Dave Lambert born 19 June 1917

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. 

David Alden Lambert was born in Boston, MA. His sole musical education came at age 10 when he played drums for a year. He picked up the drums again in the late 1930s when he worked summers playing with the Hugh McGuinness trio. Before joining the Army in 1940, he earned his living as a tree surgeon. Lambert was discharged from Army in 1943.   

Lambert's band debut was with Johnny Long's Orchestra in the early 1940s. Along with early partner Buddy Stewart, Lambert successfully brought singing into modern jazz (concurrently with Ella Fitzgerald). He  joined Gene Krupa's Orchestra in 1944 as a member of the G-Noters, which featured Lambert, Lillian Lane, Buddy Stewart and Jerry Duane. His first hit with Krupa was What's This? with Buddy Stewart, recorded in January 1945. Their scatting captured the essence of early bop, thanks to their close association with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and other burgeoning boppers on New York's 52nd St., and is considered the first vocal version of a bop line. 

The Pastels

In 1946, Lambert recorded with Buddy Stewart backed by Red Rodney's Beboppers, arranged by Neal Hefti. In the late 1940s, Lambert was so skilled that he often performed and recorded with top boppers like Benny Green, Al Haig, Allen Eager and Kai Winding. In 1947 Lambert put together a small short lived group he called “The Pastels” for Stan Kenton. They included Dave Lambert, Jerry Duane, Wayne Howard, Jerry Packer and Margaret Dale. 

                                    

Lambert appeared with Charlie Parker on a Royal Roost broadcast (1949) and his singers backed Bird on his 1953 recordings of "Old Folks" and "In the Still of the Night," renditions that are somewhat bizarre. Lambert recorded a few numbers with his vocal group for Capitol in 1949 and teamed up with John Hendricks (along with two other singers) for the first time in 1955 for an obscure version of "Four Brothers." The two were later joined by Annie Ross, and the lineup was a hit. 

After Lambert, Hendricks & Ross became popular in 1957, that group dominated his activities, although Lambert did record a solo album for United Artists in 1959. He stayed with the ensemble after it became Lambert, Hendricks & Bavan in 1962 (when Annie Ross was succeeded by Yolande Bavan) until its breakup 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, It was one of the last images recorded of Lambert. The warm-voiced singer's last recording was a scat-filled version of "Donna Lee" performed at a 1965 Charlie Parker memorial concert. A year later he was killed in a highway incident. 

Accounts of Lambert's death vary slightly in details. It is established that he was on the Connecticut Turnpike and that a flat tire was involved and that he was struck by a tractor-trailer truck driven by Floyd H. Demby in the early hours of October 3, 1966. The disabled vehicle was not fully off the roadway and its lights were turned off. In addition, an account on D. A. Pennebaker's website states that the accident was on the Merritt Parkway, although that highway prohibits trucks. 

Some accounts mention that Richard Hillman was killed in the same incident. Newspaper stories differ about whose vehicle was disabled. Jet magazine's account says it was a panel truck owned by Lambert. Jon Hendricks' telling of the story says that Lambert was a compulsive do-gooder and that he had stopped to assist another motorist. The newspaper follow-up stories say that Demby was not at fault and that Lambert and Hillman were in the roadway when they were struck. 

(Edited from Wikipedia, AllMusic, Jazz Wax & A.A. Registry)