Avant Garde Jazz Yodling

So, from Tarzan to Hawaii we find yodling. There are various African styles of singing that involve alternation between chest and head voice, but I do not have any in my library (my collection is at its thinnest in Africa), so I can't give you any great examples right now.

However, there was an interesting jazz singer named Leon Thomas whose greatest claim to fame was being Pharoah Sanders' vocalist during Pharoah's mystical post-Coltrane period. Now, this was the 1960's, and these guys were in Oakland, so they probably made a lot of claims to this or that element of their music being directly from the heart of Africa. Those claims may fall anywhere from true to somewhat true, to completely pulled out of a hat while high on marijuana.

One way or another, African origin, or simply carrying out the Western (gasp!) tradition of extending musical technique and exploration of ideas, Leon Thomas turns in some fantastic yodling with Sanders. My favorite recording of theirs is Karma, which is full of all of the mystical baloney of the day, from the cover photo to the lyrics and liner notes:

"There was a time, when peace was on the earth,
and joy and happiness did reign. Each man
knew his worth. In my heart how I yearn for
that spirit's return and I cry, as the time flies,
Oooomm. Oooomm."

Also, this music is not for everyone. It is beautiful, unaplogetic post-Coltrane free jazz.

However, if you are willing to take a chance on this sort of thing, Karma is a fantastic record (even Melanie, who is not nearly as big a fan of free jazz as she ought to be, I mean, as I am, loves this record). It has two tracks, the first, "The Creator Has a Master Plan", clocks in at a whopping 32:45 and features some of the best structured music of that period.

Anyway, the reason I bring it up here is that Leon Thomas does some fantastic yodling on it, and it is something that must be heard to be understood.

Speaking of Pharoah Sanders, for those of you with more bop-oriented tastes, should definitely check out his Welcome to Love, which is all traditional ballads. Gorgeous stuff. But still, sometime in your life, arrange to have a good sit down listen with Karma. Great stuff.