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Abstract
Stylistically, vocalese combines different writing techniques, which all fall within the generic framework of simulated improvisation (A. Hodeir). Today, the term “vocalese” refers to all vocal transcription in jazz, irrespective of its original musical repertoire (classical music, jazz, etc.). For the specific type of transcription based on onomatopoeia, the term “scat syllable” is used. This specification enables a dis- tinction between the acts of improvisation (scat singing) and writing (scat syllable) while at the same time highlighting the tonal proximity of the two practices. The creative act of applying a text to a vocal jazz transcription is illustrated by a comparative analysis of the dialogized compositions of two bop musicians/songwriters, Jon Hendricks (Lambert, Hendricks & Ross) and Mimi Perrin (Double Six), whose texts for vocal ensembles are written in a style resembling speech, one of them in English, the other in French, and aim to equate music and text. In the 1960s, their endeavors to interpret instrumental music vocally found expression in two unique aesthetics: Hendricks, as a committed lyricist, used the original piece as support for his texts, while Perrin aimed to fuse the original musical prosody with her sung translation. Double Six, Quire, and the Swingle Singers represent the Parisian vocalese school.