Golden Days

In many ways, King Pleasure wrote the book on bop vocalese, composing and performing lyrics to famous jazz solos. If not the first to do it, he was certainly the first to have hit records doing it, including "Moody's Mood for Love," based on James Moody's version of "I'm in the Mood for Love"; Gene Ammons's "Red Top"; and "Parker's Mood." In the process, he led the way for other jazz singer-lyricists such as Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross. On this 1960 session, the original scat vocalist is heard recapping some of his greatest successes, including the famous James Moody and Charlie Parker solos. He's joined by two of the most underrated modern jazz tenor saxophonists, Harold Land and Teddy Edwards. After being impressed by the verbal wit and gymnastic diction that Pleasure's art demands, listeners may be struck by how much his mellow sound resembles that of Land or Moody. --Stuart Broomer