Human Voice Quartet - Kumbaya

Topic: Jazz - Modern
Jazz is primarily instrumental music. Vocalists like Frank Sinatra appeared with big bands, but they were parts of complete variety programs, not members of the bands. Ella Fitzgerald became an important jazz singer when she abandoned traditional concepts of song and turned her voice into a musical instrument with scat. [1]

A Caribbean-French group merged different jazz styles when they recorded "Kumbaya" in 2015. Two of the members, Alain Deshagette and Léo Rafaël, had been part of a group that specialized in Cole Porter songs. [2] Another, Didier Quérin, had appeared with Ray Charles. [3] They dedicated their album to the Golden Gate Quartet. [4]

Their instrumental accompaniment, a piano with a muted drum, was a simplified version of the bebop style introduced by men like Thelonious Monk. They sang three verses in close harmony that remained true to the primary melody, then the arrangement turned to variations that had little to do with the tune or text.

The group began the lines of the first two iterations together then diverged to parallel thirds. They sang slowly and stayed in harmony when they varied the tones on words. The difference between the two verses was only the piano accompanied them on "kumbaya," while the drums, block, and cymbal were added for "come by here."

The third verse was a solo by one of the tenors that again was melismatic. He altered the wording from "someone praying" to "I hear someone praying."

The style changed on the fourth verses, which was in French. This time the group repeated a single phrase over and over while the soloist varied the melody. It had little to do with "Kumbaya," although the reference to "seigneur" in the last line may have been an allusion to the song’s usual last line.

The transition to pure jazz was completed in the fifth iteration, which was played by the piano and drums. If it was playing the original melody, it was not recognizable. However, the group sang "Oh Lord, cum by yar" twice in close harmony toward the end.

Finally, a soloist began scatting against the piano, again using his own melody. The group concluded by repeating "Oh Lord, cum by yar" five times slowly. They broadened the harmony on the third repetition and continued their melismatic changes.

Performers
Vocal Soloist: tenor

Vocal Group: Alain Deshagette, first tenor; Léo Rafaël, second tenor; Didier Quérin, baritone; Miguel Dalu, bass [5]

Instrumental Accompaniment: piano
Rhythm Accompaniment: drums/block/cymbal

Credits
Composer: RR
Copyright: Jimmy’s Production
Music Publisher: D.R

Notes on Lyrics
Language: English and French

Pronunciation: may have used Creole pronunciation on "cum by yar."

Verses: kumbaya, come by here, praying, own

Vocabulary
Pronoun: someone
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none

Basic Form: song
Verse Repetition Pattern: none
Ending: repeated "Oh Lord, cum by yar" five times

Unique Features: French verse; substituted "I hear someone" for "someone" in one line

Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: slow

Basic Structure: began with iterations of main melody, then changed to improvisations.

Singing Style: parallel harmony with melisma; scat

Solo-Group Dynamics: soloist varied melody while group repeated a single phrase, much like the denouement section of prelude-denouement versions of "Come by Here." However, the tempo remained slow.

Vocal-Orchestral Dynamics: muted, even when playing alone.

Audience Perceptions
Africultures said the Human Voice Quartet presented "a mix of Negro Spirituality, gospel and Caribbean jazz [. . .] very nuanced, which makes each of their performances an unforgettable moment." It also indicated the group had won the Louis Armstrong Performance Award at the Paris Gospel Festival in 1999. [6]

Notes on Performers
The nucleus of the group may have been Accord, who recorded for Frémeaux et Associés. The company website indicated Accord’s origins lay in Guadeloupe, a French overseas region in the Lesser Antilles. The tenor, Alain Deshagette, and baritone, Didier Quérin, were members. [7]

Quérin had spent two years in the United States before moving to France in 1996. [8] He became director of the choral group, Gospel Hearts, which he took to Guadeloupe. [9]

Meantime, Deshagette worked with Jean-Paul Elysée and Léo Rafaël on the Cole Porter project. [10] Elysée and Rafaël later were members of Baylavwa that specialized in Carribean jazz. [11]

Availability
Album: Human Voice Quartet. MP3. 16 October 2015.

YouTube: uploaded by Believe A on 14 April 2016.

End Notes
1. At its simplest scat involved singing vocables in imitation of a musical instrument.
2. "Vocal Porter." Gospel Agency website.
3. Gospel Hearts website.

4. The Golden Gate Quartet was an African-American group from Virginia that featured tenor and bass solos. They began recording in 1937 with "Born Ten Thousand Years Ago." They performed many gospel songs that entered the camp repertoire, including "Dese Bones Gonna Rise Agin," "Noah and the Ark," and "Wade in the Water." They moved to Paris in 1959. (Wikipedia. "Golden Gate Quartet.")

5. "Human Voice Quartet." Africultures website.
6. Africultures. Google translate from French.
7. "Accord Singers. Down by the Riverside. Frémeaux et Associés website.

8. "Master Class Gospel à Saint-Malo." Agendaou website. Class was scheduled for 28 February 2016.

9. Gospel Hearts.
10. "Vocal Porter."
11. "Baylavwa." Facebook.