Fireside Chat

Bobby McFerrin

Decca, New York City

An extraordinary virtuoso of the vocal kind, conductor of many a chamber orchestra and a genius of improvisation, it is almost a shame that Bobby's best known track is the family favourite 'Don't Worry Be Happy'. Son to opera singer Robert and father to Taylor, a successful and innovative rapper from Brooklyn, its fair to say the McFerrin name has been hit with the talent stick. Some say (and Bobby concurs in his Fireside Chat) that this success comes down to his dedication to improvisation and there is no doubt that he constructed the pathway to solo improvised singing. Through these devising techniques and a spectacular blending of genres, from jazz to folk, Bobby's compositions have become timeless. As a conductor too, Bobby has conveyed his innate musicality in another context, working with the New York Philharmonic and The Chicago Symphony amongst others. With an ability to reach beyond musical genres and stereotypes for a sound that is entirely his own, he remains one of the true originators of modern times in music.