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1001 Albums
Join a musical glutton as he ingests all 1001 albums you must hear before you die
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At Mr. Kelly's, Sarah Vaughan, 1958
Producer: Bob Shad
Recorded: August 6-8, 1957
Length: 37:00
Label: EmArcyThe second in a trilogy of female jazz singers, here comes Sarah Vaughan! What a great live performance this one is. I'd never listened much to "the Divine One", because I always tended to fall more in the Ella camp. But she'll get her own moment in the limelight...her massive work is coming up next. For now, it's Sarah!
Boy, this girl has a voice. In the spare setting of a backing trio it really comes to the forefront. It's all about Ms. Vaughan here. The 1001 book mentions her "complete control of pitch, timbre and dynamics" and they're spot on in that statement. Not only is she super accurate with her tones but her vocal acrobatics make the level of difficulty much higher than the normal jazz performance.
You wouldn't know, though. Vaughan is effortless, both in performance and personality. The benefit of a live recording is that it's not honed and culled to perfection. You are allowed to hear the inter-song conversations; the lyrical forgetfulness; the impromptu scatting. It all combines to create an intimate, warm performance, well worth the price of admission.
Rating: 4.25/5.0
Faves
- September in the Rain
The opener is cool and collected. Great start. - How High the Moon
Sarah's take on Ella Fitzgerald's signature scat technique. Ms. Vaughan makes it her own while giving Lady Ella her propers. - Just a Gigolo
Louis Prima's signature song from earlier in our journey. This laid back, simmering take is as hot as it comes.
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- September in the Rain
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The web's been slinging me around since 1997.
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