paul secor Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 (edited) One of the many blind areas in my listening is female vocalists. (I should say here that I have a musician friend who would probably say that that's a good blind area to have.) Anyway - one female vocalist I've never been able to hear is Sarah Vaughan. I've heard very few of her recordings, but from what I have heard I've always had the feeling that I've been listening to someone in love with the sound of her own voice. Maybe that's not a bad thing, but for me that the sound of her voice has obscures the conveying of emotions. (Hope that makes sense.) Perhaps I've just heard the wrong recordings. If anyone has a Sarah Vaughan recording that they think I (and others) should hear, please post that recommendation. Thanks. edited (I hope) for a bit more clarity. Edited February 27, 2007 by paul secor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeith Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 I would suggest either the one that is the self titled on Verve and includes Clifford Brown or else that one on Columbia (maybe it is called In Hi -Fi) that features Miles Davis. Both of these are great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Ptah Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 "Sarah Vaughan At Mr. Kelley's" is where I would start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 I second the recommendation of the expanded CD edition of the Columbia 10" with Miles, but it's really only the culminating point of the preceding sessions for Musicraft (probably compiled on some Chronological Classics CDs) which have almost everything she was about to do in a nutshell. This early stuff is clearly my favourite Sarah - "If You Could See Me Now" and "Lover Man" in particular - compare the latter to Lady Day's (equally fascinating) rendition and you know where modern jazz vocal begins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 The SarahVaughan/Clifford Brown is a Must! So is 'Swingin' Easy' (originally on EmArcy) with the superb trio of John Malachi, Joe Benjamin and Roy Haynes! After that, you're off to a good start! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felser Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 The SarahVaughan/Clifford Brown is a Must! So is 'Swingin' Easy' (originally on EmArcy) with the superb trio of John Malachi, Joe Benjamin and Roy Haynes! After that, you're off to a good start! What Brownie said. 'Swingin' Easy' is the greatest jazz vocal album ever released, and the Vaughan/Brown isn't far behind. I also agree with the recommendations of the Columbia. The Musicraft is a must if you love her early voice (I do), as is the live session from the 40's on Blue Note. Mr. Kelly's is good, but her voice was already taking on a different quality at that point. 'After Hours' on Roulette is a good small session (I haven't heard '+2' yet. It has the same format, just Sarah, guitar, and bass), and the small group sessions on Pablo have their pleasures as far as her later stuff. There is a good live album on Mainstream which will be cost prohibitave, and there is a good live session from the 60's which is available on a lot of the budget labels. But start with the two Brownie recommended, especially 'Swingin' Easy'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 Great recs--and I'll definitely second those two Roulette sessions, After Hours and +2, as I've been revisiting them recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free For All Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 (edited) Another vote for Mr. Kelly's..... I also enjoy "Sassy Swings Again" (with some nice charts by Thad and JJ) and the side she did w/Basie. ....edited for spelling clams.... Edited February 27, 2007 by Free For All Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Friedman Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 For later day Sarah I would recommend this one: Crazy And Mixed Up - Pablo It's a beauty, and the backup group is first rate - Roland Hanna, Joe Pass, Andy Simpkins, and Harold Jones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim R Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 The SarahVaughan/Clifford Brown is a Must! So is 'Swingin' Easy' (originally on EmArcy) with the superb trio of John Malachi, Joe Benjamin and Roy Haynes! After that, you're off to a good start! What Brownie said. 'Swingin' Easy' is the greatest jazz vocal album ever released... ...Mr. Kelly's is good, but her voice was already taking on a different quality at that point. Uh... "At Mister Kelly's" was recorded the same year as half the tracks on "Swingin' Easy" (1957). At any rate, I love the late 50's to early 60's, with my personal favorite probably being the Tivoli performances. Live, with a trio in general is the way to go, imo (even up to the 1973 recordings in Japan). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spontooneous Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 A second (or third, fourth or fifth) to Mr. Kelly's and Swingin' Easy. No Count Sarah (with the Basie band, Ronnell Bright taking over the piano) is a strong one that gets overlooked. I've always been disappointed in the EmArcy date with Brownie. Many of the songs themselves aren't favorites, and neither is Paul Quinichette. A second to Peter's recommendation on Pablo. Also the Pablo "How Long Has This Been Going On?" I get frustrated with some of the Roulette sides. Some are mannered and some are just goofy. The two-disc Columbia collection from circa 1950 has a few gems amid the dross. Check your Dizzy collection for the May 28, 1945 "Lover Man." It gets overlooked between all the other monuments from that session, but it's a monument itself. Also try to hunt up the "Mean to Me" she recorded with Dizzy and Bird for Continental, I think, in 1945. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Ptah Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 Another vote for "No Count Sarah". I just didn't think of it before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim R Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 I have to agree that the session with Brownie has always been somewhat disappointing. Generally, I'd rather listen to Sarah when she's THE star of the session (and like I said, she's dynamite on stage). I'm practically a completeist, but there's an awful lot of stuff (mostly orchestral) that I never take off the shelves anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spontooneous Posted February 28, 2007 Report Share Posted February 28, 2007 I had the privilege of hanging with Ronnell Bright a little. I'll never forget his demonstration of how Sarah fed chords to him, instead of the other way around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felser Posted February 28, 2007 Report Share Posted February 28, 2007 The SarahVaughan/Clifford Brown is a Must! So is 'Swingin' Easy' (originally on EmArcy) with the superb trio of John Malachi, Joe Benjamin and Roy Haynes! After that, you're off to a good start! What Brownie said. 'Swingin' Easy' is the greatest jazz vocal album ever released... ...Mr. Kelly's is good, but her voice was already taking on a different quality at that point. Uh... "At Mister Kelly's" was recorded the same year as half the tracks on "Swingin' Easy" (1957). At any rate, I love the late 50's to early 60's, with my personal favorite probably being the Tivoli performances. Live, with a trio in general is the way to go, imo (even up to the 1973 recordings in Japan). Yeah, but the rest of 'Swingin' Easy' was recorded in '54, and is magic. And the '57 cuts were recorded much earlier in the year than the Mr. Kelly's stuff, and under very different circumstances. Mr. Kelly's and the Tivoli recordings are good. What her "best" period is depends which of her voice periods is the one that best speaks to your soul. For mine, it's the earlier stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim R Posted February 28, 2007 Report Share Posted February 28, 2007 The SarahVaughan/Clifford Brown is a Must! So is 'Swingin' Easy' (originally on EmArcy) with the superb trio of John Malachi, Joe Benjamin and Roy Haynes! After that, you're off to a good start! What Brownie said. 'Swingin' Easy' is the greatest jazz vocal album ever released... ...Mr. Kelly's is good, but her voice was already taking on a different quality at that point. Uh... "At Mister Kelly's" was recorded the same year as half the tracks on "Swingin' Easy" (1957). At any rate, I love the late 50's to early 60's, with my personal favorite probably being the Tivoli performances. Live, with a trio in general is the way to go, imo (even up to the 1973 recordings in Japan). Yeah, but the rest of 'Swingin' Easy' was recorded in '54, and is magic. And the '57 cuts were recorded much earlier in the year than the Mr. Kelly's stuff, and under very different circumstances. WTF? So, what happened to her voice between February and August of '57? I mean, I know the recording circumstances were different, but I think you went way out on a limb with the earlier comment, that's all. And I'm not buying that her voice changed that much between '54 and '57. Mr. Kelly's and the Tivoli recordings are good. What her "best" period is depends which of her voice periods is the one that best speaks to your soul. For mine, it's the earlier stuff. I didn't realize we were talking about what her best "voice period" was. I was trying to focus on my favorite albums/CD's, period. Anyway, I know that her voice underwent some major changes over the course of her career. I suppose anyone who is seriously interested should check out at least a little bit from each decade. It's all good (if not great). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Ptah Posted February 28, 2007 Report Share Posted February 28, 2007 I had the privilege of hanging with Ronnell Bright a little. I'll never forget his demonstration of how Sarah fed chords to him, instead of the other way around. Richard Davis told us, his jazz history class students, that he stayed in Sarah's trio for years in the 1950s because he thought that she was the greatest instrumentalist he had ever heard--her instrument being her voice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeith Posted February 28, 2007 Report Share Posted February 28, 2007 (edited) I have to agree that the session with Brownie has always been somewhat disappointing. Generally, I'd rather listen to Sarah when she's THE star of the session (and like I said, she's dynamite on stage). I'm practically a completeist, but there's an awful lot of stuff (mostly orchestral) that I never take off the shelves anymore. Well I disagree about the session with Brownie because I like it all - the band, the tunes, everything. and there is no question that Sarah is THE star on that session, Brownie's solos are generally quite short and there are no tracks where Brownie is given the exclusive spotlight so to speak, that is there are no tracks featuring just Brownie. I agree that many of the orchestral dates are duds and in general I am less inclined towards her later years when she became more "operatic". Edited February 28, 2007 by skeith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alocispepraluger102 Posted February 28, 2007 Report Share Posted February 28, 2007 i loved her stuff with the eckstein band when she was the girl singer, especially the duets with billy. the recordings sound sucks but the music is wonderful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 For later day Sarah I would recommend this one: Crazy And Mixed Up - Pablo It's a beauty, and the backup group is first rate - Roland Hanna, Joe Pass, Andy Simpkins, and Harold Jones. Another EXCELLENT Pablo recording is "How Long Has This Been Going On" with Oscar Peterson, Joe Pass, Louie Bellson & Ray Brown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmonahan Posted March 4, 2007 Report Share Posted March 4, 2007 For later day Sarah I would recommend this one: Crazy And Mixed Up - Pablo It's a beauty, and the backup group is first rate - Roland Hanna, Joe Pass, Andy Simpkins, and Harold Jones. Another EXCELLENT Pablo recording is "How Long Has This Been Going On" with Oscar Peterson, Joe Pass, Louie Bellson & Ray Brown. No one has mentioned the Ellington Songbooks on Pablo. I've always loved those. Great late-period Sassy. Mosaic has issued the Roulette stuff, and it is a bit uneven. We do need all the Mainstreams, but that seems to be a problematic label for reissues all 'round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son-of-a-Weizen Posted March 4, 2007 Report Share Posted March 4, 2007 Is the live version of Sassy's Blues on the 'Swings the Tivoli' LP the same one that seems to show up on several compilation cds out there or was there also a studio version recorded with a trio and released on a different LP (...one that's available on CD)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim R Posted March 4, 2007 Report Share Posted March 4, 2007 Aside from the Tivoli recording, she only recorded it on two other occasions (according to Brown's 1991 discography): "Jazz Jamboree" in Warsaw on October 24, 1975 with Carl Schroeder (p), Bob Magnusson (b), Jimmy Cobb (d). Issues: (P) Pronit SX 0605; and (cassette) "Jazz Greats" SJG 12. "Airmen of Note" broadcast, Washington DC, March 6, 1977 Airmen of Note Orchestra, plus Schroeder, Walter Booker (b), Cobb. No issues listed. I think it's safe to assume that the Tivoli recording is the one turning up on comps. I had it on a JMY (Italy) disc before I got the Mercury boxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son-of-a-Weizen Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 I think it's safe to assume that the Tivoli recording is the one turning up on comps. Allrighty.......thanks Jim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spontooneous Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 Saw this on another Web page. Had to pass it on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_forumlogo.png.a607ef20a6e0c299ab2aa6443aa1f32e.png)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.