Bebop vocalist
Gonzales who was born as Lee Brown, was a key member of the bebop generation alongside artists like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. He was one of the coolest vocalists in the bebop scene and wrote the song Oop-Pop-A-Da, which was recorded and performed by his band, Three Bips and a Bop, and was later was one of Dizzy Gillespie's first commercial successes. Gonzales was an exponent and pioneer of vocalese. This is a style or musical genre of jazz singing in which words are added to a soloist's improvisation. An example of vocalese is his version of the Charlie Parker bop standard Ornithology.
Cult Figure
Gonzales became a cult figure, but nowadays he is all but forgotten today. But he who left a small and obscure recorded legacy, certainly was the inventor of the bebop language.
Source: That Eric Alper, Wikipedia
Source image: Willeam P. Gottlieb via Wikipedia
