King Pleasure

King Pleasure emerged as a foundational figure in vocalese alongside Eddie Jefferson, a jazz vocal approach that sets original lyrics to instrumental solos. Though Pleasure identified Jefferson as his primary inspiration and acknowledged the latter’s earlier embrace of the technique, his own horn-inspired phrasing and inventive scat work exerted comparable sway over later artists. Recording for Prestige, Aladdin, Jubilee, HiFi Jazz, and United Artists, the compelling improviser achieved lasting recognition with his 1952 hit “Moody’s Mood for Love,” a track featuring lyrics that Jefferson supplied for tenor saxophonist James Moody’s 1949 reading of the standard “I’m in the Mood for Love.” During the 1950s he also earned acclaim for his treatments of Lester Young’s “DB Blues,” Charlie Parker’s “Parker’s Mood,” and Gene Ammons’ “Red Top,” while his style left a direct or indirect mark on Jon Hendricks, Annie Ross, Bob Dorough, Mark Murphy, Al Jarreau, Lou Lanza, and the Manhattan Transfer. Pleasure’s studio activity proved brief; although he continued to record into the early 1960s, he soon receded into near-total obscurity. His pioneering contributions nevertheless endured beyond his death on March 21, 1982, just three days shy of what would have been his sixtieth birthday. By the late 1990s, echoes of his approach could still be detected in the work of emerging vocalists such as Ian Shaw and Lou Lanza.