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from Wikipedia:
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, Lambert successfully brought singing into modern jazz (concurrently with Ella Fitzgerald). In the late 1950s he 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 in 1964, and the process was documented by filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker in a 15-minute documentary entitled Audition at RCA.[2][3]
Dave Lambert links:
- Wikipedia
- Discogs.com
- IMDb
- JazzWax.com (Marc Myers) pages:
Audition at RCA, 1964 documentary by D. A. Pennebaker — Songs performed by Lambert & Co. in the film include the following, in this order, “Individualist Waltz” (also referred to elsewhere as “Blow the Man Down”), “Think of Me,” “Leaving,” and “Comfy Cozy.” The performance of “Comfy Cozy” begins shortly after 9:55 in both copies of the film provided below.
personnel: Dave Lambert, Sarah Boatner, Mary Vonnie, Leslie Dorsey, and David Lucas (vocals), Moe Wechsler (piano), George Duvivier (bass), and Gary Chester (drums)
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.In the page Dave Lambert: Lost Tracks at JazzWax, dated June 5, 2013, Marc Myers reveals that there were five tracks recorded during the RCA audition that day, and provides a video containing each track, which he says had been uploaded to YouTube by someone a week before the JazzWax page was published. In the same page, Myers indicates that Dave Lambert wrote four of the five songs. If that is correct, then Lambert wrote all except “Old Folks,” a jazz standard that isn’t included in the Pennebaker film. Myers notes that the unearthed tracks include “a complete version of Comfy Cozy, which sheds new light on Lambert’s composing and harmony genius.”
Comfy Cozy (Dave Lambert) — Lambert & Co., RCA Audition, 1964 (complete version) — lyric, transcribed by doc (Jim Radcliff) on 10/9/2020, below the video
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Comfy Cozy (Dave Lambert) — as sung by Lambert & Co., 1964 — lyric
Comfy cozy, nice and warm
And snug as a bug in a rug
You know your life is rosy, wrapped in arms
Never be drug
So secure, no need to speak
I know what it’s all about
Got my security blanket ‘gainst my cheek
Gum in my mouth
Love is a way of just living your life
Live it that way and truly you’ll see
Comfy cozy all your own
You know you can swing with that
God bless the child that gets his love at home
Fortunate cat
Comfy cozy
Snug, yeah, snug
You’re bugged in your rug
Comfy cozy
Snug, yeah, snug
You’re bugged in your rug
Oh, what a tall tale
Why won’t he let us wail
Like “Way down upon the comfy cozy”
Blazing a trail from yesterday
You follow here
You may hope to find
Some comfy cozy all your own
You know you can swing with that
God bless the child that gets his love at home
Fortunate cat
~lyric transcribed by doc (Jim Radcliff) on 9 October 2020 — Please let me know in a comment here, or via my Contact page, if you notice any errors in the transcription.
Not included in my transcription are three short but intense interjectory vocalized sections and a longer early Swingle Singers-like interlude. The first two short interjectory sections come after the first and second “bugged in your rug” sections. Each take the form of an improvised scatting dialog between one of the other male singers and Dave Lambert in which the scatting of David Lucas, in the first case, and Leslie Dorsey in the second, seem to be mockingly dismissed by Lambert’s scatting responses.
The third interjectory section, again evidently improvised, follows the section in which the singers complain that the leader, Lambert, won’t “let us wail.” This time all members speak, and they use normal words and phrasing instead of scat, but it’s hard to make out all the words because several are speaking at the same time. Lambert starts off the section again sounding critical and dismissive, but his jeering response is met this time by more complaints, which he finally seems to acquiesce to, leading to the interlude.
