He Was The Cat (a Tribute To Eddie Jefferson) Lyrics - Hustlin' For A Gig - Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet

There was a fellow named Jefferson who 

Would tear it up with the band 

A vocalizin phenomenon who they used to call the Main Man 

He would think like a sage, sing like a horn 

And there on the stage somethin special was born 

He would swing, dit n doo dat 

He was The Cat. 

He sang with Moody in 57 

He put a lyric to bop 

When little Benny came down from Heaven 

He put it over the top 

Jazz was hot in the East, cool in the West 

But his vocalese it was simply the best 

Because man, couldnt he scat 

He was The Cat. 

Eddie was hip but wise as an old man 

Takin that trip to celebrate Coleman 

Lettin it rip on Body and Soul man 

And oh what hed do, the poetry flew 

A founding father was Jefferson but 

He never got the acclaim 

Were here to tell you that hes the one that 

Put vocalese in the game 

He would dig sittin in, blowin the hit 

And then he would spin out a story to fit 

He was some acrobat 

He was The Cat. 

There was a time when there was jazz cookin up on every corner 

Everybody would sit and listen as they blew 

Tellin stories they knew in each his own way 

Tellin the news, bop to blues 

Set the moods any way theyd want to 

Innovation was always there 

Electrifyin the air everywhere youd be, let me tell ya 

All around youd hear the sound of life abounding free 

Comin out of a horn, bein born a new way 

Never knew what youd hear 

First we heard from The Bean 

Then the word on the scene was so choice: 

Eddie Jeffersons voice, what a beautiful noise 

Master of a lyric and what an inventor 

Singin with the spirit of jazz at the center 

Anyone whod hear it knew that he was a mentor 

Enter for the love the sound 

You found the rhythm town where you can marry vocabulary 

To every melody that you hear 

For when Eddie would sing, the story was king 

Hed talk about a thing, then be sockin it like the swing of a bat 

He sang it like that! 

He would embrace his lyrical zen to 

Tickle those phrases like he was meant to 

Take us to places nobodyd been to 

An Everest climb, the cleverest kind! 

When Charlie Parker and Moody played it 

There was a hush in the crowd 

And then when Eddie would elevate it 

The jazz community bowed 

Hed evoke what we heard on the soloin rides 

And make every word tell a story besides 

And were all tippin our hat! 

He Was The Cat.