Dave Lambert (American jazz vocalist)

For the English guitarist who plays for Strawbs, see Dave Lambert (English musician).

Dave Lambert
Dave Lambert, New York, ca. July 1947. Photograph by William P. Gottlieb
Background information
Birth name	David Alden Lambert
Born	June 19, 1917(1917-06-19) St. James Parish, Louisiana United States
Died	October 3, 1966(1966-10-03) (aged 49) Connecticut Turnpike, Connecticut United States
Genres	Jazz
Occupations	Musician, Songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1940s–1966
Associated acts	Lambert, Hendricks & Ross

David Alden Lambert (June 19, 1917 – October 3, 1966), was an American jazz lyricist, singer, and an originator of vocalese. He was best known as a member of the trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Lambert spent a lifetime experimenting with the human voice, and expanding the possibilities of its use within jazz.

Lambert's band debut was with Johnny Long's Orchestra in the early 1940s.^[1] Along with early partner Buddy Stewart, he successfully brought singing into modern jazz (concurrently with Ella Fitzgerald). In the late 1950s Lambert teamed with wordsmith, and vocalese pioneer Jon Hendricks. The two were later joined by Annie Ross, and the lineup was a hit.

After Ross left the group in 1962, Lambert and Hendricks went on without her by using various replacements, but the partnership ended in 1964. He then formed a quintet called "Lambert & Co." which included the multiple voices of Mary Vonnie, Leslie Dorsey, David Lucas, and Sarah Boatner. The group auditioned for RCA, and the process was documented by filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker in a 15-minute documentary entitled Audition at RCA,^[2][3] and the Charlie Parker with Voices. It was one of the last images recorded of Lambert, as several months later he was killed in an auto accident. He was on the Connecticut Turnpike,^[4] heading to New York City to deliver a tape of his weekly WBAI-FM radio program, when his car had a flat tire. While changing it, he was fatally struck by a truck.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Yanow, Scott. "Dave Lambert: Biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/dave-lambert-p8982/biography. Retrieved 9 March 2011. 
2. ^ Pennebaker, D.A. (1964). "The Audition" (video). Pennebaker Hegedus Films. http://www.phfilms.com/index.php/phf/film/lambert_co/. Retrieved June 4, 2011. 
3. ^ Myers, Marc (May 31, 2011). "Dave Lambert: Audition at RCA". JazzWax. http://www.jazzwax.com/2011/05/dave-lambert.html. Retrieved June 4, 2011. 
4. ^ "Jazz Musician Dave Lambert Killed In Crash". Toledo Blade. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XCYxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dgEEAAAAIBAJ&dq=dave%20lambert&pg=7412%2C4238510. 

Will Friedwald (1996). Jazz Singing: America's Great Voices From Bessie Smith To Bebop And Beyond. Perseus Publishing. ISBN 0-306-80712-2. 

Persondata
Name	Lambert, Dave
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 19, 1917
Place of birth
Date of death	October 3, 1966
Place of death