third, but the music does not suffer from this change. There are often
sections of unaccompanied melody; a choir soloist or an entire section could be
employed. The original accompaniment (as heard on the recordings) varied, depending
on which ensemble backed the sisters in the studio. However, most of the arrangements
can be faithfully reproduced with piano or guitar accompaniment, or with a trio rhythm
section of piano, bass, and drums.
There are many Boswell compositions that could be transcribed for chorus, but two
that would work particularly well are “Got the South in My Soul,” a soulful rendition of a
bluesy standard by Ned Washington, Lee Wiley, and Victor Young and “Everybody
Loves My Baby (But My Baby Don’t Love Nobody But me),” a humorous song by
Spencer William and Jack Palmer which the Boswells interpreted with an amusing,
tongue-twisting arrangement. For this paper, the author transcribed “Shout, Sister,
Shout” and “Roll On, Mississippi, Roll On,” which were recorded as a two-sided disc for
Brunswick Records. They are both wonderful arrangements for Women’s Choir, with
rhythmic challenges, group scat sections, and opportunities for vocal solos. (see
Appendix for complete transcriptions.)

33
“Shout, Sister, Shout”
The original “Shout, Sister, Shout,” written by Clarence Williams in 1930, is a simple
semi-gospel tune. Originally recorded in 1931 by several groups from New Orleans,
31

The Boswell Sisters recorded their own, drastically different, version a few months later;
which featured several arranging innovations that they would repeat in later songs. Will
Friedwald described the opening section of the Boswell’s recording:
The Boswell Sisters’ reading opens with a slow, minor-sounding introduction in
the form of a duet by violinist Joe Venuti and guitarist Eddie Lang. When Arthur
Schmidt’s piano and Chauncey Morehouse’s marimba join in, the pace quickens
in time for the singers’ abrupt entrance. More remarkable than the unexpected
surge in tempo, they avoid the words “Shout, sister, shout,” which Williams
placed at the end of each eight-bar “A” section, instead substituting a chord-based
scat variation.
32

Figure 8. Opening vocal line of “Shout, Sister, Shout”

At the end of the introduction, the arrangement transitions with three measures of triple
meter to a slow section as the sisters sing Williams’ verse. The words “Keep your spirits
way up high, look up to the sky” begin on a slow march in F minor, move toward the
proclamation in C Major of “Stand up and shout,” and end in F minor again, singing the

31
Friedwald, 154.
32
Ibid., 155.
34
usually optimistic and celebratory word “Hallelujah!” Friedwald describes the next
section:
At this point they slow the proceedings down even further, crawling into a
wordless interlude only marginally if at all related to Williams’ tune. Vet Boswell
and Martha sing high and low harmony lines, and Connee then enters smack in
the middle with eight bars of both the melody and the lyrics of the refrain. Now,
for the first time, we hear the “tonic” phrase, which the sisters have been saving,
the “Shout, Sister – Shout, Sister, Shout!” They even underscore it with an “Oh
Lord!”
33

This unusual portion of the arrangement sounds like a slow, funeral procession, not at all
characteristic of what one would expect from the first statement of a rather hopeful and
confident mood within the lyric;

Figure 9. Slow section of “Shout, Sister, Shout”

33
Ibid., 156.
35
The arrangement continues with a fast section, containing scat variations and a re-
statement of the title lyrics:

Figure 10. Fast, scat section of “Shout, Sister, Shout”
The arrangement returns to the slow, mournful motive, inserting the remaining lyrics of
the original song and ending with a restful resolution to Ab major.
“Shout, Sister, Shout” is not harmonically difficult, but there are rhythmic challenges
and scat syllables that would provide educational opportunities for traditional choral
ensembles new to the vocal jazz idiom. The tempo changes are sudden (a large group
would need a conductor and the different styles, from swung cut time to New Orleans
funeral march, are a perfect introduction to the variety of rhythmic styles inherent in jazz
music from this era. The transcription in the original key of Ab minor is most likely too
36
low for most female choirs, but transposing the arrangement up a whole step or a third
would allow for a more comfortable tessitura for all three parts, without adversely
affecting the overall musical mood, color, or intention.

“Roll On Mississippi, Roll On”
“Roll On Mississippi, Roll On,” written in 1931 by James McCaffrey, Eugene West &
Dave Ringle, is a straightforward song with the popular turn-of-the-century theme of
steamboat travel down the Mississippi River. Gary Giddins describes the impressive
features of the unique chart recorded by the Boswells in 1931:
The difficulty for singers is that if you keep changing the groove you have to
instantly be at one with the new groove, or else you lose the listener. "Roll On
Mississippi" begins with the sisters scatting phrases from Hoagy Carmichael's
"Riverboat Shuffle,' before Connie enters with the song proper, soon joined by
Vet and Martha and a flurry of tempo changes. But every groove is nailed deep in
the pocket.
34

When the sisters recorded their own version they included a verse solo by Connee,
interpolated lyrics about their hometown of New Orleans, extended section of group scat,
and a concluding variation on the melody that speeds to an abrupt and playful finish, all
of which are illustrated by the following examples.
• Connee sings the verse of the song by herself, introducing the story. This could
be a lovely solo for an alto, who could then experiment with some variation of
melody and rhythm in an attempt to emulate the vocal style of the 1930s:

34
Giddins, 120.
37

Figure 11. Connee’s solo verse in “Roll On, Mississippi”
• The refrain of the song is sung by all three parts with added scat variations and
rhythmic changes altering the original tune:

Figure 12. First refrain of “Roll On, Mississippi”
38
• The phrase ends with a fermata on the word “adore” and the next chromatic
passage is sung freely, as they yearn to return home to New
Orleans:

Figure 13. Free section from “Roll On, Mississippi”
• The final a tempo section is almost a complete variation of the original song with
extended group scat passages (see Figure 14) and frequent alterations of both the
rhythm and melody:

Figure 14. Scat passage from the end of “Roll On, Mississippi”
The arrangement for “Roll On” was originally in G Major, a key comfortable for most
women’s choirs. The alto range extends down to G below middle C and the soprano part
does not reach above C an octave above middle C (which is a common tessitura for
39
higher voices in popular music). As with “Shout, Sister, Shout,” it could be accompanied
by piano or guitar, but even more effective with the addition of bass and drums.
Programming these or similar selections by The Boswell Sisters for a women’s choir
would enable a conductor to teach about styles of early jazz and to introduce vocal jazz
harmony, rhythm, and scat syllables. In addition, the music provides an example of
talented women who succeeded in popular music using only their own creative ideas and
arrangements. The challenges they faced as Southern women and as performers of music
primarily associated with the black community demonstrate to both singers and audience
how artists helped promote racial and gender equality in the 20
th
century.
40
CHAPTER 5
THE HI-LO’S
Known for their exquisite arrangements, entertaining live concerts, and unified vocal
sound, The Hi-Lo’s are considered by many to be one of the finest vocal jazz groups.
Their repertoire is eclectic and much of it would be perfectly appropriate for advanced
and adventurous choral ensembles. Although the group consisted of four men, the wide
vocal range of their music is effective for mixed ensembles. The many arrangements by
bass Gene Puerling are harmonically complex and endlessly creative, yet they still
maintaining the integrity of the original songs. Philip Lindley, contributor to a website
about a cappella singing, wrote:
The Hi-Lo's were always jazz singers and they may be said to have done for small
vocal groups what Sinatra and the best of his rivals did for the individual saloon
singer. The age of the compact disc has meant that the riches of the past in all areas of
music have been rediscovered and have been made accessible to new generations of
music lovers. The Hi-Lo's, with their timeless quality and their ability to exhilarate
and beguile, have been restored for all with ears to hear and hearts to respond.
35

Introducing new generations of students to a vocal group the quality of The Hi-Lo’s
could inspire younger people to further explore the genre of vocal jazz and possibly
encourage an appreciation for vocal arranging and the excellent live performers of the
20
th
century. Arrangements by The Hi-Lo’s could be programmed along with other
styles of vocal jazz or with a wide variety of popular-style choral works, since the group
was famous for singing songs outside of the genre of jazz. The following chapter will
include a biography of The Hi-Lo’s and their primary arranger, Gene Puerling, repertoire

35
Philip Lindley. “The Story of the Hi-Lo’s.”
www.singers.com/jazz/Hi-Loshistory.html. Accessed May 10
th
, 2009.
41
appropriate for mixed chorus, and a harmonic analysis of an a cappella arrangement of
“My Romance.” (see Appendix for complete transcription.)

Biography
The formation of The Hi-Lo’s can be traced back to the musical experiences of its
founder, Gene Puerling, during his childhood and high school years in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. Puerling admits that he never took formal music lessons, but rather taught
himself to both learn and notate music by ear.
36
Like The Mills Brothers, Puerling was
influenced by church music and barbershop singing and he founded a series of groups in
high school (most of them with future Hi-Lo’s singer Bob Strasen) for which he began to
write increasingly creative arrangements.
37
Puerling said of his early music influences: “I
think it probably happened in church because I used to sing with some people there, and I
was very young of course, but I think I have a few recollections of some good times just
harmonizing or something. But I’ve always been interested in choral music from the get-
go.”
38
He credited The Pied Pipers (who often accompanied Frank Sinatra during his
years with Tommy Dorsey) The Four Freshman, and Glenn Miller’s Modernaires as early
vocal influences, but emphasized that he was motivated to “do something different” from
the popular groups.
39

Gene Puerling moved to Southern California in the early 50s and dedicated himself to

36
Gerhard K. Guter. Integration of vocal and instrumental ensembles in the jazz
idiom. (Long Beach, CA: California State University, Long Beach, 2004), 10.
37
Ibid., 10.
38
Ibid., 9.
39
Ibid., 10.
42
starting a new vocal ensemble. He quickly founded The Hi-Lo’s with high school
classmate Bob Strasen and two established Los Angeles singers, Bob Morse and Clark
Burroughs. The group’s name was inspired both by the singers’ wide vocal ranges and
by the disparity of their heights.
40
Puerling began to write their vocal arrangements
immediately and established working relationships with instrumental arrangers from
Capital Records (whom he met while working as a shipping clerk next door). The Hi-
Lo’s made their first studio recordings in 1953 for Trend Records, but soon after moved
to Starlite Records, where they met Frank Comstock, a legendary Los Angeles
instrumental arranger. While polishing their vocal sound, they worked with a local voice
teacher, as Puerling explained in an interview:
At the time we were studying with a vocal coach in Los Angeles called Gene
Biram and was really trying to straighten out our voices because we sang perhaps
in a way that at times could hurt our voices – singing the wrong way. So he was
strictly for that taking-care-of-your-voice-type thing but he taught us how to sing
unisons which is a difficult thing.
41

In the mid-1950s The Hi-Lo’s gained national exposure by appearing as the resident
vocal group on the Rosemary Clooney television show, during which they accompanied
Clooney, sang featured numbers, and appeared in comedy sketches. They widened their
audience even further by touring with Judy Garland, Johnny Mathis, Andy Williams, and
Patti Page. During this period of national touring they moved to Columbia Records and
began to sell more albums, but the struggled with continuing pressure from the studio

40
Reny, Bob. The Review Corner: The Hi-Lo's - "A Musical Thrill" IAJRC
Journal 40:1 (February 2007), 55.
41
Guter., 29.
43
executives to record more mainstream repertoire for mass consumption.
42
From 1957 to
1962 Clare Fischer, who would eventually form his own influential vocal group 2+2,
served as the accompanist and musical director for the The Hi-Lo’s. They recorded their
last album in 1963 and abandoned touring in 1964. They reunited for two more albums
and several live performances at jazz festivals in the 1970s and 80s. Brian Wilson of the
Beach Boys, the Mamas and the Papas, Take Six, and the Manhattan Transfer have all
credited The Hi-Lo’s as a major musical influence. Gene Puerling moved on to create
another iconic vocal group, Singers Unlimited, and the arrangements he wrote for them
have been published and are often performed. He received 14 Grammy nominations for
his work with both groups and is now widely considered to be one of the finest vocal
arrangers in the jazz genre.
43
After the 1960s the new experimental recording techniques
changed the landscape for vocal jazz groups. An important innovation was multi-
tracking, in which the voices are recorded on top of one another to manufacture the sound
of a larger ensemble. Puerling explained how The Hi-Lo’s were the “end of an era” in
vocal groups:
All of our career was just live, all live. That’s why I think the groups and that
group in particular, The Hi-Lo’s, in my opinion was one of the best because there
was never any cheating, it’s not cheating, but you know…Yeah, we’d been in the
booth a lot but everything would be live, we’d just do it, no enhancements and
maybe just one or two takes at the most.
44

42
Ibid., 32.
43
Stephen Zegree. “Gene Puerling: A Tribute.” (Jazz Educator’s Journal 29,
no. 4. Jan. 1997), 47.

44
Guter, 90.
44
Possible Choral Repertoire for Mixed Chorus
Gene Puerling’s arrangements for the Singers Unlimited are widely available and
considered standard repertoire for vocal jazz groups, but his arrangements for The Hi-
Lo’s are not in print and are rarely heard in modern concerts. These complex
arrangements, some including excellent instrumental charts for big band by leading
arrangers Frank Comstock and Clare Fischer, are varied in style and genre, because the
group performed everything from jazz standards and gospel music to folk songs and
Broadway show-tunes. The vocal parts were always arranged first by Puerling,
45
and
most could be extracted from the tracks by transcription and accompanied by piano or
rhythm section. Puerling said of his writing, “I have to insert something of my creativity
in my writing which makes it Gene Puerling’s and hopefully, different from other
writers.”
46
Stephen Zegree wrote that Puerling achieved his trademark sound by using
two techniques, the use of contrary motion in the outer voices and extensive use of
parallel fifths and octaves.
47
Although the voice leading in Puerling’s charts can be
difficult, they provide lessons in singing leaps and in careful tuning for young singers.
The themed album “All Over the Place,” recorded by The Hi-Lo’s for Columbia
Records in 1960, features songs about tourist spots all over the world. It is one of their
most eclectic albums with songs ranging from “How Are Things in Glocca Morra” to

45
Guter, 66.
46
Stephen Zegree. “Gene Puerling: A Tribute.” (Jazz Educator’s Journal 29,
no. 4. Jan. 1997), 51.
47
Zegree, Stephen L. A Comparative and Analytical Study of the Procedures
Used By Gene Puerling, Phil Mattson, and Clare Fischer in Writing an A Cappella
Arrangement of a Popular American Song. Kansas City: University of Missouri, 1989,
11-19.
45
“My Little Grass Shack In Kealakekua, Hawaii.” Two songs in particular would be
extremely entertaining additions to a choral concert, and also be quite challenging. Their
version of Rodger and Hammerstien’s “Bali Ha’I,” (from the 1949 musical South
Pacific) takes the show-tune and transforms it into a complex chart with a full big band
accompaniment. The original song begins with an octave leap that resolves to the major
seventh. The arrangement begins with half of the trumpets sustaining the octave, while
the others continue the melody to the seventh scale degree, creating a biting minor second
sonority. This is later echoed in the voices and is a recurring motive throughout the
arrangement. What was a dreamy, exotic ballad in the musical becomes an aggressive,
fast-paced and dissonant number, demanding excellent tuning from the singers in both
the unison and homophonic sections. This would be a worthy transcription project for an
adventurous conductor.
“All Over the Place” also featured a Hi-Lo’s arrangement of “The Italian Street
Song,” written by Victor Herbert and Rida Johnson Young for the 1910 operetta Naughty
Marietta. The most famous recordings of the song were by early movie musical stars
Deanna Durbin, Jeanette MacDonald, and Nelson Eddy, all of whom performed the song
with what they intended to be an operatic vocal style. Puerling’s version of the song is
playful and highlights the onomatopoeic refrain of “zing, zing, zizzy, zizzy, zing, zing,
boom, boom, ay,” which imitates the strumming of the mandolins. His arrangement
wanders into Renaissance madrigal style, complete with polyphonic points of imitation.
While the recorded version has a big band accompaniment, the arrangement could easily
be reduced to a small combo or piano accompaniment.
Another possibility for choral repertoire is the stunning arrangement of “In the Wee
46
Small Hours of the Morning,” recorded by the Hi-Lo’s for their 1958 album, “Love
Nest.” The song, written by David Mann and Bob Hilliard, was first recorded by Frank
Sinatra in 1955 as the title track for his legendary concept album. The version by The Hi-
Lo’s retains Sinatra’s feeling of aching solitude, but ironically achieves this by adding
exquisite four-part vocal writing. The dissonance between the voices heightens the sense
of longing in the lyrics and presents pitch and intonation challenges. The sophistication
of the arrangement and is a worthy challenge in mastering techniques that would become
the hallmark of later vocal jazz writing.

“My Romance”
Another excellent selection for mixed chorus ensemble would be Gene Puerling’s
arrangement of the jazz standard “My Romance” (originally written by Richard Rodgers
and Lorenz Hart for the 1935 musical Jumbo). Paramount in the arranging style of
Puerling was his ability to heighten the emotional intensity of vocal music with effective,
although classically incorrect, part-writing and harmonic movement. His a cappella chart
of “My Romance” preserves the flowing, tender mood of the song, but Puerling expands
our understanding of the lyrics by highlighting text with sections of unison and word
painting. Later in the chart, he utilizes advanced jazz sonorities to create an intricate
vocal jazz work.
• A simple statement of the refrain in parallel thirds quickly extends to four voices
and chromatic passing tones that bridge the harmonic movement:
47

Figure 15. Opening of “My Romance,” parallel third voicing
• An example of word painting, Puerling uses the pairing of parallel thirds in two
voices to illustrate the soft guitars mentioned in the text:
48

Figure 16. “Guitar” word painting in “My Romance”
• Reminiscent of a classical exposition and recapitulation, Puerling returns to the
consonant third intervals in m. 17. He moves to a progression of seventh chords
that come to a brief rest on an F major seven voicing. The ensuing unison
passage transitions swiftly to a section that features an alto line with ascending
passing tones.
49

Figure 17. Middle section of “My Romance”
• Provide context – unconventional technique
Another unison line leads to a harmonic progression that resolves to an abrupt key
change. What appears to be a G# diminished chord in the lower voices is revealed to be a
rootless voicing of E7 by the soprano line, which follows the flat nine, nine, thirteen,
seven, root, and again thirteen of E. The next measure winds its way toward G with a
brief D minor chord that evolves into what could be interpreted as either C minor/D or

50
D7sus4 flat 9. The arrival of G major 7 becomes the subdominant of the new key of D
major.

Figure 18. Transition to D in “My Romance”
• Although some mixed choirs might be able to sing the arrangement in its original
key, the repetition of the low F in the soprano part might be problematic;
transposing the chart up a major third would greatly help the sopranos, without
diminishing the beauty of the arrangement.
Gene Puerling passed away the year of this publication, and, in the author’s opinion,
remains a preeminent arranger of jazz standards. Many conductors look to his music as a
prime example of high quality vocal writing and seek to emulate the sound of both of his
commercially successful ensembles, the Hi-Lo’s and Singers Unlimited. Puerling was an
innovative arranger who created compositions for voice that are beautiful for the
audience, are a pleasure to sing, and that offer a unique educational opportunity for the
conductor to introduce concepts of advanced harmony.
51
CHAPTER 6
THE PEDAGOGY OF VOCAL JAZZ
Conductors who consider programming vocal jazz for a traditional choral ensemble
might not have the training necessary to teach jazz concepts. Many jazz instructors have
a background in jazz performance and a deep understanding of its history, style, and
songs. But most choral conductors have not had the opportunity either to study or to
perform the genre. Vijay Singh, former Repertoire and Standards Chair on Vocal Jazz
for the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), elaborates:
Based on recent non-scientific research and polls, less than approximately 10
percent of vocal music education majors randomly selected from across the
Country experienced any jazz ensemble courses or training (vocal or
instrumental). Only a handful of institutions offered classes in jazz pedagogy,
vocal jazz ensembles, or classes specifically designed to teach jazz concepts to
music education majors. By contrast, almost 90 percent of the institutions offer a
jazz band experience, and many offer classes in improvisation, jazz theory,
history, and combos. Perhaps this is why many choral directors feel
uncomfortable teaching jazz concepts and favor watered down or altered
arrangements of jazz standards, which lack the harmonic, rhythmic,
improvisational, and stylistic authentication jazz deserves.
48

Choral conductors can overcome this lack of college preparation and educate themselves
about basic jazz concepts, even learning along with their students, through discussion and
listening exercises. One does not have to be an expert in jazz in order to appreciate the
music and perform it with sensitivity. However, knowledge of basic terms, an ability to
explain and demonstrate jazz elements, and a clear performance goal is necessary. This
chapter will outline several suggested areas of instruction, including: repertoire, vocal

48
Singh, Vijay. “Repertoire & Standards Committee Reports: Vocal Jazz - The
Challenges of Vocal Jazz.” (Choral Journal 45:9, April 2005): 53.

52
health, vibrato, education through listening, rhythm, text, performance decisions, and
memorization.

Repertoire
Conductors face several challenges when searching for vocal jazz repertoire,
including: selecting authentic and appropriate arrangements, legally purchasing music,
and transcribing unpublished works.
Quality Repertoire
The selection of appropriate repertoire is the first step in successfully introducing to
vocal jazz. The author has advocated throughout the paper that conductors need to take
an active role in selecting high-quality arrangements and should not simply rely on the
music that is widely available in print. It can be difficult for a conductor unfamiliar with
jazz repertoire to distinguish between true jazz (written by or in the tradition of respected
jazz arrangers) and the medleys or songs intended for show choir. Laurie Cappello, a
high school educator active with the ACDA Jazz Repertoire and Standards division,
wrote, “It is extremely important to know the difference between jazz standards, and pop
and show choir standards. Jazz standards include songs and pieces that have become
recognized as outstanding examples of the jazz idiom itself; they have withstood the test
of time.”
49
These arrangements also tend to have rhythm charts instead of notated piano

49
Cappello, Laurie. “Repertoire Standards: Junior High/ Middle School Choirs -
Middle School Vocal Jazz ... Where Do You Start?” (Choral Journal 46:11, May 2006):
66.
53
and bass parts, because they are intended for experienced jazz musicians who can read
lead sheets. Cappello also had some sound advice about selecting specific repertoire:
Know the group's strengths and weaknesses; their needs and capabilities. Develop
those areas that will make students feel successful from the onset. Consider vocal
ranges, solo potentials, harmonic abilities and available instrumentalists in the
selected music. Choose the music for a group, not the group for the music.
50

Of course, these are common considerations for a conductor choosing music in any style,
but finding suitable vocal jazz music also requires a basis of knowledge about jazz
concepts.
Legal Distribution of Music
Conductors should purchase, distribute, and perform vocal jazz works legally.
Unfortunately, it is commonly the case that the vocal jazz arrangements used in
universities (in both jazz and traditional choirs) have been photocopied and shared
between friends. In the early days of scholastic vocal jazz ensembles, this may have been
a necessity since much of the music was not available for legal purchase. However,
today there are several places where a conductor can browse the literature and order a
wide variety of vocal jazz arrangements. Most respected arrangers have music published
and available on two websites: http://www.singers.com (specializing in a cappella
arrangements) and http://www.uncjazzpress.com (featuring an impressive array of well-
known jazz arrangers). Many arrangers also publish their own music, which can then be
purchased through their websites. Frank Eychaner, of ACDA Repertoire and Standards,
stresses the importance of obtaining music legally:

50
Ibid., 66.

54
While we teach choral music, we also are teaching life lessons. We owe it to
ourselves and our students to ‘go legit’ in our choral music classrooms. The use of
photocopies has led in part to the consolidation of many music publishing houses.
Students who daily read from photocopied music find it easy to download music
illegally. We lament the degrading moral fabric of our culture and society yet
we're willing participants in its decline. We talk about stealing from others when
the evidence of our own larceny is spread across the piano. This hypocrisy is
obvious to our students. The time has come to stop rationalizing our wrongdoings
and do what it takes to 'go legit' in our classrooms.
51

The music of The Boswell Sisters, The Mills Brothers, and The Hi-Lo’s is old enough to
be in the public domain because copyrights were never issued for the arrangements
themselves. The United States Copyright Law states: “The distribution before January 1,
1978, of a phonorecord shall not for any purpose constitute a publication of the musical
work embodied therein.”
52
Therefore, it is legal to perform the arrangements transcribed
for this paper or for other conductors to transcribe any of the suggested arrangements.
Recording and profiting from the sale of recordings is different copyright issue, but a
conductor can easily find the holder of mechanical rights for a particular song or
arrangement with the Harry Fox Agency.
53

Transcriptions
The five arrangements described earlier were transcribed by ear from recordings.
While the author strove to accurately transcribe the vocal lines, only jazz chord symbols
were provided for the accompaniment to allow for a variety of ensembles. A
transcription is rarely exact, but a more realistic goal is to reproduce the harmonic

51
Eychaner, Frank. “Repertoire Standards: Vocal Jazz - The Jazz Choir Goes
Legit: Copyright Law for the Vocal Music Educator.” (Choral Journal 46:8, February
2006): 42.

52
http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap3.html#303. Accessed May 12, 2009.
53
http://www.harryfox.com. Accessed May 12, 2009.
55
movement, form, and energy of the arrangements for live performance. Other conductors
who wish to attempt transcription can do so by ear or by utilizing software created to
slow down recordings without changing the pitch of the work. There are several
currently available for purchase or download (the Amazing Slowdowner by Roni Music
54

is recommended by the author); they can be especially helpful with fast arrangements.

Vocal Health
Teaching and performing choral repertoire can, of course, affect vocal health
positively or negatively; however, many educators fear that programming classical and
popular music together will create vocal problems for the choir. Diana Spradling, former
national chairperson for Jazz and Show Choirs for ACDA, clearly stated, “vocal misuse
and damage come from a lack of knowledge and understanding, a disregard for the
instrument, not from singing several contrasting styles of music.”
55
Noël Archambeault,
choral conductor and voice teacher at Texas A&M, is more specific about
misconceptions of jazz vocal production:

There are three fundamental concepts commonly misunderstood by amateurs
attempting jazz for the first time: (1) breath; (2) mixing of registers; and (3)
vibrato. Each of these, though complex, technical vocal issues in and of
themselves, is an essential component of an authentic vocal jazz style.
Misunderstandings of these characteristics in the past have been partly due to
singers' and their teachers' desire to develop a distinctly unique sound. As we
examine these technical issues, the seasoned classical singer might argue that a
particular outcome being advocated is not so different from one found in classical

54
http://www.ronimusic.com/. Accessed September 6, 2009.
55
Spradling, Diana R. “Vocal Jazz and Its Credibility in the University
Curriculum.” (Jazz Educators Journal 32:5, March 2000): 64.
56
singing. In truth, it is not: hence the old adage, ‘technique is technique, no matter
what the style.’
56

Most musicians agree that vocal versatility is a worthy goal for choral singers, because
the variety of styles and periods in the average choral concert demands it. Responsible
conductors are sufficiently knowledgeable to teach and demonstrate healthy vocalism.
The incorporation of jazz requires a broader knowledge and understanding. A good
starting point is to concentrate on good breathing technique and emphasize healthy
speaking habits. Next, the conductor can teach the students that they do not need to sing
with a breathy tone to be authentic jazz singers. (On the contrary, the groups detailed in
this paper were known for smooth, effortless, focused vocal production.) In addition, the
teacher can use as examples vocalists who exhibited healthy production (and therefore
enjoyed successful singing careers until very late in life) such as Mel Tormè, Ella
Fitzgerald, Donald Mills, and Keely Smith.

Vibrato
The use of vibrato in vocal jazz ensemble singing is not universally accepted since
some groups achieve a unified sound with vibrato and other ensembles sing with straight
tone. Diana Spradling explains:
Vibrato is probably the most controversial issue. Interpretations of centuries of
discourse on vibrato often use subjective descriptions of its quality: warm,
beautiful, wide, too slow, too fast, too much, not enough--all subject to ''taste''
influenced by cultural expectations. In a university setting, just mentioning taking
out or minimizing the vibrato in the voice causes enough concerns that dealing

56
Archambeault, Noël. “On the Voice – ‘Come On-A My House’: An Invitation
to Vocal Jazz for Classical Singers.” (Choral Journal 46:11 May 2006): 71.

57
with this issue alone is worth the input of a vocal coach or teacher with applicable
expertise and experience.
57

Spradling’s suggestion that conductors consult with voice teachers about healthy
technique is wise, but only if the voice teacher is open to students studying classical and
jazz voice simultaneously. Vibrato is used most often as an ornament in vocal jazz, as it
is in most early music repertoires. Singers vary in their ability to sing with or without
vibrato: some find it easy, some more fatiguing. The author suggests that the conductor
choose to encourage a relaxed tone production and allow some naturally occurring
vibrato in the choral sound, which is commonly utilized in vocal jazz to “warm” longer
notes. This will avoid tension in the voices and draw a parallel to vocal instruction about
other styles. An authentic vocal jazz sound is more from correct feel, interpretation,
rhythm, and tuning than the decision to use vibrato or straight-tone.

Education through Listening
One of the best ways for conductors to educate themselves about vocal jazz is to
listen. One can study music, read jazz pedagogy books, and understand definitions of
commonly used terms (and these are all worthy efforts), but there is no substitute for
listening to a wide variety of jazz performances; developing an appreciation for the art,
and refining one’s taste. Listening is also the most efficient and effective way to acquaint
students with the sounds and style of jazz. Kirk Marcy, current national chairperson for
Jazz Repertoire and Standards with ACDA, wrote:
‘If Ella Fitzgerald could walk into rehearsal for five minutes, would she be
allowed to teach your students?’ This should be reason enough to share the

57
Spradling, 63.
58
podium with those influential performers, even though it may only be on CD.
Devote a few minutes of each rehearsal to allow one of the great masters to teach
our class. Our students must be exposed to recordings of music in the style they
are learning. As educators we must guide their listening by focusing on specific
musical elements. In jazz, listen to several different recordings of the same song.
One of the unique qualities of the literature of jazz music lies in its ability to be
performed in a variety of styles.
58

To encourage students to discuss and develop opinions about different versions of the
same song, Diana Spradling suggests this listening exercise:

Before the actual 'structured' listening session is held, the teacher should acquaint
the listeners with the original tune and its form, for example, April Arabian-Tini's
arrangement of ‘Like Someone in Love.’ Before teaching the chart, it would be
helpful to distribute a copy of a lead sheet of ‘Like Someone In Love’ and teach
Jimmy Van Heusen's melody in its original form. The next step should be the
listening session. When the students already know the original melody, they will
be better prepared to listen to recordings on the sensuous plane, or should we say
for pleasure, or hearing without thinking. The expressive plane could also be
discussed as the singers learn the original melody heard or discussed at the first
listening session.
59

Most students do not know jazz standard, so the recommendation to learn the original
version of a jazz standard is especially helpful. In this way they learn that they must first
know the original song before they can properly interpret and alter it.
Spradling, in her article “A Vocal Jazz Listening Checklist for Developing Jazz
Enthusiasts,” outlines a structured listening exercise that guides singers through the
experience by defining terms and pointing out jazz elements. She advocates that the
teacher lead a discussion about style, form, vocal quality, arrangement, articulation,
dramatic devices, rhythm section devices, improvisation ideas, and the artfulness of the

58
Marcy, Kirk. “Repertoire & Standards: Vocal Jazz,.” (Choral Journal 49:5
November 2008): 46.
59
Spradling, Diana R. “Repertoire & Standards Committee Reports: A Vocal
Jazz Listening Checklist for Developing Jazz Enthusiasts.” (Choral Journal 41:10, May
2001): 39.
59
soloist or group.
60
Over the course of several listening examples, the singers begin to
recognize the range of possibility and to discuss their preferences based on shared
knowledge. Finally, with an understanding of the terms used in jazz a conductor can
offer more detailed instruction and help the choir achieve a more nuanced performance.

Rhythm
Rhythm is a defining characteristic of jazz and encompasses numerous variations of
style, among them, swing, be-bop, latin, and blues. Exercises to enhance musicianship
skills in choir rehearsals are too often focused on singing pitches and ignore the need to
hone rhythmic skills. Similarly, basic knowledge of score marking should be part of any
musicianship instruction so the students do not need to rely on a conductor or teacher to
explain how to perform written music. Kirk Marcy suggests a possible exercise:
Sight-read literature, (especially in jazz) more than using sight-reading method
books. While method books are useful tools, they often fail to connect the student
to the literature. In jazz, where rhythms and intervals are often very complex,
method books don't provide the same kind of challenge as the literature does.
Have students use colored pencils or highlighter markers to label musical
components on the music:
* Basic identification of shapes/ symbols/markings
* Number of bars in each section of the song
* Repeats/codas
* Tempo markings
* Key changes.
Conductors can be amazed at how many students really struggle to find musical
information on the printed page.
61

60
Ibid., 39.
61
Marcy, 47.
60
Regular emphasis on rhythmic notation and recognition of patterns will ease the process
of teaching jazz rhythms and lead to a better understanding of the most important aspect
of jazz rhythm: feel.
The fundamental rhythmic feel in jazz is swing. Michele Weir, Southern California
jazz educator and former member of Phil Mattson’s PM Singers, introduces an exercise
intended to demonstrate swing feel in her Jazz Singer’s Handbook. She suggests saying
“one, two, three” in a eighth-note triplet pattern, then accenting three, finally leaving out
two until one is left with one and the accented three of the triplet.
62
This is a simple,
direct way to explain the basic swing style. She then expands the lesson:
Once the inner rhythm of swing eighth notes is strongly internalized, the next step
in developing a good swing feel is to lay back. (Laying back is the placement of
rhythms very slightly behind each steady quarter-note beat.) In swing feel at
medium and slow tempos, there is virtually always some amount of laying back.
The subtle difference between singing exactly on the beat and slightly behind it
makes all the difference in the world in terms of grooving. (To groove is to sing
or play with a good rhythmic feel.)
63

Weir also suggests that if a singer is “rhythmically challenged that they try a variety of
exercises, including: walking in tempo, move an arm in rhythmic circles, tapping while
singing, talking the song in tempo, conversing in rhythm, or singing with a recording.
64

The aforementioned listening exercises will also help the students detect the difference
between rhythmic feels in jazz. The author has also found that speaking the rhythm and
feel of an arrangement, before learning the notes, can be effective. Once the choir

62
Michele Weir. Jazz Singer's Handbook: The Artistry and Mastery of Singing
Jazz. (Alfred Publishing Company, February 2005): 36.
63
Ibid., 37.
64
Ibid., 40.
61
understands the rhythmic structure, one can simply add notes to the existing rhythm and
feel.

Text
The interpretation of lyrics in jazz music is yet another essential element of a
successful performance. Singers need to understand the words and be able to enhance the
meaning of the song through phrasing, breath, vocal sound, and word emphasis. Michele
Weir explains the intangible quality of outstanding vocalists:
Great jazz singers communicate with a sense of soulful honesty when they sing.
Rather than acting like they feel the story of the song, they seem to really feel the
story of the song; you believe them. Even if the setting or story line is not true for
them personally, they are still able to give an honest portrayal of the emotion
behind the scenario.
65

A choir can achieve this same level of interpretation through mutual understanding of
the lyrics and detailed performance decisions. For example, in The Hi-Lo’s performance
of “My Romance,” certain portions of the text are highlighted through tempo alterations
and fermatas. Conductors can heighten the meaning the lyrics with changes in texture,
tempo, vocal quality, or word stress. In this way, a ballad performed by an ensemble can
be just as intimate as one sung by a soloist. Speaking the words is, again, a valuable
exercise when teaching students to focus on word stress and meaning. This can be
incorporated into the above-mentioned spoken rhythm and feel exercises, so the students
have a complete understand of rhythm, style, and interpretation before adding pitches.

65
Ibid., 20.
62
Performance Decisions
Choir performances that include vocal jazz may require amplified sound. The
necessity of sound reinforcement is dependent upon several components: the performance
space, the size of the ensemble, the use of soloists, and the accompanying ensemble. A
large choir does not need to use sound reinforcement, but a soloist might, if the
performance space is sizable. In certain circumstances, a microphone is a necessity for a
singer trying to achieve a soft, understated performance. For accompanied works, the
backing ensemble will determine the need for amplification. An ensemble and even a
soloist can usually be heard over a piano or guitar accompaniment. However, a
microphone might be necessary if the performance includes a rhythm section or
additional instruments (especially brass).

Memorization
Vocal jazz music is often memorized and this usually produces a more effective
interpretation. It also frees the singers to express themselves with natural physical
motion and to communicate more directly with the audience. Singers become more
aware of the interaction with the audience if they do not have the “safety” of music as a
physical and emotional barrier. In addition, there is often a more direct connection
between choir and conductor, allowing for greater levels of musicality and more
flexibility with tempo and phrasing. Once instruction is complete and the concepts have
been internalized, the choir can be given the freedom to work together as an ensemble, to
communicate with one another and the audience, and with minimal direction from the
conductor.
63
The suggestions detailed in this chapter would be a good start for any educational
situation and lead to more advanced repertoire and performance in the future.
Conductors that program vocal jazz music are accepting the responsibility to select
appropriate repertoire and learn the basic elements of jazz music. However, a sincere
appreciation for the music and a desire to introduce a new generation of students to the
world of jazz should outweigh any fears about lacking experience in the area. Those
conductors who want a more involved education in jazz pedagogy can bring in an expert
to the rehearsal setting or attend workshops specifically dedicated to jazz education.

64
CONCLUSION
Vocal jazz repertoire offers many avenues for educating singers in a choral rehearsal.
This treatise has focused on five such areas: the history of jazz music in the United States
and its significant influence on cultural and social history; the opportunity to develop
musicianship skills through the unique rhythmic nature and the intricate harmony of
vocal jazz; the study of simple improvisation and exploration of expressive
communication through phrasing and text; and exposure to the generations of brilliant
vocalists and instrumentalists who developed the jazz idiom. Conductors are in a
powerful position to foster an appreciation for quality vocal jazz music.
This treatise offers suggestions for incorporating this music into the traditional choral
arena, provides pedagogical advice about teaching jazz, gives strategies for choosing
appropriate repertoire, and presents an argument for the validity of transcribing
previously unavailable early arrangements. Conductors who wish to program vocal jazz
have many sources of information, including: scholarly papers, music periodicals and
journals (see Bibliography for selected list), workshops and lectures dedicated to jazz
education, and several books on the subject by leading jazz educators. Lack of
experience or knowledge need not be a barrier to programming vocal jazz.
Arrangements written by The Mills Brothers, The Boswell Sisters, and The Hi-Lo’s,
three of many important vocal ensembles, are worthy of performance by classical choirs.
These groups were crucial to the evolution of vocal jazz and their styles were influenced
by 19
th
century barbershop and four-part hymnody. In this way these groups draw on the
tradition of American vernacular music, as do many of the multi-cultural arrangements
that have become a staple of choral programming in recent years. The transcriptions
65
prepared by the author are only a few examples of the wealth of possible choral repertoire
to be found on recordings of vocal jazz groups made between 1920 and 1960.
Furthermore, this music deserves to be preserved, through transcription, for students,
singers, and audiences. The process of notating early vocal jazz is an urgent matter for
four important reasons. First, although select older recordings have been released in
compact disc form, thousands of arrangements survive solely on wax records. Many
colleges have outstanding collections of jazz records and the technology by which to play
them, however, most musicians do not have access to either. Second, by taking the time
to transcribe these creative and unique arrangements, musicians can ensure that these
works are available to all. Third, rapid advancements in listening technology are
determining which music remains available to the public. Musicians, not record
company executives, should make the decision about which works should survive.
Finally, it is critical that we preserve this uniquely American art form for future
generations.
66
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aitken, Gene. “The Four Freshman: an Interview with Bob Flanigan.” Jazz Educator’s
Journal 21, no. 3, 1989.

Archambeault, Noël. “On the Voice – ‘Come On-A My House’: An Invitation to Vocal
Jazz for Classical Singers,” Choral Journal 46:11 (May 2006), p. 71-76.

Barbour, Ross. Now You Know: The Story of the Four Freshman. Lake Geneva, WI:
Balboa Books, 1995.

Cappello, Laurie. “Repertoire Standards: Junior High/ Middle School Choirs - Middle
School Vocal Jazz ... Where Do You Start?” Choral Journal 46:11 (May 2006),
p. 65-67.

Chilton, John. “Connee Boswell” in The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. London:
Macmillan Press Limited, 1988. Reprint, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994.

Collier, James Lincoln. “Jazz II. Origins and Early History” in The New Grove
Dictionary of Jazz. London: Macmillan Press Limited, 1988. Reprint, New York:
St. Martin’s Press, 1994.

Deweese, Jill Elise. In Concert: A Historical Analysis of Combined Vocal and
Instrumental Jazz Ensembles. Florida: Thomas A. Edison College, 1997.

Eychaner, Frank. “Repertoire Standards: Vocal Jazz - The Jazz Choir Goes Legit:
Copyright Law for the Vocal Music Educator,” Choral Journal 46:8 (February
2006), p. 41-43.

Friedwald, Will. Jazz Singing: America’s Great Voices from Bessie Smith to Bebop and
beyond. New York: Da Capo Press, 1992.

Giddins, Gary. “It Sisters.” The Village Voice 43:11 (17 March
1998) p. 120-121.

Goode, Mort. Liner notes of “The Mills Brothers Story.” LP Record. Los Angeles, CA:
Ranwood Records, 1974.

Guter, Gerhard K. Integration of vocal and instrumental ensembles in the jazz idiom.
Long Beach, CA: California State University, Long Beach, 2004.

Kernfeld, Barry, ed. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. London: Macmillan Press
Limited, 1988. Reprint, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994.

67

Koskoff , Ellen, ed. Women and music in cross-cultural perspective. New York :
Greenwood Press, 1987.

Lindley, Philip. “The Story of the Hi-Lo’s.” Primarily A Cappella.
www.singers.com/jazz/Hi-Loshistory.html; Internet; accessed 25 April 2009.

Mattson, Phil. Vocal jazz [videorecording] : the art and the technique / Phil
Mattson and VoicesIowa. Creston, IA : Southwestern Community College,
School for Music Vocations, 1995.

Madura, Patrice Dawn. “Relationships among Vocal Jazz Improvisation Achievement,
Jazz Theory Knowledge, Imitative Ability, Musical Experience, Creativity, and
Gender.” Journal of Research in Music Education, Vol. 44, No. 3 (Autumn,
1996), pp. 252-267.

Marcy, Kirk. “Repertoire & Standards: Vocal Jazz,” Choral Journal 49:5 (November
2008), p. 46-47.

_____. “Repertoire Standards: Vocal Jazz - Is Your Ensemble Creative or Re-
Creative?” Choral Journal, 47:6 (December 2006) p. 60-61.

Monkelien, Sheryl Lynn. The influence of Phil Mattson on vocal jazz education in
America: A case study. Lincoln: The University of Nebraska, 2001.

Nicholson, Stuart. Ella Fitzgerald. London: Indigo, 1996.

Reny, Bob “The Review Corner: The Hi-Lo's – ‘A Musical Thrill’" IAJRC Journal 40:1
(February 2007): 54-55.

Rinzler, Paul. The Contradictions of Jazz. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press,
Inc., 2008.

Schuller, Gunther. The swing era : the development of jazz, 1930-1945. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1989.

Shipton, Alyn. A New History of Jazz. Continuum, 2007.

Singh, Vijay. “Repertoire & Standards Committee Reports: Vocal Jazz - The Challenges
of Vocal Jazz,” Choral Journal 45:9 (April 2005), p. 53-54.

Spradling, Diana R. “Repertoire & Standards Committee Reports: A Vocal Jazz
Listening Checklist for Developing Jazz Enthusiasts,” Choral Journal 41:10 (May
2001), p. 39.

68

_____. “Vocal Jazz and Its Credibility in the University Curriculum,” Jazz
Educators Journal 32:5 (March 2000), p. 59-60, 62-64.

Stras, Laurie. “White Face, Black Voice: Race, Gender, and Region in the Music of the
Boswell Sisters.” Journal of the Society for American Music, 1:2 (May 2007)
p. 207-255.

Thacker, Eric. “Hot” in The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. London: Macmillan Press
Limited, 1988. Reprint, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994.

Tucker, Mark. “Mills Brother” in The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. London:
Macmillan Press Limited, 1988. Reprint, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994.

Weir, Michele. Jazz Singer's Handbook: The Artistry and Mastery of Singing Jazz.
Book & CD. Alfred Publishing Company, February 2005.

_____. “Response to Change: Vocal Jazz Ensemble--The Future of a Choral
Style,” Choral Journal 38:8 (March 1998), p. 53.

_____. Vocal Improvisation. Advance Music, 2005.

Zegree, Stephen L. A Comparative and Analytical Study of the Procedures Used By
Gene Puerling, Phil Mattson, and Clare Fischer in Writing an A Cappella
Arrangement of a Popular American Song. Kansas City: University of Missouri,
1989.

_____. “Gene Puerling: A Tribute.” Jazz Educator’s Journal 29, no. 4. Jan.
1997: 47-52.

_____. The complete guide to teaching vocal jazz : (including pop and
other show styles) . Dayton, Ohio : Heritage Music Press : Distributed by
the Lorenz Corp., 2002.
69
APPENDIX A
TRANSCRIPTIONS

“IT DON’T MEAN A THING (IF IT AIN’T GOT THAT SWING)”

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

86

87
“SOME OF THESE DAYS”

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97
“SHOUT, SISTER, SHOUT”

98

99

100

101

102

103

104

105
“ROLL ON MISSISSIPPI, ROLL ON”

106

107

108

109

110

111

112

113

114
“MY ROMANCE”

115

116

117

118
APPENDIX B
DISCOGRAPHY

The Boswell Sisters. The Boswell Sisters: It’s the Girls. Magnum Music MCCD 020,
1996, CD.

_____. The Boswell Sisters: It’s You. Flapper Past CD 7087, 1996. CD.

_____. The Boswell Sisters: The Music Goes ‘Round and Round’ and featuring the
Dorsey Brothers. Halcyon Records HDL 118, 1988. LP.

_____. The Boswell Sisters, Syncopating Harmonists from New Orleans. Take Two
Records TT 406, 1992. CD.

_____. Brunswick Volume I. Collectables Records P3-16728, 2000. CD.

_____. Brunswick Volume II. Collectables Records P3-16493, 2000. CD.

_____. Everybody Loves My Baby. Pro Arte CDD-550, n.d. CD.

_____. Swinging Out With the Boswell Sisters. Sandy Hook CSH-2110, n.d. CD.

The Hi-Lo’s. All Over the Place. Columbia CL 1509, n.d. LP.

_____. And All That Jazz. Columbia CL 1259, n.d. LP.

_____. The Best of The Hi-Lo’s: Nice Work If You Can Get It. Varese Sarabond Records
VSD 5694, 1996. CD.

_____. Broadway Play Bill. Columbia CL 1416, n.d. LP.

_____. Harmony in Jazz. P Encore 1438, n.d. LP.

_____. The Hi-Lo’s! Back Again. MPS 0068.217, 1979. LP.

_____. The Hi-Lo’s: Cherries and Other Delights. Hindsight HDC 603, 1993. CD.

_____. The Hi-Lo’s: Love Nest & All Over the Place. Sony Music A 52043, 2001. CD.

_____. The Hi-Lo’s: The Columbia Years. Koch KOC-CD-7926, n.d. CD.

_____. The Hi-Lo’s Happen to Bossa Nove. Reprise R 6066, n.d. LP.

_____. The Hi-Lo’s Happen to Folk Songs. Reprise R 6034, n.d. LP.
119

_____. The Hi-Lo’s I Presume. Kapp KL 1185, n.d. LP.

_____. The Hi-Lo’s! Now. MPS 0068-264, 1980. LP.

_____. The Hi-Lo’s in Stereo. Omega DRG SL 5184, n.d. LP.

_____. The Hi-Lo’s On Hand. Kapp KL 1194, n.d. LP.

_____. The Hi-Lo’s and Rosemary Clooney: Ring Around the Rosie. Columbia CL
1006, n.d. LP.

_____. The Hi-Lo’s Under Glass. Kapp KL 1184, n.d. LP.

_____. The Hi-Lo’s with Jerry Fielding Orchestra. Kapp KL 1927, n.d. LP.

_____. Love Nest. Columbia CL 1121, n.d. LP.

_____. Now Hear This. Columbia CL 123, n.d. LP

_____. Suddenly It’s the Hi-Lo’s. Columbia CL 052, n.d. LP.

_____. This Time It’s Love. Columbia CL 1783, n.d. LP.

The Mills Brothers. Count Basie and The Mills Brothers. Emidisc C-048, 1972. LP.

_____. Louis Armstrong and The Mills Brothers. EPM 157652, 1992. CD.

_____. Louis Armstrong and Guests. The Entertainers CD 250, 1990, CD.

_____. The Mills Brothers. Flapper Past CD 7049, n.d. CD.

_____. The Mills Brothers: The Anthology 1931-1968. Decca MCA D2-11279, n.d.
CD.

_____. The Mills Brothers Chronological Volume 3. JSP CD 303, 1990. CD.

_____. The Mills Brothers Chronological Volume 5. JSP CD 320, 1992. CD.

_____. The Mills Brothers featuring Connee Boswell, Frank Munn, The Boswell Sisters,
and Don Redman’s Orchestra, Vol. 2: 1931-1934. Giants of Jazz CD 53273,
1996. CD.

_____. The Mills Brothers: A Golden Treasury of Legendary Memories. Juke Box
Treasure JB7-6028, n.d. CD.
120

_____. The Mills Brothers & Louis Armstrong. Giants of Jazz LPJT 49, 1989. CD.

_____. The Mills Brothers’ Original Hits: 1941-1955. MCA 31348, 1990. CD.

_____. The Mills Brothers (1931-1934) with guest stars Bing Crosby, Duke Ellington,
Cab Calloway, Connee Boswell, The Boswell Sisters, Dick Powell. Giants of Jazz
CD 53086, 1992. CD.

_____. Sweeter Than Sugar with Duke Ellington Orchestra. Living Era AJA 5032,
1985. LP.

Tucker, Sophie. “The Last of the Red Hot Mamas.” Asv Living Era B000EMSTTS,
August 2006. CD.

121
APPENDIX C

VIDEOGRAPHY

The Mills Brothers Story. Directed by Don McGlynn. Storyville Films, 1986. DVD.

Abstract (if available)

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

A companion guide to Nick Strimple’s Choral Music in the Nineteenth Century: a research and repertoire guide for nineteenth century small form choral works for mixed voices

PDF

A history of choral literature: canons and peripheries in the development of an American discipline

PDF

Harnessing range and tessitura: a conductor's guide to the identification and management of vocal demand in mixed-voice choral repertoire

PDF

The Antiochian Orthodox Church of North America: vocal music and choral practice

PDF

The romantic loner: a conductor’s guide to the choral-orchestral works of Sir William Walton

PDF

A conductor’s guide to select choral works composed by Hyo-Won Woo between 2012 and 2018

PDF

The development of Taiwanese choral music in the twenty-first century

PDF

In search for a deeper understanding of Emma Lou Diemer’s compositional style through the analysis of her shorter choral works for mixed chorus since 1987

PDF

Music in worship in the Churches of Christ and choral music performance in Church of Christ affiliated colleges and universities

PDF

Wheel in a wheel: an analysis of the use of counterpoint in the choral spirituals of William Dawson

PDF

The sacred choral works of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

PDF

(Trans)itioning voices: gender expansive vocal pedagogy and inclusive methodologies for choral directors and teachers of singing

PDF

A historical analysis and performing edition of Baladassare Galuppi's C-minor Miserere for double treble chorus and orchestra

Asset Metadata

Creator Brooks, Dawn Elizabeth (author)

Core Title Vocal jazz repertoire from 1920-1960: a selection of unpublished repertoire by the Mills Brothers, the Boswell Sisters, and the Hi-Lo's for use in classical choral programming

School Thornton School of Music

Degree Doctor of Musical Arts

Degree Program Choral Music

Degree Conferral Date 2009-12

Publication Date 09/29/2009

Defense Date 09/11/2009

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Boswell Sisters,Brooks,Hi-Lo's,Mills Brothers,OAI-PMH Harvest,vocal jazz

Place Name USA (countries)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Solomon, Magen (committee chair), Korb, Kristin (committee member), Scheibe, Jo-Michael (committee member)

Creator Email dawnbrooks@earthlink.net,debrooks@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m2623

Unique identifier UC1494840

Identifier etd-Brooks-3221 (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c127-251734 (legacy record id),usctheses-m2623 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Brooks-3221.pdf

Dmrecord 251734

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Brooks, Dawn Elizabeth

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Repository Name Libraries, University of Southern California

Repository Location Los Angeles, California

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu