Sarah Vaughan - An Introduction To (2007)

Throughout her career, from its start to the end, Sarah Vaughan had an amazing voice. Her wide range, flexibility, tonal beauty and imagination were unprecedented, and she gave the impression that she could do anything she wanted with her voice. One could even imagine her becoming an opera singer, but fortunately for the jazz and popular music world, she chose otherwise.
Sarah Vaughan, who had the lifelong nickname of Sassy, was born March 27, 1924 in Newark, New Jersey. It was obvious from an early age that she had a special voice. She sang in church and had extensive classical piano lessons. The turning point of her life was when she entered one of the Apollo Theatre's legendary amateur contests in 1943 and won. On Billy Eckstine's recommendation, she was soon hired by Earl Hines for his big band as singer and second pianist. Although Sassy played piano occasionally during her career, which helped her to know chords and to sound comfortable singing advanced music, her main focus would always be her singing which even then amazed her fellow musicians.
Vaughan was the perfect singer to be with the Earl Hines Orchestra in 1943 and with Billy Eckstine's big band during 1944 for both ensembles were pioneers bebop groups, and they both included not only Eckstine but altoist Charlie Parker (who played tenor with Hines) and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. Sassy learned from the bop giants and she grasped the new music quickly. It would always be an influence on her, even when she later occasionally appeared in more commercial settings.
Due to the recording strikes of 1942-44, Vaughan never had an opportunity to record with Hines' band and only cut one song with Eckstine. She led her first record date on New Year's Eve 1944 and a few months later she went out on her own. Other than a few months spent with the John Kirby Sextet, she spent the rest of her long career as a solo star. Vaughan had popular selling records during 1946-49 with "If You Could See Me Now," "Tenderly" and "It's Magic" and her popularity grew during the 1950s, whether recording freewheeling jazz sets of being backed by string orchestras. Sassy remained an international star for decades, rising above all popular music trends and occupying her own special category.
She did not slow down until the second half of the 1980s, passing away on April 3,1990 at the age of 66.
This collection features Sarah Vaughan in a variety of settings from 1944-63. It begins with "East Of The Sun" from Sassy's first record date as a leader on Dec. 31,1944. Dizzy Gillespie, who makes a rather radical trumpet statement, also backs Vaughan on piano. Despite only being 20 at the time, Sassy was already in her musical prime.
Gillespie is also part of the next two selections. "Lover Man" has Vaughan backed by the quintet that i Dizzy and Charlie Parker со-led in 1945. She makes the Billie Holiday hit sound like her own. "Mean To Me," which also has Bird and Diz, was a favorite of Sassy's during this era and she swings quite seductively throughout this version. Tenor-saxophonist Flip Phillips, Dizzy and Parker split a chorus. "Everything I Have Is Yours," from 1946, has some beautiful singing and a nice spot from trumpeter George Treadwell who would become Sassy's first husband.
In the early 1960s, a radio series emceed by Martin Block was sponsored by the National Guard in hopes of helping their recruitment drives. Quite often a big band was teamed with a singer, so in 1963 Sarah Vaughan and the Woody Herman Orchestra had their only collaboration. The four songs chosen for this collection emphasize Sassy's singing. She takes "The More I See You" slower than normal while "Green Dolphin Street" swings easily and has a touch of Herman's clarinet. Vaughan is also featured on "But Not For Me" and an enthusiastic "Day In, Day Out." The Herman Orchestra, which was having one of its great periods, includes such notable players as tenor-saxophonist Sal Nistico, trombonist Phil Wilson, high-note ! trumpeter Bill Chase and pianist-arranger Nat Pierce.
The next two selections are taken from unknown sources, most likely from the late 1950s. While Erroll Garner originally had a hit with his instrumental version of "Misty," it was when Sarah Vaughan interpreted the song with her wondrous voice that it became a standard. "Careless" is much more obscure, a charming song that has been long forgotten despite Sassy's fine singing.
"Tenderly," "I'll Be Seeing You" and "All Of Me" are all from around 1960 with Vaughan joined by pianist Roland Hanna, bassist Richard Davis and drummer Percy Brice. "Tenderly" was always a superior outlet for Sassy's voice. She is touching on "I'll Be Seeing You" and swings in her unique way on "All Of Me."
The diverse sampling concludes with "Just One Of Those Things," an encore from the 1963 Woody Herman broadcast that is a bit of a romp.
An excellent introduction to the music of Sarah Vaughan, this program has highlights from the first half of Sassy's career and shows just how brilliant she always sounded even while making it all sound effortless.