Jazz Legend Jon Hendricks Celebrates 94th Birthday

The master musician has pioneered the vocalese style in jazz music.

Published by


September 16th was the 94th birthday of Jon Hendricks, a jazz musician who has revolutionized one area of jazz performance: vocalese. Hendricks decided to take famous, intricate solos played on recordings on various instruments and make songs from these ‘tunes’ by embellishing them with lyrics. He is the father of this genre of jazz. Jon Hendricks has led the famous groups  Lambert, Hendricks and Ross and Lambert and later Hendricks and Bavan. These groups brought to life – in voice -  the famous instrumental works of Art Farmer, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Herbie Hancock, Charlie Parker and many others. Hendricks has, for the past few years, been performing with his daughter Michelle in the same style. Many vocalese bands, the Manhattan Transfer among others have emerged as a result of Hendricks’ concepts.

In the 1980s, Carmen MacRae sang an album of Thelonius Monk tunes, Carmen Sings Monk, for most of which Jon Hendricks had written lyrics.

Jon Hendricks lives and performs out of New York city.

Recent Posts

Zendaya and Tom Holland Are Married, Stylist Law Roach Claims

"The wedding has already happened," Roach said, adding, "You missed it"

March 2, 2026

See Robbie Williams Lead All-Star Ozzy Osbourne Tribute at 2026 Brit Awards

Zakk Wylde, Robert Trujillo and more perform "No More Tears" as Osbourne posthumously receives lifetime…

March 2, 2026

The Sacred Amritsar Festival Brought the City’s History to Life Through Music

Usha Uthup, Kailash Kher and Kailasa, Anirudh Varma Collective and Kutle Khan injected a new…

March 1, 2026

Neil Sedaka, a Pop Hitmaker Across Two Eras, Dead at 86

The songwriter and performer broke through with early Sixties hits like "Breaking Up Is Hard…

February 28, 2026

Kanye West India Show Adds ‘Mysterious’ Merchandise Drop

The hip-hop star has extended his 'global mystery mandate' to the upcoming New Delhi show,…

February 28, 2026