For this Flashback we’re looking at a unique aspect of swing jazz – scatting. The definition of scatting is vocal improvisation with nonsense syllables or no words at all just vocal sounds. There are other singing traditions around the world that involve wordless improvised vocalisations including yodelling, Irish lilting, Sámi joik, and probably others. Though it seems that these other traditions are mostly done acapella whereas scatting tends to be accompanied by instruments – a vocal solo similar to the individual improvised instrumental solos that are also common in jazz music. 

Since scatting was introduced by Black American vocalists some writers have suggested that it is likely to be rooted in African musical traditions. Others suggest that it is a purely American innovation which may have come out of jazz musicians trying out different riffs vocally before playing them on an instrument.

Louis Armstrong brought scatting to the spotlight in 1926 during a performance of “Heebie Jeebies“. According to the story, when he recorded this song with his band, The Hot Five, his sheet music fell off the stand so he started just singing nonsense to cover and that version ended up being the one that was released. However, jazz pianist Jelly Roll Morton claimed that he and Tony Jackson were scatting the intros to some of their songs from around the turn of the century (while Armstrong was still just a child) after they heard scatting for the first time from a comedian called Joe Sims.

Whatever its origins musicians like Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, and Slim Gaillard certainly perfected scatting taking this style of singing to a whole new level.

More about scatting: