Search - Sarah Vaughan :: The Divine One

Unmistakingly Divine and nothing less

Travis Jimmerson | Decatur, Georgia United States | 11/29/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Being possibly the most devoted fan of Sassy and for great reasoning i highly recommend this CD. The brilliance and undeniably gifted artistry of

Sarah Vaughan is all up and through this short but full newly released gem. It really seems that she is underrated when compared to the likes of

Ella Fitzgerald,something i never can understand.Sarah delivers more drama,emotion and excitement to the lyric of song regardless of the lyric's quality.Her gift always brings new life and fresh air to any given tune. I also believe that Sassy was more rebellious vocally compared to others which pisses off controlling critics who want to box their subjects to suit them only it seems.Sarah could do whatever she wanted with her voice up until her death.Keep in mind that this is a woman

who passed away from something as senseless as lung cancer,meaning she smoked so many cigarettes over her years,yet by listening to anything out of her massive discography you would think she inhaled not one. Cassandra

Wilson put it best by saying" Whenever I listen to Sarah Vaughan I feel myself transcending the body"."

A Shout Out to the Divine One!

JoeyD | los gatos, ca | 05/20/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Another CD that I am completely at sea about, I mean, how in the hec has this one only been reviewed one time? Yet, if you were to venture on over to the Paris Hilton or Brittany Speers page... UGH!!! Please don't get me started. This is another absolute beauty by Sassy. Twelve great songs, all short, but oh so sweet. Highlights for me "Have You Met Miss Jones", (I swear I could listen to her scat all day long), her exuberant, playful performance on "Jump For Joy" (my personal favorite) and her tristful, yet touching take on "What Do You See In Her". Trust me when I tell you, there isn't one time you will be using the fast forward button after popping this one on.



In the dictionary, next to the word DIVINE Sarah's picture needs to be placed. There has never been a voice like hers before and since. There may not be anything particularly spectacular about this 1960 Roulette recording. Yet then again, there is absolutely nothing amiss about it either. 'The Divine One' is led by the capable, nimble hands of the very underrated pianist/arranger Jimmy Jones, along with Don Lamond on drums and Harry "Sweets" Edison on his muted trumpet. It's too bad that the other members of the band were mentioned as "unknown" in the liner notes (if any one of you jazz guru's can lend me a hand it would be much appreciated). They all play sensational, nothing too showy, content on restraint in order for Sassy to do her thing. She had so much range, she was always in such perfect control, and she nails every note on this album.



If you love great music, REAL music, then add this one to your list."

5 Stars are not enough for this divine album

B. Redman | l | 05/25/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is my favorite Sarah Vaughan album. I was introduced to Sarah's rendition of "Ain't No Use" as a teen through the original "Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz" which contained this song and "Dancing in the Dark" as the selections for Sarah Vaughan. After that introduction to Sarah Vaughan, the album "The Divine One" was one of the first Sarah Vaughan albums I bought, and after about thirty years it remains my favorite. It took over a decade since the advent of the CD for all of the contents of this album to appear on CD, first on "The Complete Roulette Sarah Vaughan Studio Sessions" CD set available from Mosaic, then on this CD.

The reasons that make this Sarah's greatest album in my opinion are 1. she is at the height of her vocal powers with beautiful tone and absolute control; 2. she uses all of her vocal talents and jazz musicianship in the service of the songs without extraneous vocal acrobats that sometimes mar her other performances; 3. the songs are all top quality; 4. the accompaniment is by a true small jazz combo played wonderfully with stylish and swinging arrangements; 5. Harry Edison's trumpet work; 6. excellent sound quality; 7. one can listen to this album repeatedly finding new things to love about Sarah's performances each time.

With so many so-so to very good albums getting 5-star ratings, this album deserves many more stars than allowed. This album is a true treasure for Sarah Vaughan fans and all true lovers of vocal jazz.

"