Search - Sarah Vaughan :: Divine Miss V

HER BEST JAZZ SESSIONS FROM THE 1950'S.

Mary Whipple | 12/05/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This outstanding 2-cd set, 140 + minutes of music, contains Sarah's four best jazz sessions from the 1950's. She is recorded live with her trio at Mr. Kelly's and with a 7-piece group featuring Thad Jones and Frank Wess. In the studio she's accompanied by the Clifford Brown Sextet and her trio.Sarah made far too many recordings backed by orchestras. The sessions on these cd's show her as thoroughly at home with some of the best jazz musicians of her times. She's in great voice and swinging hard throughout."

How do you describe perfection?

Mary Whipple | New England | 04/15/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Containing a bit of everything that made Sarah Vaughan a star, this two-CD set is a winner. Each CD is divided into two sections. The first CD consists of two separate live concerts, both from 1957--one from Mr. Kelly's in Chicago, with Jimmy Jones on piano, and the other from London House in Chicago, with Thad Jones and four brasses. The second CD, while not live, consists of Vaughan singing with her own (understated) trio, a recording from 1954, and the other, a recording of nine tracks, also from 1954, in which Clifford Brown, her favorite trumpet player (and the favorite of many other jazz aficionados) is lead trumpet and Jimmy Jones is on piano.



Throughout the 141-minute, 34-track album, Vaughan is a star, but on this CD, she shows her human side. At Mr. Kelly's, Vaughan messes up on "Willow Weep for Me, forgetting the lyrics and joking about it, saying "They'll probably use this one." In "How High the Moon," she sings, "I don't know the words to this song, but I'm going to sing it anyway," then goes on to mention that Ella sings "shoo-be-do-be-do-be," at which point she herself bursts into scat for the entire track. In "Thanks for the Memories," from London House, she starts to sing, then can't pronounce "Parthenon," gets told how to say it, then stops again, saying, "I don't get this word, 'Parthenon.'" All of the first CD consists of relatively short songs, as does the first half of the second CD.



The songs with Clifford Brown are notably longer, all of them over four minutes long, with "April in Paris" well over six minutes long. It is clear here that Vaughan and Brown are completely in sync, as they inspire each other musically, never overwhelm each other, and allow for solos by the band.



Vaughan uses her entire vocal instrument here, about four octaves in range. With great vibrato, control, and phrasing, she can do anything, musically. Alternating fast and slow songs, she sings ballads with enormous passion, but she also bursts into irrepressible scat at the drop of a hat. Her ability to improvise is one of her hallmarks, and though the songs here are fairly traditional, she makes each of them her own with her own interpretations. Among the album highlights: "Willow Weep for Me," "Stairway to the Stars," "Speak Low," "They Can't Take That Away from Me," and the finale, "It's Crazy (but I'm in Love)." A fine compilation of Vaughan at her peak and wonderful insight into her performing personality. n Mary Whipple



Crazy & Mixed Up

Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown

Linger Awhile: Live at Newport and More"