SOUND PROJECTIONS
AN ONLINE QUARTERLY MUSIC MAGAZINE
EDITOR: KOFI NATAMBU
SUMMER/FALL, 2015
VOLUME ONE NUMBER FOUR
AN ONLINE QUARTERLY MUSIC MAGAZINE
EDITOR: KOFI NATAMBU
SUMMER/FALL, 2015
VOLUME ONE NUMBER FOUR
BILLIE HOLIDAY
Featuring the Musics and Aesthetic Visions of:
ERIC DOLPHY
July 18-24
MARVIN GAYE
July 25-31
ABBEY LINCOLN
August 1-7
RAY CHARLES
August 8-14
SADE
August 15-21
BETTY CARTER
August 22-28
CHARLIE PARKER
August 29-September 4
MICHAEL JACKSON
September 5-11
CHAKA KHAN
September 12-18
JOHN COLTRANE
September 19-25
SARAH VAUGHAN
September 26-October 2
THELONIOUS MONK
October 3-9
http://panopticonreview.blogspot.com/2015/03/in-tribute-to-and-celebration-of-sarah.html
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Panopticon-Review/342702882479366
Sunday, March 29, 2015
THE DIVINE ONE: In Tribute To and Celebration of the Legendary and Iconic Singer and Musician Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990) On Her 91st Birthday
http://www.pbs.org/…/episodes/sara…/about-sarah-vaughan/723/
AMERICAN MASTERS
October 8th, 2005
Sarah Vaughan
About Sarah Vaughan
PBS
Jazz critic Leonard Feather called her “the most important singer to emerge from the bop era.” Ella Fitzgerald called her the world’s “greatest singing talent.” During the course of a career that spanned nearly fifty years, she was the singer’s singer, influencing everyone from Mel Torme to Anita Baker. She was among the musical elite identified by their first names. She was Sarah, Sassy — the incomparable Sarah Vaughan.
Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1924, Vaughan was immediately surrounded by music: her carpenter father was an amateur guitarist and her laundress mother was a church vocalist. Young Sarah studied piano from the age of seven, and before entering her teens had become an organist and choir soloist at the Mount Zion Baptist Church. When she was eighteen, friends dared her to enter the famed Wednesday Night Amateur Contest at Harlem’s Apollo Theater. She gave a sizzling rendition of “Body and Soul,” and won first prize. In the audience that night was the singer Billy Eckstine. Six months later, she had joined Eckstine in Earl Hines’s big band along with jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.
When Eckstine formed his own band soon after, Vaughan went with him. Others including Miles Davis and Art Blakey, were eventually to join the band as well. Within a year, however, Vaughan wanted to give a solo career a try. By late 1947, she had topped the charts with “Tenderly,” and as the 1940s gave way to the 1950s, Vaughan expanded her jazz repertoire to include pop music. As a result, she enlarged her audience, gained increased attention for her formidable talent, and compiled additional hits, including the Broadway show tunes “Whatever Lola Wants” and “Mr. Wonderful.” While jazz purists balked at these efforts, no one could deny that in any genre, Vaughan had one of the greatest voices in the business.
In the late 1960s, Vaughan returned to jazz music, performing and making regular recordings. Throughout the 1970s and ’80s she recorded with such jazz notables as Oscar Peterson, Louie Bellson, Zoot Sims, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Don Cherry, and J.J. Johnson. Her recordings of the “Duke Ellington Song Book (1 and 2)” are considered some of the finest recordings of the time. While for many years her signature song had been “Misty,” by the mid-70’s, she was closing every show with Sondheim’s “Send In The Clowns.” In 1982, while in her late fifties, Vaughan won the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocalist for her album, “Gershwin Live”!
While she continued to work without the massive commercial success enjoyed by colleagues such as Peggy Lee, Rosemary Clooney, and Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan consistently retained a special place in the hearts of fellow musicians and audiences alike. She continually performed at top venues, playing to adoring sell-out crowds well into her sixties. Remarkably, unlike many singers, she lost none of her extraordinary talent as time went on. Her multi-octave range, with its swooping highs and sensual lows, and the youthful suppleness of her voice shaded by a luscious timbre and executed with fierce control, all remained intact. In 1990, at the age sixty-six, Sarah Vaughan passed away. Shortly after her death, Mel Torme summed up the feelings of all who had seen her, saying “She had the single best vocal instrument of any singer working in the popular field.”
http://www.biography.com/people/sarah-vaughan-9516405
Born on March 27, 1924, in Newark, New Jersey, Sarah Vaughan grew up with a love of music and performing. Winning a talent competition held at Harlem's Apollo Theater launched her singing career. She worked with bandleaders Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine before becoming a successful solo performer who commingled pop and jazz. At age 66, Vaughan died in Hidden Hills, California, on April 3, 1990.
Early Life
Sarah Lois Vaughan was born in Newark, New Jersey, on March 27, 1924. Outside of their regular jobs—as a carpenter and as a laundress—her parents were also musicians. Growing up in Newark, a young Sarah Vaughan studied the piano and organ, and her voice could be heard as a soloist at Mount Zion Baptist Church.
Vaughan's first step toward becoming a professional singer was taken at a talent contest held at Harlem's Apollo Theater, where many African-American music legends made their name. After being dared to enter, she won the 1942 competition with her rendition of "Body and Soul." She also caught the attention of another vocalist, Billy Eckstine, who persuaded Earl Hines to hire Vaughan to sing with his orchestra.
Singing Success
In 1944, Vaughan left Hines to join Eckstine's new band. Also working with Eckstine were trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and saxophonist Charlie Parker, who introduced the group to a new form of jazz, known as bebop. An inspired Vaughan brought bebop into her singing, which can be heard in the 1945 recording of "Lover Man" that she made with Parker and Gillespie.
After performing with Eckstine's orchestra for a year, Vaughan briefly worked with John Kirby before leaving big bands behind to become a solo artist (though she often reunited with Eckstine for duets). Having already been given the nickname "Sassy" as a commentary on her onstage style, it was while striking out on her own that she was dubbed "The Divine One" by a DJ in Chicago. In the late 1940s, her popular recordings included "If You Could See Me Now" and "It's Magic."
The next decade saw Vaughan produce more pop music, though when she joined Mercury Records she also recorded jazz numbers on a subsidiary label, EmArcy. She sang hits like "Whatever Lola Wants" (1955), "Misty" (1957) and "Broken-Hearted Melody" (1959), which sold more than a million copies. Vaughan gave concerts in the United States and Europe, and her singing was also heard in films such as Disc Jockey (1951) and Basin Street Revue (1956).
Later Career
After the 1950s, shifting musical tastes meant that Vaughan no longer produced huge hits. However, she remained a popular performer, particularly when she sang live. In front of an audience, her emotional, vibrato-rich delivery, three-octave vocal range and captivating scat technique were even more appealing. Though her voice took on a deeper pitch as Vaughan got older—likely due in part her smoking habit—this didn't impact the quality of her singing, as could be heard on "Send in the Clowns," a staple in her repertoire.
Vaughan's later recordings include interpretations of Beatles songs and Brazilian music. Over the years, she collaborated with people like producer Quincy Jones, pianist Oscar Peterson and conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. Vaughan won her first Grammy thanks to her work with Thomas and the Los Angeles Philharmonic on Gershwin Live! (1982).
Legacy
Vaughan's final concert was given at New York's Blue Note Club in 1989. She passed away from lung cancer on April 3, 1990, at age 66, in Hidden Hills, a suburb of Los Angeles, California. Married and divorced four times, she was survived by her adopted daughter.
Throughout her career, Vaughan was recognized as a supremely gifted singer and performer. She was invited to perform at the White House and at venues like Carnegie Hall, was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 1989 and was selected to join the Jazz Hall of Fame in 1990. She also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Home > Discographies > Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan Biography / Discography
The following is a substantial revision I wrote for a Vaughan's biography on Wikipedia.org on February 14, 2007. The primary reference for the biography and the following discography is Leslie Gourse's excellent biography, Sassy - The Life of Sarah Vaughan, first published in 1994 by Da Capo Press.
Early Life
Sarah Lois Vaughan was born on March 27, 1924 in Newark New Jersey. Her father, Asbury "Jake" Vaughan was a carpenter and amateur guitarist. Her mother, Ada, was a laundress. Jake and Ada Vaughan migrated to Newark from Virginia during the first World War. Sarah was their only natural child, although in the 1960s they adopted Donna, the child of a woman who traveled on the road with Sarah Vaughan.
The Vaughans lived in a house on Newark's Brunswick street for Sarah's entire childhood. Jake Vaughan was deeply religious and the family was very active in the New Mount Zion Baptist Church on 186 Thomas Street. Sarah began piano lessons at the age of seven. Vaughan sang in the church choir and occasionally played piano for rehearsals and services.
Vaughan developed an early love for popular music on records and the radio. In the 1930s, Newark had a very active live music scene and Vaughan frequently saw local and touring bands that played in the city at venues like the Montgomery Street Skating Rink, Adams Theatre and Proctor's Theatre. By her mid-teens, Vaughan began venturing (illegally) into Newark's night clubs and performing as a pianist and, occasionally, singer, most notably at the Piccadilly Club and the Newark Airport USO.
Vaughan initially attended Newark's East Side High School, later transferring to Arts High, which had opened in 1931 as the nation's first arts "magnet" high school. However, her nocturnal adventures as a performer began to overwhelm her academic pursuits and Vaughn dropped out of high school during her junior year to concentrate more fully on music. Around this time, Vaughan and her friends also began venturing across the Hudson River into New York City to hear big bands at Harlem's Savoy Ballroom and Apollo Theatre.
Biographies of Vaughan frequently state that she was immediately thrust into stardom after a winning an Amateur Night performance at Harlem's Apollo Theatre. In fact, the story that biographer Leslie Gourse relates seems to be a bit more complex. Vaughan was frequently accompanied by a friend, Doris Robinson, on her trips into New York City. Sometime in the Fall of 1942 (when Sarah was 18 years old), Vaughan suggested that Robinson enter the Apollo Amateur Night contest. Vaughn played piano accompaniment Robinson, who won second prize. Vaughn later decided to go back and compete herself as a singer. Vaughan sang "Body and Soul" and won, although the exact date of her victorious Apollo performance is uncertain. The prize, as Vaughan recalled later to Marian McPartland, was $10 and the promise of a week's engagement at the Apollo. After a considerable delay, Vaughan was contacted by the Apollo in the Spring of 1943 to open for Ella Fitzgerald.
Sometime during her week of performances at the Apollo, Vaughan was introduced to bandleader/pianist Earl Hines, although the exact details of that introduction are disputed. Singer Billy Eckstine, who was with Hines at the time, has been credited by Vaughan and others with hearing her at the Apollo and recommending her to Hines. Hines also claimed to have discovered her himself and offered her a job on the spot. Regardless, after a brief tryout at the Apollo, Hines officially replaced his existing female singer with Vaughan April 4, 1943.
Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine: 1943 - 1944
Vaughan spent the remainder of 1943 and part of 1944 touring the country with the Earl Hines big band that also featured baritone Billy Eckstine. Vaughan was hired as a pianist, reputedly so Hines could hire her under the jurisdiction of the musicians union (AFM) rather than the singers union (AGVA), but after Cliff Smalls joined the band as a trombonist and pianist, Sarah's duties became limited exclusively to singing. Vaughan presented a visual paradox for audiences as a rail-thin 18-year-old waif with a remarkably mature voice. Up to that point in her life, Vaughan never had much concern for her physical appearance, so Hines and other members of the band had to provide assistance with attire and grooming appropriate for a female band singer. As a tough kid from the streets of Newark, Vaughan had no problem holding her own with her male co-workers and she often spoke very fondly in later years of the friendships built in during her brief time in the Hines band.
This Earl Hines band is best remembered today as an incubator of bop, as it included trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, saxophonist Charlie Parker (playing tenor rather than the alto that he would become famous with later) and trombonist Benny Green. Gillespie also arranged for the band, although a recording ban by the musicians union prevented the band from recording and preserving its sound and style for posterity.
Eckstine left the Hines band in late 1943 and formed his own big band with Gillespie leaving Hines to become the new band's musical director. Parker came along too, and the Eckstine band over the next few years would host a startling cast of jazz talent: Miles Davis, Kenny Dorham, Art Blakey, Lucky Thompson, Gene Ammons, Dexter Gordon, among others.
Vaughan accepted Eckstine's invitation to join his new band in 1944, giving her an opportunity to develop her musicianship with the seminal figures in this era of jazz. Eckstine's band also afforded her first recording opportunity, a December 5, 1944 date that yielded the song, "I'll Wait and Pray" for the Deluxe label. That date led to critic and producer Leonard Feather to ask her to cut four sides under her own name later that month for the Continental label, backed by a septet that included Dizzy Gillespie and Georgie Auld.
Band pianist John Malachi is credited with giving Vaughan the moniker "Sassy", a nickname that matched her personality. Vaughan liked it and the name (and its shortened variant "Sass") stuck with colleagues and, eventually, the press. In written communications, Vaughan often spelled it "Sassie".
Vaughan officially left the Eckstine band in late 1944 to pursue a solo career, although she remained very close to Eckstine personally and recorded with him frequently throughout her life.
Early Solo Career: 1945 - 1948
Vaughan began her solo career in 1945 by freelancing in clubs on New York's 52nd street like the Three Deuces, the Famous Door, the Downbeat and the Onyx Club. Vaughan also hung around the Braddock Grill, next door to the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. On May 11, 1945, Vaughan recorded "Lover Man" for the Guild label with a quintet featuring Gillespie and Parker with Al Haig on piano, Curly Russell on bass and Sid Catlett on drums. Later that month she went into the studio with a slightly different and larger Gillespie/Parker aggregation and recorded three more sides.
After being invited by violinist Stuff Smith to record the song "Time and Again" in October, Vaughan was offered a contract to record for the Musicraft label by owner Albert Marx, although she would not begin recording as a leader for Musicraft until May 7, 1946. In the intervening time, Vaughan made a handful of recordings for the Crown and Gotham labels and began performing regularly at Cafe Society Downtown, an integrated club in New York's Sheridan Square.
While at Cafe Society, Vaughan became friends with trumpeter George Treadwell. Treadwell became Vaughan's manager and she ultimately delegated to him most of the musical director responsibilities for her recording sessions, leaving her free to focus almost entirely on singing. Over the next few years, Treadwell also made significant positive changes in Vaughan's stage appearance. Aside from an improved wardrobe and hair style, Vaughn had her teeth capped, eliminating an unsightly gap between her two front teeth.
Many of Vaughan's 1946 Musicraft recordings became quite well-known among jazz aficionados and critics, including "If You Could See Me Now" (written and arranged by Tadd Dameron), "Don't Blame Me", "I've Got a Crush on You", "Everything I Have is Yours" and "Body and Soul." With Vaughan and Treadwell's professional relationship on solid footing, the couple married on September 16, 1946.
Vaughan's recording success for Musicraft continued through 1947 and 1948. Her recording of "Tenderly" became an unexpected pop hit in late 1947. Her December 27, 1947 recording of "It's Magic" (from the Doris Day film Romance on the High Seas) found chart success in early 1948. Her recording of "Nature Boy" from April 8, 1948 became a hit around the same time as the release of the famous Nat King Cole recording of the same song. Because of yet another recording ban by the musicians union, "Nature Boy" was recorded with an A Capella choir as the only accompaniment, adding an ethereal air to a song with a vaguely mystical lyric and melody.
Stardom and The Columbia Years: 1948 - 1953
The musicians union ban pushed Musicraft to the brink of bankruptcy and Vaughan used the missed royalty payments as an opportunity to sign with the larger Columbia Record label. Following the settling of the legal issues, her chart successes continued with the charting of "Black Coffee" in the summer of 1949. During her tenure at Columbia through 1953, Vaughan was steered almost exclusively to commercial pop ballads, a number of which had chart success: "That Lucky Old Sun", "Make Believe (You Are Glad When You're Sorry)", "I'm Crazy to Love You", "Our Very Own", "I Love the Guy", "Thinking of You" (with pianist Bud Powell), "I Cried for You", "These Things I Offer You", "Vanity", "I Ran All the Way Home", "Saint or Sinner", "My Tormented Heart", and "Time", among others.
Vaughan also achieved substantial critical acclaim. Vaughan won Esquire magazine's New Star Award for 1947. Vaughan won awards from Down Beat magazine continuously from 1947 through 1952 and from Metronome magazine from 1948 through 1953. A handful of critics disliked her singing as being "over-stylized," reflecting the heated controversies of the time over the new musical trends of the late 40's. However the critical reception to the young singer was generally positive.
Recording and critical success led to numerous performing opportunities, packing clubs around the country almost continuously throughout the years of the late 1940s and early 1950s. In the summer of 1949, Vaughan made her first appearance with a symphony in a benefit for the Philadelphia Orchestra entitled "100 Men and a Girl." Around this time, Chicago disk jockey Dave Garroway coined a second nickname for Vaughan, "The Divine One", that would follow her throughout her career. In 1951, Vaughan made her first tour of Europe.
With improving finances, in 1949 Vaughan and Treadwell purchased a three-story house on 21 Avon Avenue in Newark, occupying the top floor during their increasingly rare off-hours at home and relocating Vaughan's parents to the lower two floors. However, the business pressures and personality conflicts lead to a cooling in the personal relationship between Treadwell and Vaughan. Treadwell hired a road manager to handle Vaughan's touring needs and opened a management office in Manhattan so he could work with clients in addition to Vaughan.
Vaughan's relationship with Columbia records also soured as Vaughan became dissatisfied both with the commercial material she was required to record there and lackluster financial success of her records. A set of small group sides recorded in 1950 with Miles Davis and Benny Green are among the best of her career, but those were isolated moments in her Columbia ouvre. Frank Sinatra would face similar issues at the conclusion of his Columbia contract around the same time. As with Sinatra, Vaughan needed a change of setting that would give her talents the environment to fully blossom.
The Mercury Years: 1954 - 1958
In 1953, Treadwell negotiated a unique contract for her with Mercury Records. Vaughan would record commercial material for the Mercury label and more jazz-oriented material for Mercury's subsidiary EmArcy label. Vaughan was paired with producer Bob Shad and their excellent working relationship resulted in strong commercial and artistic success. Vaughan's first recording session for Mercury was in February of 1954 and she stayed with the label through 1959. After a stint at Roulette Records from 1960 to 1963, Vaughan returned to Mercury for an additional time from 1964 to 1967.
Vaughan's commercial success at Mercury began with "Make Yourself Comfortable", recorded in the Fall of 1954. Other hits followed, including: "How Important Can It Be" (with Count Basie), "Whatever Lola Wants", "The Banana Boat Song", "You Ought to Have A Wife". Vaughan's commercial success peaked with "Broken Hearted Melody", a song she considered "corny", that nonetheless became her first gold record and a regular part of her concert repertoire for years to come. Vaughan was reunited with Billy Eckstine for a series of duet recordings in 1957 that yielded the hit "Passing Strangers". Vaughan's commercial recordings were handled by a number of different arrangers and conductors, the primary leaders being Hugo Peretti and Hal Mooney.
Meanwhile, the jazz "track" of her recording career also proceeded apace, backed either by her working trio or various assemblages of illustrious jazz figures. One of her favorite albums of her whole career was an album recorded in December of 1954 featuring a sextet that included Clifford Brown. The album The Land of Hi-Fi was recorded at pair of October 1955 sessions featured a 12-piece band that was lead by Ernie Wilkins and included JJ Johnson, Kai Winding, and Cannonball Adderley augmenting Sarah's working trio. In 1958 Vaughan recorded the No 'Count Sarah album with members of the Count Basie Orchestra, minus Basie, who was under contract with another record company.
Performances from this era often found Vaughan in the company of a veritable who's who of jazz figures from the mid-1950s during a schedule of almost non-stop touring. Vaughan was featured at the first Newport Jazz Festival in the Summer of 1954 and would star in subsequent editions of that festival at Newport and in New York City for the remainder of her life. In the Fall of 1954, Vaughan performed at Carnegie Hall with the Count Basie Orchestra on a bill that also included Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Lester Young and the Modern Jazz Quartet. That Fall, Vaughan took another brief and highly successful tour of Europe. In early 1955, Vaughan set out on a "Big Show" tour, a grueling succession of start-studded one-nighters that included Count Basie, George Shearing, Errol Garner and Jimmy Rushing. In the 1955 New York Jazz Festival on Randalls Island, Vaughan shared the bill with the Dave Brubeck quartet, Horace Silver, Jimmy Smith, the Johnny Richards Orchestra.
Although the professional relationship between Vaughan and Treadwell was quite successful through the 1950s, their personal relationship finally reached a breaking point at some time in 1958 and Vaughan filed for a divorce. Vaughan had entirely delegated financial matters to Treadwell, and despite stunning figures reported through the 1950s about Vaughan's record sales and performance income, at the settlement Treadwell said that only $16,000 was left. The couple evenly divided that amount and the personal assets and terminated their business relationship. Despite his questionable business practices, Treadwell had excellent taste and gave Vaughan the ability to just be herself. Treadwell's 12 years of management would ultimately prove to be the most focused of Vaughan's career and she would never have management that strong again.
The Sixties
The exit of Treadwell from Vaughan's life was also precipitated by the entry of Clyde "C.B." Atkins, a man of uncertain background that Vaughn met while while on tour in Chicago and married on September 4, 1958. Although Atkins had no experience in artist management or music, Vaughan wished to have a mixed professional/personal relationship like the one she had with Treadwell. Vaughan made Atkins her personal manager, although, she was still feeling the sting of the problems she had with Treadwell and initially kept a slightly closer eye on Atkins. Vaughan and Atkins moved into a house in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Vaughan's contract with Mercury Records ended in late 1959 and she immediately signed on with Roulette Records, a small label owned by Morris Levy, one of the backers of the Birdland jazz club in New York where Vaughan had frequently appeared. Roulette's roster also included Count Basie, Joe Williams, Dinah Washington, Lambert Hendricks and Ross, and Maynard Ferguson, among others.
Vaughan began recording for Roulette in April of 1960, making a string of strong large ensemble albums arranged and/or conducted by Billy May, Jimmy Jones, Joe Reisman, Quincy Jones, Benny Carter, Lalo Schifrin and Gerald Wilson. Surprisingly, Vaughan also had some success in 1960 on the pop charts with "Serenata" on Roulette and a couple of residual tracks from her Mercury contract, "Eternally" and "You're My Baby". Vaughan made a pair of intimate trio albums of jazz standards: After Hours in 1961 with guitarist Mundell Lowe and bassist George Duvivier and Sarah Plus Two in 1962 with guitarist Barney Kessell and bassist Joe Comfort.
Vaughan was incapable of having biological children, so in 1961 Vaughan and Atkins adopted a daughter, Debra Lois. However the relationship with Atkins was difficult and violent and Vaughan filed for divorce in November of 1963 after a series of strange incidents. Vaughan turned to two friends to help sort out the financial wreckage of the marriage: John "Preacher" Wells, a childhood acquaintance and club owner, and Clyde "Pumpkin" Golden, Jr. Wells and Golden found that Atkins' gambling and profligate spending had put Vaughan around $150,000 in debt and the Englewood Cliffs house was ultimately seized by the IRS for nonpayment of taxes. Vaughan retained custody of the adopted child and Golden essentially took Atkins place as Vaughan's manager and lover for the remainder of the decade.
Around the time of her second divorce, she also became disenchanted with Roulette Records. Roulette' finances were even more deceptive and opaque than usual in the record business and its recording artists often had little to show for their efforts other than some excellent records. When her contract with Roulette ended in 1963, Vaughan returned to the more familiar confines of Mercury Records. In the Summer of 1963, Vaughan went to Denmark with producer Quincy Jones to record four days of live performances with her trio that would be released on the album Sassy Swings the Tivoli that is an excellent example of Vaughan's life show from this period. Vaughan made her first appearance at the White House for President Johnson in 1964.
Unfortunately, the Tivoli recording would be the brightest moment of her second stint with Mercury. Changing demographics and tastes in the 1960s left jazz artists with shrinking audiences and inappropriate material. While Vaughan retained a following large and loyal enough to maintain her performing career, the quality and quantity of her recorded output dwindled even as her voice darkened and her skill remained undiminished. At the conclusion of her Mercury deal in 1967 she was left without a recording contract for the remainder of the decade.
In 1969 Vaughan terminated her professional relationship with Golden and relocated to the west coast, settling first into a house near Benedict Canyon in Los Angeles and then into what would end up being her final home in Hidden Hills.
Rebirth in the Seventies
Vaughan met Marshall Fisher after a 1970 performance at a casino in Las Vegas and Fisher soon fell in to the familiar dual role as Vaughan's lover and manager. Fisher was another man of uncertain background with no musical or entertainment business experience. However, unlike some of Vaughan's earlier associates, he was a genuine fan of Vaughan's and was devoted to furthering Vaughan's career.
The seventies also heralded a rebirth in Vaughan's recording activity. In 1971, Bob Shad, who had worked as a producer with Vaughan during her contract with Mercury Records, asked Vaughan to record for his new record label, Mainstream Records. Basie veteran Ernie Wilkins arranged and conducted her first Mainstream album, A Time In My Life in November of 1971. In April of 1972, Vaughan recorded a lovely collection of ballads written, arranged and conducted by Michel Legrand. Arrangers Legrand, Peter Matz, Jack Elliott and Allyn Ferguson teamed up for Vaughan's third Mainstream album, Feelin' Good. Vaughan also recorded a live album in Tokyo with her trio in September of 1973.
During her sessions with Legrand, Bob Shad presented "Send In The Clowns", a Stephen Sondheim song from the Broadway musical A Little Night Music, to Vaughan for consideration. The song would become Vaughan's signature, replacing the chestnut "Tenderly" that had been with her from the beginning of her solo career.
Unfortunately, Vaughan's relationship with Mainstream soured in 1974, allegedly in a conflict precipitated by Fisher over an album cover photograph and or unpaid royalties. This left Vaughan again without a recording contract for three years.
In December 1974, Vaughan played private concert for U.S. president Gerald Ford and French president Giscard d'Estaing during their summit on Martinique.
Also in 1974, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas asked Vaughan to participate in an all-Gershwin show he was planning for a guest appearance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. The arrangements were by Marty Paich and the orchestra would be augmented by established jazz artists Dave Grusin on piano, Ray Brown on bass, drummer Shelly Manne and saxophonists Bill Perkins and Pete Christlieb. The concert was a success and Thomas and Vaughn repeated the performance with Thomas' home orchestra in Buffalo, NY, followed by appearances in 1975 and 1976 with symphonies around the country. These performances fulfilled a long-held interest by Vaughan in working with symphonies and she made orchestra performances without Thomas for the remainder of the decade.
In 1977, Vaughan terminated her personal and professional relationship with Marshall Fisher. Although Fisher is occasionally referenced as Vaughan's third husband, they were never legally married. Vaughan began a relationship with Waymond Reed, a trumpet player 16 years her junior who was playing with the Count Basie band. Reed joined her working trio as a musical director and trumpet player and became Vaughan's third husband in 1978.
In the Summer of 1977, Tom Guy, a young filmmaker and public TV producer, followed Vaughan around on tour, interviewing numerous artists speaking about Vaughan and capturing both concert and behind-the-scenes footage. The resulting sixteen hours of footage was pared down into an hour-and-a-half documentary, Listen To The Sun, that aired on September 21, 1978 on New Jersey Public Television. As of this writing, the film has not been commercially released.
Finally in 1977, Norman Granz, who was also Ella Fitzgerald's manager, signed Vaughan to his Pablo record label. Vaughan had not had a recording contract for three years, although she recorded a 1977 album of Beatles songs with contemporary pop arrangements for the Atlantic record label that was eventually released in 1981. Vaughan's first release for Pablo was I Love Brazil, which was recorded with an all-star cast of Brazilian musicians in Rio de Janeiro in the fall of 1977 and led to a Grammy nomination.
The Pablo contract would ultimately result in five albums. In the Spring of 1978, Vaughan recorded How Long Has This Been Going On? with a quartet that included pianist Oscar Peterson, guitarist Joe Pass, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Louis Bellson. In the fall of 1979, Vaughan recorded material for two Duke Ellington Songbook albums. In the Spring of 1981, Vaughan recorded the album Send In The Clowns with the Count Basie orchestra playing arrangements primarily by Sammy Nestico and including a second recording of what had become her signature song. Her contract concluded in March of 1982 with Crazy and Mixed Up, another quartet album featuring Sir Roland Hanna on piano, Joe Pass on guitar, Andy Simpkins on bass and Harold Jones on drums.
Vaughan and Waymond Reed divorced in 1981.
Late Career
Vaughan remained quite active as a performer during the 1980s and began receiving awards recognizing her contribution to American music and status as an important elder stateswoman of Jazz. In the Summer of 1980, Vaughan received a plaque on 52nd street outside the CBS building commemorating the jazz clubs she had once frequented on "Swing Street" and which had long since been demolished and replaced with office buildings. A performance of her symphonic Gershwin program with the New Jersey Symphony in the Fall of 1980 was broadcast on PBS and won her an Emmy Award in 1981 for "Individual Achievement - Special Class". She was reunited with Michael Tilson Thomas for slightly modified version of the Gershwin program with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the CBS Records recording, Gershwin Live won Vaughan a Grammy award. In 1985 Vaughan received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1988 Vaughan was inducted into American Jazz Hall of Fame.
After the conclusion of her Pablo contract in 1982, Vaughan did only a limited amount studio recording. Vaughan made a guest appearance in 1984 on Barry Manilow's 2 A.M. Paradise Cafe, an odd album of original pastiche compositions that featured a number of established jazz artists. In 1984 Vaughan participated in one of the more unusual projects of her career, The Planet is Alive, Let It Live a symphonic piece composed by Tito Fontana and Sante Palumbo on Italian translations of Polish poems by Karol Wytola, the future Pope John Paul II. The recording was made in Germany with an English translation by writer Gene Lees and was released by Lees on his own private label after the recording was turned down by the major labels. In 1986, Vaughn sang two songs, "Happy Talk" and "Bali Ha'i", in the role of Bloody Mary on an otherwise stiff studio recording by opera stars Kiri Te Kanawa and Jose Carreras of the score of the Broadway musical South Pacific.
Vaughan's final complete album was Brazilian Romance, produced and composed by Sergio Mendez and recorded primarily in the early part of 1987 in New York and Detroit. In 1988, Vaughan contributed vocals to an album of Christmas carols recorded by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir with the Utah Symphony Orchestra and sold in Hallmark Cards stores. In 1989, Quincy Jones' album Back on the Block featured Vaughan in a brief scatting duet with Ella Fitzgerald. This was Vaughan's final studio recording and, fittingly, it was Vaughan's only formal studio recording with Fitzgerald in a career that had begun 46 years earlier opening for Fitzgerald at the Apollo.
Vaughan is featured in a number of video recordings from the 1980s. Sarah Vaughan Live from Monterrey was taped in 1984 or 1983 and featured her working trio with guest soloists. Sass and Brass was taped in 1986 in New Orleans and also features her working trio with guest soloists, including Dizzy Gillespie and Maynard Ferguson. Sarah Vaughan: The Divine One was featured in the American Masters series on PBS.
In 1989, Vaughan's health began to decline, although she rarely betrayed any hints in her performances. Vaughan canceled a series of engagements in Europe for the Fall of 1989 citing the need to seek treatment for arthritis in the hand, although she was able to complete a later series of performances in Japan. During a run at New York's Blue Note jazz club in the Fall of 1989, Vaughan received a diagnosis of lung cancer and was too ill to finish the final day of what would turn out to be her final series of public performances.
Vaughan returned to her home in California to begin chemotherapy and spent her final months alternating stays in the hospital and at home. Toward the end, Vaughan tired of the struggle and demanded to be taken home, where she passed away on the evening of April 4, 1990 while watching a television movie featuring her adopted daughter.
Vaughan's funeral was at the First Mount Zion Baptist Church in Newark, NJ, which was the same congregation she grew up in but which had relocated to a new building. Following the ceremony, a horse-drawn carriage transported her body to it's final resting place in Glendale Cemetery in Bloomfield, NJ.
Style and Influence
Although Vaughan is usually considered a "Jazz Singer," she avoided classifying herself as such. Indeed, her approach to her "Jazz" work and her commercial "Pop" material was not radically different. Vaughan stuck throughout her career to the jazz-infused style of music that she came of age with, only rarely dabbling in rock-era styles that usually did not suit her unique vocal talents. Vaughan discussed the label in an 1982 interview for Down Beat:
"I don't know why people call me a jazz singer, though I guess people associate me with jazz because I was raised in it, from way back. I'm not putting jazz down, but I'm not a jazz singer Betty Bebop (Carter) is a jazz singer, because that's all she does. I've even been called a blues singer. I've recorded all kinds of music, but (to them) I'm either a jazz singer or a blues singer. I can't sing a blues - just a right-out blues - but I can put the blues in whatever I sing. I might sing 'Send in the Clowns' and I might stick a little bluesy part in it, or any song. What I want to do, music-wise, is all kinds of music that I like, and I like all kinds of music."
While Vaughan was a proficient at scatting, the improvisatory aspect of her art was focused more on ornamentation, phrasing and variation on melodies, which were almost always jazz standards. Perhaps her most noticeable musical mannerism was the creative use of often widely "swooping" glissandi through her wide entire vocal range, which was most sonorous in a dark chest register that grew deeper as she aged. Vaughan approached her voice more as a melodic instrument than an vehicle for dramatic interpretation of lyrics, although the expressive qualities of her style did accentuate lyrical meaning and she would often find unique and memorable ways of articulating and coloring individual key words in a lyric.
During her childhood in the 30s, Vaughan was strongly attracted to the popular music of the day, much to the consternation of her deeply-religious father. Vaughan was certainly influenced by the gospel traditions that she grew up with in a Baptist church, but the more radically melismatic elements of those influences are less obvious than they would be in later generations of singers in the R&B and hip-hop genres. Vaughan was certainly influenced by (and an influence on) her friend and mentor, Billy Eckstine, which is obvious in the numerous duet recordings they made together. However, since there are no recordings of Vaughan prior to her joining Eckstine in the Earl Hines band (and, unfortunately, no recordings of her with the Hines band) it is difficult to know with any certainty what stylistic nuances she absorbed during the critical first years of her performing career.
Perhaps because of the individuality of her style, she has rarely been overtly imitated by subsequent generations of singers. Unlike other mid-century singers like Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra or, later, Aretha Franklin, there are no prominent singers whose style is an obvious direct reflection of Vaughan's. However, even in death Vaughan retains a loyal following and attracts new fans through her recorded legacy, most of which remains in commercial release.
While Vaughan frequently performed and recorded with large ensembles, her live performances usually featured her accompanied by a piano-led working trio. The membership of this trio changed frequently over the years, although some of her "favorites" stayed with her for extended periods of time and often returned for multiple stints. Even in large-ensemble situations, this trio was often used as the rhythm section to provide continuity. Aside from economy, the trio configuration was flexible and adaptable to differing performing conditions and to Vaughan's improvisatory whims. This minimal instrumentation also provided a minimum of distraction from Vaughan's unique styling and rich vocal timbre.
Personal Life
Vaughan was married three times: George Treadwell (1946-1958), Clyde Atkins (1958-1961) and Waymond Reed (1978-1981). Being unable to have biological children, Vaughan adopted a baby daughter, Debra Lois, in 1961. Debra worked in the 1980s and 1990s as an actor under the name Paris Vaughan.
Sarah Vaughan's personal life was a jumble of paradoxes. She had a mercurial personality and could be extremely difficult to work with (especially in areas outside of music), but numerous fellow musicians recounted their experiences with her to be some of the best of their career. None of her marriages were successful, yet she maintained close long-running friendships with a number of male colleagues in the business and was devoted to her parents and adopted daughter. Despite effusive public acclaim, Vaughan was insecure and suffered from stage fright that was, at times, almost incapacitating. While shy and often aloof with strangers, she was quite gregarious and generous with friends.
Vaughan's appetite for night life was legendary and after performances she regularly stayed out partying until well into the next day. Vaughan was a heavy drinker and but there are no reported incidents of obvious on-stage intoxication that hampered her ability to perform. Vaughan was, reputedly, a regular marijuana and cocaine user throughout her career, but she was apparently discreet about her usage and never suffered the debilitating addictions or run-ins with the law that derailed many of her colleagues. Vaughan was also a life-long smoker, which almost certainly contributed to her slightly premature death from lung cancer at the age of 64. But her tobacco usage did not have a deleterious effect on her voice and may have even contributed to the attractive darkness that was characteristic of her sound in her later years.
http://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/sarahvaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was born the daughter of Asbury and Ada Vaughan on March 27, 1924, in Newark, New Jersey. As a youth Vaughan took piano lessons and attended the Mount Zion Baptist Church, where she served as a church keyboardist. At home Vaughan played the family's upright piano and listened to the recordings of jazz artists Count Basie and Erskine Hawkins. After discovering Newark's numerous theaters and movie houses, she skipped school and left home at night to watch dances and stage shows. By age 15, she performed at local clubs, playing piano and singing.
Not long after, Vaughan took the train across the river to Harlem to frequent the Savoy Ballroom and the Apollo Theatre. One evening, in 1943, she sat in at the Apollo amateur show, a fiercely competitive contest that often exposed lesser talents to the harsh criticism of the theater's audience. Vaughan's moving performance of “Body and Soul” not only brought a fever of applause from the crowd, it also caught the attention of singer Billy Eckstine. Eckstine informed his bandleader Earl “Fatha” Hines about the young singer. Hines then allowed Vaughan to attend the band's uptown band rehearsal. At the rehearsal, Vaughan's singing won immediate praise from Hines and his musicians. One of the premiere modern big bands of the era, Hines's ensemble included such talents as trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Fats Navarro, saxophonist Charlie Parker, and trombonist J. J. Johnson. As the only female bandmember, Vaughan shared the vocal spotlight with Eckstine and played piano, often in duet settings with Hines. Vaughan debuted at the Apollo with Hines's band on April 23, 1943.
Not long after, most of Hines's modernist sidemen, including Gillespie, Parker, and Eckstine, gradually left the band. Vaughan remained briefly with Hines's band until she accepted an invitation to join Eckstine's newly-formed bebop big band in 1944. In December of that year, she cut her first side “I'll Wait and Pray,” backed by the Eckstine band, which included Dizzy Gillespie, saxophonists Dexter Gordon and Gene Ammons, and pianist John Malachi.
Through the intercession of jazz writer and pianist Leonard Feather, Vaughan recorded her first date as a leader for the small Continental label. Under the production of Feather, Vaughan and Her All-Stars attended their session on New Year's Eve 1944. Acting as the session's producer and pianist, Feather assembled such sidemen as Dizzy Gillespie and saxophonist Georgie Auld to cut four sides: “Signing Off,” Feather's “No Smoke Blues,” Gillespie's “Interlude” (a vocal version of “Night in Tunisia”), and “East of the Sun,” on which Gillespie replaced Feather on keyboard.On a second session, Feather relinquished the piano duties to Nat Jaffe, and brought together Gillespie and Charlie Parker.
After a nearly year-long stay with Eckstine, Vaughan left the band. With the exception of a job with the sextet of bassist and trombonist John Kirby in the winter of 1945, she performed as a solo act. On May 11, 1945 she recorded “Lover Man” with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. In October of 1945 Vaughan signed with Musicraft label, and, in the same month, recorded for the label with jazz violinist Stuff Smith's group. Her Musicraft 1946 recording of Tadd Dameron's “If You Could See Me Now” is considered a modern classic. She also recorded with the bands of Dickie Wells and Georgie Auld.
Hailed by Metronome magazine as the “Influence of the Year” in 1948, Vaughan rose to jazz stardom. In the following year, she signed a five-year contract with Columbia and recorded her classic “Black Coffee” with the Joe Lippman Orchestra--a number that climbed to number 13 on Billboard's pop charts. For Columbia she recorded in various settings and attended two sessions that emerged as the albums “Summertime,” with the Jimmy Jones band, and “Sarah Vaughan in Hi-Fi,” both of which featured trumpeter Miles Davis. Vaughan was now presenting herself as a pop singer who could do popular ballads in a straightforward style, the soft, sultry sound of her voice unfurling with hypnotic effect, moving with ease between her soprano and contralto registers. During the next year, Vaughan made her first trip to Europe. During her stay in England she sang to enthusiastic audience at Royal Albert Hall.
In 1954, Vaughan signed a contract with the Mercury label and recorded numerous sides primarily in orchestral settings. In December of the same year, her trio--pianist Jimmy Jones, bassist Joe Benjamin, and drummer Roy Haynes--joined 24-year-old trumpet talent Clifford Brown, saxophonist Paul Quinichette, and flutist Herbie Mann to record the LP Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown. Surrounded by first-rate musicians sensitive to her vocal talent, Vaughan produced an album that, as the author to the original LP's notes wrote, “It is doubtful whether anyone, including Sarah herself, is likely to be able to find any more completely satisfying representation of her work, or any more appropriate musical setting than are offered in this LP. These sides are sure to rank among the foremost achievements of her decade as a recording artist.”
During a stint at Chicago's Mr. Kelly's nightclub in August of 1957, Vaughan recorded a live album with her trio: pianist Jimmy Jones, bassist Richard Davis, and drummer Roy Haynes. In the following year, she and pianist Ronnell Bright recorded with the Count Basie Band and took part in a session in Paris under the direction of orchestra leader and conductor Quincy Jones, issued as the Mercury LP, “Vaughan and Violins.”
In 1958, Vaughan was earning a yearly income of $230,000. In July of the following year, she scored her first million-selling hit, “Broken Hearted Melody,” with the Ray Ellis Orchestra. A hit with both black and white audiences, “Broken Hearted Melody,” which was nominated for a Grammy Award, reached number five on the pop R&B charts.
When Vaughan's contract with Mercury ended in the fall of 1959, she signed with Roulette Records and became, over the next few years, one the label's biggest stars. Her 1960 sessions for Roulette included “The Divine One,” arranged by Jimmy Jones and a session with Count Basie Band featuring such talents as trumpeters Thad Jones and Joe Newman and saxophonists Frank Foster and Billy Mitchell. Featured in duet numbers with singer Joe Williams, the Basie Band session produced the sides, “If I Were a Bell” and “Teach Me Tonight.”
Several arrangements recorded with the Basie Band in January of 1961, were complied as the album “Sarah Vaughan and Count Basie.” Vaughan signed with Mercury again in 1963. Her recorded work in the sixties featured the ensembles of Benny Carter, Quincy Jones, and Gerald Wilson. Her trio accompanists included noted pianists Roland Hanna and Bob James. Vaughan debuted on the Mainstream record label with the 1971 LP “A Time in Life.” On her 1977 live recording at Ronnie Scott's in the Soho section of London, Vaughan produced a classic with her rendition of “Send in the Clowns.”
In 1978, she recorded an album backed by pianist Oscar Peterson, guitarist Joe Pass, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Louie Bellson. Recorded with an-star line up, she devoted two albums, in 1979, to the music of Duke Ellington, “Duke Ellington Songbook One,” and “Duke Ellington Songbook Two.” Though she had been nominated for Grammy Awards several times, including a nomination for her 1979 effort “I Love Brazil,” Vaughan did not win her first Grammy until 1982 for “Gershwin Live!.”
Throughout the 1980s Vaughan recorded on the Pablo label, often with the label's featured artists Count Basie, Oscar Peterson, and Dizzy Gillespie. As she told Max Jones in Talking Jazz; “Now that I've been in so long, you know, I can work with whom I want to. I have more say now over what jobs I do and how I want to do them.” During a trip to Brazil in 1987, she recorded the CBS album “Brazilian Romance,” and afterward appeared at a festival in Rio de Janeiro. On her last recording--Quincy Jones's all-star 1989 album “Back on the Block,” she sang with Ella Fitzgerald on the introduction of “Birdland.” In February, of the same year, she received a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement.
A tireless live performer who still maintained a fine voice, Vaughan showed little signs of artistic diminution. Offstage, however, band members began to notice the slowed pace of her walk and her shortness of breath. Diagnosed with lung cancer, she died on April 4, 1990.
Jazz artists and critics have described Sarah Vaughan as a musical innovator whose voice reached the level of the finest jazz instrumentalists. Betty Carter told how “Sarah Vaughan took those melodies and did something with them. She opened the door to do anything you wanted with a melody.” From her first appearances on the jazz scene in the early 1940s until her death, Vaughan's voice became a model of excellence and an inspiration of those venturing to strive beyond the role of popular vocal entertainer and into the higher realm of musical artistry.
Sarah Vaughan received in her lifetime an Emmy Award, for individual achievement, 1981; Grammy Award for best jazz vocalist, 1982; Hollywood Walk of Fame Star, 1985; Grammy Award, for lifetime achievement, 1989.
Source: James Nadal
http://www.npr.org/2013/05/20/179869404/sarah-vaughan-a-new-box-set-revels-in-glorious-imperfections
May 20, 2013
by Kevin Whitehead
NPR (National Public Radio)
Singer Sarah Vaughan came up in the 1940s alongside bebop lions Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, starting out in Earl Hines' big band. Hines had hired her as his singer and deputy pianist, while Gillespie praised her fine ear for chords as she grasped the arcane refinements of bebop harmony. Vaughan put them to good use as a singer, picking notes other vocalists wouldn't.
A lot of jazz singing is about consonants — the percussive attacks from which the music swings. With Vaughan, it's also about the way she rolled out her vowels, reveling in a held note like Miles Davis. Later, her vibrato could get excessive, but in the mid-'50s her taste and control were a marvel. That much is clear from a new anthology of Vaughan titled Divine: The Jazz Albums 1954-1958. (In that period, she was recording pop albums with strings, using some of the same tunes.) It's six albums-plus on four CDs, recorded live or in the studio with bands big and small. All but one session is sparked by another bebop institution, drummer Roy Haynes. He achieves a springy beat using brushes, and doesn't overplay.
Vaughan had a gallery of vocal timbres: gravelly to silky, round or strident, white-gloved or blues-drenched. Her pitch range was operatic and her low notes have uncommon power. She drew inspiration from great soloists and gave it right back — notably in a loose session with trumpeter Clifford Brown, with whom she trades phrases on "April in Paris."
Two live albums from Chicago nightclubs are standouts, partly for their glorious imperfections. Vaughan didn't know some of the material so well, taking lyric sheets on stage, and she sometimes had to improvise her way out of trouble. Recording in the wee hours at the London House, she keeps bobbling the start of the last tune of the night, "Thanks for the Memory" — particularly when she hits the word "Parthenon." But with every take, her entrance gets more elaborate.
If anything, she sounds more focused and at ease after two false starts — at least till she blows another line, and does her best to spoil the full take. (That just made it more of a keeper.) The live dates in Divine show how a great improviser can always recover from a tailspin. The beboppers were big on that: putting the wrongest note in a context where it sounds like the perfect thing.
• Sarah Vaughan possessed one of the legendary voices in jazz. In this program from 1986, Vaughan's lively and sassy personality is on display, as are her amazing vocals.
Originally recorded Jan. 17, 1986. Originally broadcast May 8, 1986.
THE DIVINE ONE: In Tribute To and Celebration of the Legendary and Iconic Singer and Musician Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990) On Her 91st Birthday
SARAH VAUGHAN
(b. March 27, 1924--d. April 3, 1990)
(b. March 27, 1924--d. April 3, 1990)
http://www.pbs.org/…/episodes/sara…/about-sarah-vaughan/723/
AMERICAN MASTERS
October 8th, 2005
Sarah Vaughan
About Sarah Vaughan
PBS
Jazz critic Leonard Feather called her “the most important singer to emerge from the bop era.” Ella Fitzgerald called her the world’s “greatest singing talent.” During the course of a career that spanned nearly fifty years, she was the singer’s singer, influencing everyone from Mel Torme to Anita Baker. She was among the musical elite identified by their first names. She was Sarah, Sassy — the incomparable Sarah Vaughan.
Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1924, Vaughan was immediately surrounded by music: her carpenter father was an amateur guitarist and her laundress mother was a church vocalist. Young Sarah studied piano from the age of seven, and before entering her teens had become an organist and choir soloist at the Mount Zion Baptist Church. When she was eighteen, friends dared her to enter the famed Wednesday Night Amateur Contest at Harlem’s Apollo Theater. She gave a sizzling rendition of “Body and Soul,” and won first prize. In the audience that night was the singer Billy Eckstine. Six months later, she had joined Eckstine in Earl Hines’s big band along with jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.
When Eckstine formed his own band soon after, Vaughan went with him. Others including Miles Davis and Art Blakey, were eventually to join the band as well. Within a year, however, Vaughan wanted to give a solo career a try. By late 1947, she had topped the charts with “Tenderly,” and as the 1940s gave way to the 1950s, Vaughan expanded her jazz repertoire to include pop music. As a result, she enlarged her audience, gained increased attention for her formidable talent, and compiled additional hits, including the Broadway show tunes “Whatever Lola Wants” and “Mr. Wonderful.” While jazz purists balked at these efforts, no one could deny that in any genre, Vaughan had one of the greatest voices in the business.
In the late 1960s, Vaughan returned to jazz music, performing and making regular recordings. Throughout the 1970s and ’80s she recorded with such jazz notables as Oscar Peterson, Louie Bellson, Zoot Sims, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Don Cherry, and J.J. Johnson. Her recordings of the “Duke Ellington Song Book (1 and 2)” are considered some of the finest recordings of the time. While for many years her signature song had been “Misty,” by the mid-70’s, she was closing every show with Sondheim’s “Send In The Clowns.” In 1982, while in her late fifties, Vaughan won the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocalist for her album, “Gershwin Live”!
While she continued to work without the massive commercial success enjoyed by colleagues such as Peggy Lee, Rosemary Clooney, and Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan consistently retained a special place in the hearts of fellow musicians and audiences alike. She continually performed at top venues, playing to adoring sell-out crowds well into her sixties. Remarkably, unlike many singers, she lost none of her extraordinary talent as time went on. Her multi-octave range, with its swooping highs and sensual lows, and the youthful suppleness of her voice shaded by a luscious timbre and executed with fierce control, all remained intact. In 1990, at the age sixty-six, Sarah Vaughan passed away. Shortly after her death, Mel Torme summed up the feelings of all who had seen her, saying “She had the single best vocal instrument of any singer working in the popular field.”
http://www.biography.com/people/sarah-vaughan-9516405
Sarah Vaughan
Pianist, Singer (1924–1990)
SARAH VAUGHAN
1924-1990
Jazz
vocalist Sarah Vaughan performed with big bands before becoming a solo
artist. She is known for singing "Send in the Clowns" and
"Broken-Hearted Melody."
“I don't think I ever modeled myself after a singer. I've more or less copied the styles of horn-tooters right from the start.”
Synopsis
Born on March 27, 1924, in Newark, New Jersey, Sarah Vaughan grew up with a love of music and performing. Winning a talent competition held at Harlem's Apollo Theater launched her singing career. She worked with bandleaders Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine before becoming a successful solo performer who commingled pop and jazz. At age 66, Vaughan died in Hidden Hills, California, on April 3, 1990.
Early Life
Sarah Lois Vaughan was born in Newark, New Jersey, on March 27, 1924. Outside of their regular jobs—as a carpenter and as a laundress—her parents were also musicians. Growing up in Newark, a young Sarah Vaughan studied the piano and organ, and her voice could be heard as a soloist at Mount Zion Baptist Church.
Vaughan's first step toward becoming a professional singer was taken at a talent contest held at Harlem's Apollo Theater, where many African-American music legends made their name. After being dared to enter, she won the 1942 competition with her rendition of "Body and Soul." She also caught the attention of another vocalist, Billy Eckstine, who persuaded Earl Hines to hire Vaughan to sing with his orchestra.
Singing Success
In 1944, Vaughan left Hines to join Eckstine's new band. Also working with Eckstine were trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and saxophonist Charlie Parker, who introduced the group to a new form of jazz, known as bebop. An inspired Vaughan brought bebop into her singing, which can be heard in the 1945 recording of "Lover Man" that she made with Parker and Gillespie.
After performing with Eckstine's orchestra for a year, Vaughan briefly worked with John Kirby before leaving big bands behind to become a solo artist (though she often reunited with Eckstine for duets). Having already been given the nickname "Sassy" as a commentary on her onstage style, it was while striking out on her own that she was dubbed "The Divine One" by a DJ in Chicago. In the late 1940s, her popular recordings included "If You Could See Me Now" and "It's Magic."
The next decade saw Vaughan produce more pop music, though when she joined Mercury Records she also recorded jazz numbers on a subsidiary label, EmArcy. She sang hits like "Whatever Lola Wants" (1955), "Misty" (1957) and "Broken-Hearted Melody" (1959), which sold more than a million copies. Vaughan gave concerts in the United States and Europe, and her singing was also heard in films such as Disc Jockey (1951) and Basin Street Revue (1956).
Later Career
After the 1950s, shifting musical tastes meant that Vaughan no longer produced huge hits. However, she remained a popular performer, particularly when she sang live. In front of an audience, her emotional, vibrato-rich delivery, three-octave vocal range and captivating scat technique were even more appealing. Though her voice took on a deeper pitch as Vaughan got older—likely due in part her smoking habit—this didn't impact the quality of her singing, as could be heard on "Send in the Clowns," a staple in her repertoire.
Vaughan's later recordings include interpretations of Beatles songs and Brazilian music. Over the years, she collaborated with people like producer Quincy Jones, pianist Oscar Peterson and conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. Vaughan won her first Grammy thanks to her work with Thomas and the Los Angeles Philharmonic on Gershwin Live! (1982).
Legacy
Vaughan's final concert was given at New York's Blue Note Club in 1989. She passed away from lung cancer on April 3, 1990, at age 66, in Hidden Hills, a suburb of Los Angeles, California. Married and divorced four times, she was survived by her adopted daughter.
Throughout her career, Vaughan was recognized as a supremely gifted singer and performer. She was invited to perform at the White House and at venues like Carnegie Hall, was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 1989 and was selected to join the Jazz Hall of Fame in 1990. She also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Home > Discographies > Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan Biography / Discography
The following is a substantial revision I wrote for a Vaughan's biography on Wikipedia.org on February 14, 2007. The primary reference for the biography and the following discography is Leslie Gourse's excellent biography, Sassy - The Life of Sarah Vaughan, first published in 1994 by Da Capo Press.
Early Life
Sarah Lois Vaughan was born on March 27, 1924 in Newark New Jersey. Her father, Asbury "Jake" Vaughan was a carpenter and amateur guitarist. Her mother, Ada, was a laundress. Jake and Ada Vaughan migrated to Newark from Virginia during the first World War. Sarah was their only natural child, although in the 1960s they adopted Donna, the child of a woman who traveled on the road with Sarah Vaughan.
The Vaughans lived in a house on Newark's Brunswick street for Sarah's entire childhood. Jake Vaughan was deeply religious and the family was very active in the New Mount Zion Baptist Church on 186 Thomas Street. Sarah began piano lessons at the age of seven. Vaughan sang in the church choir and occasionally played piano for rehearsals and services.
Vaughan developed an early love for popular music on records and the radio. In the 1930s, Newark had a very active live music scene and Vaughan frequently saw local and touring bands that played in the city at venues like the Montgomery Street Skating Rink, Adams Theatre and Proctor's Theatre. By her mid-teens, Vaughan began venturing (illegally) into Newark's night clubs and performing as a pianist and, occasionally, singer, most notably at the Piccadilly Club and the Newark Airport USO.
Vaughan initially attended Newark's East Side High School, later transferring to Arts High, which had opened in 1931 as the nation's first arts "magnet" high school. However, her nocturnal adventures as a performer began to overwhelm her academic pursuits and Vaughn dropped out of high school during her junior year to concentrate more fully on music. Around this time, Vaughan and her friends also began venturing across the Hudson River into New York City to hear big bands at Harlem's Savoy Ballroom and Apollo Theatre.
Biographies of Vaughan frequently state that she was immediately thrust into stardom after a winning an Amateur Night performance at Harlem's Apollo Theatre. In fact, the story that biographer Leslie Gourse relates seems to be a bit more complex. Vaughan was frequently accompanied by a friend, Doris Robinson, on her trips into New York City. Sometime in the Fall of 1942 (when Sarah was 18 years old), Vaughan suggested that Robinson enter the Apollo Amateur Night contest. Vaughn played piano accompaniment Robinson, who won second prize. Vaughn later decided to go back and compete herself as a singer. Vaughan sang "Body and Soul" and won, although the exact date of her victorious Apollo performance is uncertain. The prize, as Vaughan recalled later to Marian McPartland, was $10 and the promise of a week's engagement at the Apollo. After a considerable delay, Vaughan was contacted by the Apollo in the Spring of 1943 to open for Ella Fitzgerald.
Sometime during her week of performances at the Apollo, Vaughan was introduced to bandleader/pianist Earl Hines, although the exact details of that introduction are disputed. Singer Billy Eckstine, who was with Hines at the time, has been credited by Vaughan and others with hearing her at the Apollo and recommending her to Hines. Hines also claimed to have discovered her himself and offered her a job on the spot. Regardless, after a brief tryout at the Apollo, Hines officially replaced his existing female singer with Vaughan April 4, 1943.
Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine: 1943 - 1944
Vaughan spent the remainder of 1943 and part of 1944 touring the country with the Earl Hines big band that also featured baritone Billy Eckstine. Vaughan was hired as a pianist, reputedly so Hines could hire her under the jurisdiction of the musicians union (AFM) rather than the singers union (AGVA), but after Cliff Smalls joined the band as a trombonist and pianist, Sarah's duties became limited exclusively to singing. Vaughan presented a visual paradox for audiences as a rail-thin 18-year-old waif with a remarkably mature voice. Up to that point in her life, Vaughan never had much concern for her physical appearance, so Hines and other members of the band had to provide assistance with attire and grooming appropriate for a female band singer. As a tough kid from the streets of Newark, Vaughan had no problem holding her own with her male co-workers and she often spoke very fondly in later years of the friendships built in during her brief time in the Hines band.
This Earl Hines band is best remembered today as an incubator of bop, as it included trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, saxophonist Charlie Parker (playing tenor rather than the alto that he would become famous with later) and trombonist Benny Green. Gillespie also arranged for the band, although a recording ban by the musicians union prevented the band from recording and preserving its sound and style for posterity.
Eckstine left the Hines band in late 1943 and formed his own big band with Gillespie leaving Hines to become the new band's musical director. Parker came along too, and the Eckstine band over the next few years would host a startling cast of jazz talent: Miles Davis, Kenny Dorham, Art Blakey, Lucky Thompson, Gene Ammons, Dexter Gordon, among others.
Vaughan accepted Eckstine's invitation to join his new band in 1944, giving her an opportunity to develop her musicianship with the seminal figures in this era of jazz. Eckstine's band also afforded her first recording opportunity, a December 5, 1944 date that yielded the song, "I'll Wait and Pray" for the Deluxe label. That date led to critic and producer Leonard Feather to ask her to cut four sides under her own name later that month for the Continental label, backed by a septet that included Dizzy Gillespie and Georgie Auld.
Band pianist John Malachi is credited with giving Vaughan the moniker "Sassy", a nickname that matched her personality. Vaughan liked it and the name (and its shortened variant "Sass") stuck with colleagues and, eventually, the press. In written communications, Vaughan often spelled it "Sassie".
Vaughan officially left the Eckstine band in late 1944 to pursue a solo career, although she remained very close to Eckstine personally and recorded with him frequently throughout her life.
Early Solo Career: 1945 - 1948
Vaughan began her solo career in 1945 by freelancing in clubs on New York's 52nd street like the Three Deuces, the Famous Door, the Downbeat and the Onyx Club. Vaughan also hung around the Braddock Grill, next door to the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. On May 11, 1945, Vaughan recorded "Lover Man" for the Guild label with a quintet featuring Gillespie and Parker with Al Haig on piano, Curly Russell on bass and Sid Catlett on drums. Later that month she went into the studio with a slightly different and larger Gillespie/Parker aggregation and recorded three more sides.
After being invited by violinist Stuff Smith to record the song "Time and Again" in October, Vaughan was offered a contract to record for the Musicraft label by owner Albert Marx, although she would not begin recording as a leader for Musicraft until May 7, 1946. In the intervening time, Vaughan made a handful of recordings for the Crown and Gotham labels and began performing regularly at Cafe Society Downtown, an integrated club in New York's Sheridan Square.
While at Cafe Society, Vaughan became friends with trumpeter George Treadwell. Treadwell became Vaughan's manager and she ultimately delegated to him most of the musical director responsibilities for her recording sessions, leaving her free to focus almost entirely on singing. Over the next few years, Treadwell also made significant positive changes in Vaughan's stage appearance. Aside from an improved wardrobe and hair style, Vaughn had her teeth capped, eliminating an unsightly gap between her two front teeth.
Many of Vaughan's 1946 Musicraft recordings became quite well-known among jazz aficionados and critics, including "If You Could See Me Now" (written and arranged by Tadd Dameron), "Don't Blame Me", "I've Got a Crush on You", "Everything I Have is Yours" and "Body and Soul." With Vaughan and Treadwell's professional relationship on solid footing, the couple married on September 16, 1946.
Vaughan's recording success for Musicraft continued through 1947 and 1948. Her recording of "Tenderly" became an unexpected pop hit in late 1947. Her December 27, 1947 recording of "It's Magic" (from the Doris Day film Romance on the High Seas) found chart success in early 1948. Her recording of "Nature Boy" from April 8, 1948 became a hit around the same time as the release of the famous Nat King Cole recording of the same song. Because of yet another recording ban by the musicians union, "Nature Boy" was recorded with an A Capella choir as the only accompaniment, adding an ethereal air to a song with a vaguely mystical lyric and melody.
Stardom and The Columbia Years: 1948 - 1953
The musicians union ban pushed Musicraft to the brink of bankruptcy and Vaughan used the missed royalty payments as an opportunity to sign with the larger Columbia Record label. Following the settling of the legal issues, her chart successes continued with the charting of "Black Coffee" in the summer of 1949. During her tenure at Columbia through 1953, Vaughan was steered almost exclusively to commercial pop ballads, a number of which had chart success: "That Lucky Old Sun", "Make Believe (You Are Glad When You're Sorry)", "I'm Crazy to Love You", "Our Very Own", "I Love the Guy", "Thinking of You" (with pianist Bud Powell), "I Cried for You", "These Things I Offer You", "Vanity", "I Ran All the Way Home", "Saint or Sinner", "My Tormented Heart", and "Time", among others.
Vaughan also achieved substantial critical acclaim. Vaughan won Esquire magazine's New Star Award for 1947. Vaughan won awards from Down Beat magazine continuously from 1947 through 1952 and from Metronome magazine from 1948 through 1953. A handful of critics disliked her singing as being "over-stylized," reflecting the heated controversies of the time over the new musical trends of the late 40's. However the critical reception to the young singer was generally positive.
Recording and critical success led to numerous performing opportunities, packing clubs around the country almost continuously throughout the years of the late 1940s and early 1950s. In the summer of 1949, Vaughan made her first appearance with a symphony in a benefit for the Philadelphia Orchestra entitled "100 Men and a Girl." Around this time, Chicago disk jockey Dave Garroway coined a second nickname for Vaughan, "The Divine One", that would follow her throughout her career. In 1951, Vaughan made her first tour of Europe.
With improving finances, in 1949 Vaughan and Treadwell purchased a three-story house on 21 Avon Avenue in Newark, occupying the top floor during their increasingly rare off-hours at home and relocating Vaughan's parents to the lower two floors. However, the business pressures and personality conflicts lead to a cooling in the personal relationship between Treadwell and Vaughan. Treadwell hired a road manager to handle Vaughan's touring needs and opened a management office in Manhattan so he could work with clients in addition to Vaughan.
Vaughan's relationship with Columbia records also soured as Vaughan became dissatisfied both with the commercial material she was required to record there and lackluster financial success of her records. A set of small group sides recorded in 1950 with Miles Davis and Benny Green are among the best of her career, but those were isolated moments in her Columbia ouvre. Frank Sinatra would face similar issues at the conclusion of his Columbia contract around the same time. As with Sinatra, Vaughan needed a change of setting that would give her talents the environment to fully blossom.
The Mercury Years: 1954 - 1958
In 1953, Treadwell negotiated a unique contract for her with Mercury Records. Vaughan would record commercial material for the Mercury label and more jazz-oriented material for Mercury's subsidiary EmArcy label. Vaughan was paired with producer Bob Shad and their excellent working relationship resulted in strong commercial and artistic success. Vaughan's first recording session for Mercury was in February of 1954 and she stayed with the label through 1959. After a stint at Roulette Records from 1960 to 1963, Vaughan returned to Mercury for an additional time from 1964 to 1967.
Vaughan's commercial success at Mercury began with "Make Yourself Comfortable", recorded in the Fall of 1954. Other hits followed, including: "How Important Can It Be" (with Count Basie), "Whatever Lola Wants", "The Banana Boat Song", "You Ought to Have A Wife". Vaughan's commercial success peaked with "Broken Hearted Melody", a song she considered "corny", that nonetheless became her first gold record and a regular part of her concert repertoire for years to come. Vaughan was reunited with Billy Eckstine for a series of duet recordings in 1957 that yielded the hit "Passing Strangers". Vaughan's commercial recordings were handled by a number of different arrangers and conductors, the primary leaders being Hugo Peretti and Hal Mooney.
Meanwhile, the jazz "track" of her recording career also proceeded apace, backed either by her working trio or various assemblages of illustrious jazz figures. One of her favorite albums of her whole career was an album recorded in December of 1954 featuring a sextet that included Clifford Brown. The album The Land of Hi-Fi was recorded at pair of October 1955 sessions featured a 12-piece band that was lead by Ernie Wilkins and included JJ Johnson, Kai Winding, and Cannonball Adderley augmenting Sarah's working trio. In 1958 Vaughan recorded the No 'Count Sarah album with members of the Count Basie Orchestra, minus Basie, who was under contract with another record company.
Performances from this era often found Vaughan in the company of a veritable who's who of jazz figures from the mid-1950s during a schedule of almost non-stop touring. Vaughan was featured at the first Newport Jazz Festival in the Summer of 1954 and would star in subsequent editions of that festival at Newport and in New York City for the remainder of her life. In the Fall of 1954, Vaughan performed at Carnegie Hall with the Count Basie Orchestra on a bill that also included Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Lester Young and the Modern Jazz Quartet. That Fall, Vaughan took another brief and highly successful tour of Europe. In early 1955, Vaughan set out on a "Big Show" tour, a grueling succession of start-studded one-nighters that included Count Basie, George Shearing, Errol Garner and Jimmy Rushing. In the 1955 New York Jazz Festival on Randalls Island, Vaughan shared the bill with the Dave Brubeck quartet, Horace Silver, Jimmy Smith, the Johnny Richards Orchestra.
Although the professional relationship between Vaughan and Treadwell was quite successful through the 1950s, their personal relationship finally reached a breaking point at some time in 1958 and Vaughan filed for a divorce. Vaughan had entirely delegated financial matters to Treadwell, and despite stunning figures reported through the 1950s about Vaughan's record sales and performance income, at the settlement Treadwell said that only $16,000 was left. The couple evenly divided that amount and the personal assets and terminated their business relationship. Despite his questionable business practices, Treadwell had excellent taste and gave Vaughan the ability to just be herself. Treadwell's 12 years of management would ultimately prove to be the most focused of Vaughan's career and she would never have management that strong again.
The Sixties
The exit of Treadwell from Vaughan's life was also precipitated by the entry of Clyde "C.B." Atkins, a man of uncertain background that Vaughn met while while on tour in Chicago and married on September 4, 1958. Although Atkins had no experience in artist management or music, Vaughan wished to have a mixed professional/personal relationship like the one she had with Treadwell. Vaughan made Atkins her personal manager, although, she was still feeling the sting of the problems she had with Treadwell and initially kept a slightly closer eye on Atkins. Vaughan and Atkins moved into a house in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Vaughan's contract with Mercury Records ended in late 1959 and she immediately signed on with Roulette Records, a small label owned by Morris Levy, one of the backers of the Birdland jazz club in New York where Vaughan had frequently appeared. Roulette's roster also included Count Basie, Joe Williams, Dinah Washington, Lambert Hendricks and Ross, and Maynard Ferguson, among others.
Vaughan began recording for Roulette in April of 1960, making a string of strong large ensemble albums arranged and/or conducted by Billy May, Jimmy Jones, Joe Reisman, Quincy Jones, Benny Carter, Lalo Schifrin and Gerald Wilson. Surprisingly, Vaughan also had some success in 1960 on the pop charts with "Serenata" on Roulette and a couple of residual tracks from her Mercury contract, "Eternally" and "You're My Baby". Vaughan made a pair of intimate trio albums of jazz standards: After Hours in 1961 with guitarist Mundell Lowe and bassist George Duvivier and Sarah Plus Two in 1962 with guitarist Barney Kessell and bassist Joe Comfort.
Vaughan was incapable of having biological children, so in 1961 Vaughan and Atkins adopted a daughter, Debra Lois. However the relationship with Atkins was difficult and violent and Vaughan filed for divorce in November of 1963 after a series of strange incidents. Vaughan turned to two friends to help sort out the financial wreckage of the marriage: John "Preacher" Wells, a childhood acquaintance and club owner, and Clyde "Pumpkin" Golden, Jr. Wells and Golden found that Atkins' gambling and profligate spending had put Vaughan around $150,000 in debt and the Englewood Cliffs house was ultimately seized by the IRS for nonpayment of taxes. Vaughan retained custody of the adopted child and Golden essentially took Atkins place as Vaughan's manager and lover for the remainder of the decade.
Around the time of her second divorce, she also became disenchanted with Roulette Records. Roulette' finances were even more deceptive and opaque than usual in the record business and its recording artists often had little to show for their efforts other than some excellent records. When her contract with Roulette ended in 1963, Vaughan returned to the more familiar confines of Mercury Records. In the Summer of 1963, Vaughan went to Denmark with producer Quincy Jones to record four days of live performances with her trio that would be released on the album Sassy Swings the Tivoli that is an excellent example of Vaughan's life show from this period. Vaughan made her first appearance at the White House for President Johnson in 1964.
Unfortunately, the Tivoli recording would be the brightest moment of her second stint with Mercury. Changing demographics and tastes in the 1960s left jazz artists with shrinking audiences and inappropriate material. While Vaughan retained a following large and loyal enough to maintain her performing career, the quality and quantity of her recorded output dwindled even as her voice darkened and her skill remained undiminished. At the conclusion of her Mercury deal in 1967 she was left without a recording contract for the remainder of the decade.
In 1969 Vaughan terminated her professional relationship with Golden and relocated to the west coast, settling first into a house near Benedict Canyon in Los Angeles and then into what would end up being her final home in Hidden Hills.
Rebirth in the Seventies
Vaughan met Marshall Fisher after a 1970 performance at a casino in Las Vegas and Fisher soon fell in to the familiar dual role as Vaughan's lover and manager. Fisher was another man of uncertain background with no musical or entertainment business experience. However, unlike some of Vaughan's earlier associates, he was a genuine fan of Vaughan's and was devoted to furthering Vaughan's career.
The seventies also heralded a rebirth in Vaughan's recording activity. In 1971, Bob Shad, who had worked as a producer with Vaughan during her contract with Mercury Records, asked Vaughan to record for his new record label, Mainstream Records. Basie veteran Ernie Wilkins arranged and conducted her first Mainstream album, A Time In My Life in November of 1971. In April of 1972, Vaughan recorded a lovely collection of ballads written, arranged and conducted by Michel Legrand. Arrangers Legrand, Peter Matz, Jack Elliott and Allyn Ferguson teamed up for Vaughan's third Mainstream album, Feelin' Good. Vaughan also recorded a live album in Tokyo with her trio in September of 1973.
During her sessions with Legrand, Bob Shad presented "Send In The Clowns", a Stephen Sondheim song from the Broadway musical A Little Night Music, to Vaughan for consideration. The song would become Vaughan's signature, replacing the chestnut "Tenderly" that had been with her from the beginning of her solo career.
Unfortunately, Vaughan's relationship with Mainstream soured in 1974, allegedly in a conflict precipitated by Fisher over an album cover photograph and or unpaid royalties. This left Vaughan again without a recording contract for three years.
In December 1974, Vaughan played private concert for U.S. president Gerald Ford and French president Giscard d'Estaing during their summit on Martinique.
Also in 1974, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas asked Vaughan to participate in an all-Gershwin show he was planning for a guest appearance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. The arrangements were by Marty Paich and the orchestra would be augmented by established jazz artists Dave Grusin on piano, Ray Brown on bass, drummer Shelly Manne and saxophonists Bill Perkins and Pete Christlieb. The concert was a success and Thomas and Vaughn repeated the performance with Thomas' home orchestra in Buffalo, NY, followed by appearances in 1975 and 1976 with symphonies around the country. These performances fulfilled a long-held interest by Vaughan in working with symphonies and she made orchestra performances without Thomas for the remainder of the decade.
In 1977, Vaughan terminated her personal and professional relationship with Marshall Fisher. Although Fisher is occasionally referenced as Vaughan's third husband, they were never legally married. Vaughan began a relationship with Waymond Reed, a trumpet player 16 years her junior who was playing with the Count Basie band. Reed joined her working trio as a musical director and trumpet player and became Vaughan's third husband in 1978.
In the Summer of 1977, Tom Guy, a young filmmaker and public TV producer, followed Vaughan around on tour, interviewing numerous artists speaking about Vaughan and capturing both concert and behind-the-scenes footage. The resulting sixteen hours of footage was pared down into an hour-and-a-half documentary, Listen To The Sun, that aired on September 21, 1978 on New Jersey Public Television. As of this writing, the film has not been commercially released.
Finally in 1977, Norman Granz, who was also Ella Fitzgerald's manager, signed Vaughan to his Pablo record label. Vaughan had not had a recording contract for three years, although she recorded a 1977 album of Beatles songs with contemporary pop arrangements for the Atlantic record label that was eventually released in 1981. Vaughan's first release for Pablo was I Love Brazil, which was recorded with an all-star cast of Brazilian musicians in Rio de Janeiro in the fall of 1977 and led to a Grammy nomination.
The Pablo contract would ultimately result in five albums. In the Spring of 1978, Vaughan recorded How Long Has This Been Going On? with a quartet that included pianist Oscar Peterson, guitarist Joe Pass, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Louis Bellson. In the fall of 1979, Vaughan recorded material for two Duke Ellington Songbook albums. In the Spring of 1981, Vaughan recorded the album Send In The Clowns with the Count Basie orchestra playing arrangements primarily by Sammy Nestico and including a second recording of what had become her signature song. Her contract concluded in March of 1982 with Crazy and Mixed Up, another quartet album featuring Sir Roland Hanna on piano, Joe Pass on guitar, Andy Simpkins on bass and Harold Jones on drums.
Vaughan and Waymond Reed divorced in 1981.
Late Career
Vaughan remained quite active as a performer during the 1980s and began receiving awards recognizing her contribution to American music and status as an important elder stateswoman of Jazz. In the Summer of 1980, Vaughan received a plaque on 52nd street outside the CBS building commemorating the jazz clubs she had once frequented on "Swing Street" and which had long since been demolished and replaced with office buildings. A performance of her symphonic Gershwin program with the New Jersey Symphony in the Fall of 1980 was broadcast on PBS and won her an Emmy Award in 1981 for "Individual Achievement - Special Class". She was reunited with Michael Tilson Thomas for slightly modified version of the Gershwin program with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the CBS Records recording, Gershwin Live won Vaughan a Grammy award. In 1985 Vaughan received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1988 Vaughan was inducted into American Jazz Hall of Fame.
After the conclusion of her Pablo contract in 1982, Vaughan did only a limited amount studio recording. Vaughan made a guest appearance in 1984 on Barry Manilow's 2 A.M. Paradise Cafe, an odd album of original pastiche compositions that featured a number of established jazz artists. In 1984 Vaughan participated in one of the more unusual projects of her career, The Planet is Alive, Let It Live a symphonic piece composed by Tito Fontana and Sante Palumbo on Italian translations of Polish poems by Karol Wytola, the future Pope John Paul II. The recording was made in Germany with an English translation by writer Gene Lees and was released by Lees on his own private label after the recording was turned down by the major labels. In 1986, Vaughn sang two songs, "Happy Talk" and "Bali Ha'i", in the role of Bloody Mary on an otherwise stiff studio recording by opera stars Kiri Te Kanawa and Jose Carreras of the score of the Broadway musical South Pacific.
Vaughan's final complete album was Brazilian Romance, produced and composed by Sergio Mendez and recorded primarily in the early part of 1987 in New York and Detroit. In 1988, Vaughan contributed vocals to an album of Christmas carols recorded by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir with the Utah Symphony Orchestra and sold in Hallmark Cards stores. In 1989, Quincy Jones' album Back on the Block featured Vaughan in a brief scatting duet with Ella Fitzgerald. This was Vaughan's final studio recording and, fittingly, it was Vaughan's only formal studio recording with Fitzgerald in a career that had begun 46 years earlier opening for Fitzgerald at the Apollo.
Vaughan is featured in a number of video recordings from the 1980s. Sarah Vaughan Live from Monterrey was taped in 1984 or 1983 and featured her working trio with guest soloists. Sass and Brass was taped in 1986 in New Orleans and also features her working trio with guest soloists, including Dizzy Gillespie and Maynard Ferguson. Sarah Vaughan: The Divine One was featured in the American Masters series on PBS.
In 1989, Vaughan's health began to decline, although she rarely betrayed any hints in her performances. Vaughan canceled a series of engagements in Europe for the Fall of 1989 citing the need to seek treatment for arthritis in the hand, although she was able to complete a later series of performances in Japan. During a run at New York's Blue Note jazz club in the Fall of 1989, Vaughan received a diagnosis of lung cancer and was too ill to finish the final day of what would turn out to be her final series of public performances.
Vaughan returned to her home in California to begin chemotherapy and spent her final months alternating stays in the hospital and at home. Toward the end, Vaughan tired of the struggle and demanded to be taken home, where she passed away on the evening of April 4, 1990 while watching a television movie featuring her adopted daughter.
Vaughan's funeral was at the First Mount Zion Baptist Church in Newark, NJ, which was the same congregation she grew up in but which had relocated to a new building. Following the ceremony, a horse-drawn carriage transported her body to it's final resting place in Glendale Cemetery in Bloomfield, NJ.
Style and Influence
Although Vaughan is usually considered a "Jazz Singer," she avoided classifying herself as such. Indeed, her approach to her "Jazz" work and her commercial "Pop" material was not radically different. Vaughan stuck throughout her career to the jazz-infused style of music that she came of age with, only rarely dabbling in rock-era styles that usually did not suit her unique vocal talents. Vaughan discussed the label in an 1982 interview for Down Beat:
"I don't know why people call me a jazz singer, though I guess people associate me with jazz because I was raised in it, from way back. I'm not putting jazz down, but I'm not a jazz singer Betty Bebop (Carter) is a jazz singer, because that's all she does. I've even been called a blues singer. I've recorded all kinds of music, but (to them) I'm either a jazz singer or a blues singer. I can't sing a blues - just a right-out blues - but I can put the blues in whatever I sing. I might sing 'Send in the Clowns' and I might stick a little bluesy part in it, or any song. What I want to do, music-wise, is all kinds of music that I like, and I like all kinds of music."
While Vaughan was a proficient at scatting, the improvisatory aspect of her art was focused more on ornamentation, phrasing and variation on melodies, which were almost always jazz standards. Perhaps her most noticeable musical mannerism was the creative use of often widely "swooping" glissandi through her wide entire vocal range, which was most sonorous in a dark chest register that grew deeper as she aged. Vaughan approached her voice more as a melodic instrument than an vehicle for dramatic interpretation of lyrics, although the expressive qualities of her style did accentuate lyrical meaning and she would often find unique and memorable ways of articulating and coloring individual key words in a lyric.
During her childhood in the 30s, Vaughan was strongly attracted to the popular music of the day, much to the consternation of her deeply-religious father. Vaughan was certainly influenced by the gospel traditions that she grew up with in a Baptist church, but the more radically melismatic elements of those influences are less obvious than they would be in later generations of singers in the R&B and hip-hop genres. Vaughan was certainly influenced by (and an influence on) her friend and mentor, Billy Eckstine, which is obvious in the numerous duet recordings they made together. However, since there are no recordings of Vaughan prior to her joining Eckstine in the Earl Hines band (and, unfortunately, no recordings of her with the Hines band) it is difficult to know with any certainty what stylistic nuances she absorbed during the critical first years of her performing career.
Perhaps because of the individuality of her style, she has rarely been overtly imitated by subsequent generations of singers. Unlike other mid-century singers like Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra or, later, Aretha Franklin, there are no prominent singers whose style is an obvious direct reflection of Vaughan's. However, even in death Vaughan retains a loyal following and attracts new fans through her recorded legacy, most of which remains in commercial release.
While Vaughan frequently performed and recorded with large ensembles, her live performances usually featured her accompanied by a piano-led working trio. The membership of this trio changed frequently over the years, although some of her "favorites" stayed with her for extended periods of time and often returned for multiple stints. Even in large-ensemble situations, this trio was often used as the rhythm section to provide continuity. Aside from economy, the trio configuration was flexible and adaptable to differing performing conditions and to Vaughan's improvisatory whims. This minimal instrumentation also provided a minimum of distraction from Vaughan's unique styling and rich vocal timbre.
Personal Life
Vaughan was married three times: George Treadwell (1946-1958), Clyde Atkins (1958-1961) and Waymond Reed (1978-1981). Being unable to have biological children, Vaughan adopted a baby daughter, Debra Lois, in 1961. Debra worked in the 1980s and 1990s as an actor under the name Paris Vaughan.
Sarah Vaughan's personal life was a jumble of paradoxes. She had a mercurial personality and could be extremely difficult to work with (especially in areas outside of music), but numerous fellow musicians recounted their experiences with her to be some of the best of their career. None of her marriages were successful, yet she maintained close long-running friendships with a number of male colleagues in the business and was devoted to her parents and adopted daughter. Despite effusive public acclaim, Vaughan was insecure and suffered from stage fright that was, at times, almost incapacitating. While shy and often aloof with strangers, she was quite gregarious and generous with friends.
Vaughan's appetite for night life was legendary and after performances she regularly stayed out partying until well into the next day. Vaughan was a heavy drinker and but there are no reported incidents of obvious on-stage intoxication that hampered her ability to perform. Vaughan was, reputedly, a regular marijuana and cocaine user throughout her career, but she was apparently discreet about her usage and never suffered the debilitating addictions or run-ins with the law that derailed many of her colleagues. Vaughan was also a life-long smoker, which almost certainly contributed to her slightly premature death from lung cancer at the age of 64. But her tobacco usage did not have a deleterious effect on her voice and may have even contributed to the attractive darkness that was characteristic of her sound in her later years.
http://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/sarahvaughan
SARAH VAUGHAN
Vocalist, Musician, Arranger
Born: March 27, 1924 | Died: April 4, 1990
In the 1940s, when most women singers adorned big bands as stage attractions rather than legitimate members of jazz ensembles, Sarah Vaughan, along with her predecessor Ella Fitzgerald, helped elevate the vocalist's role as equal to that of the jazz instrumentalist. A woman known for her many vicissitudes, Vaughan's outspoken personality and artistic eloquence brought her the names “Sassy” and “The Divine One.” A talented pianist, she joined the ranks of the 1940s bebop movement and became, as a member of the Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine bands, one of its most celebrated vocalists. Her dynamic vocal range, sophisticated harmonic sense, and horn-like phrasing brought Vaughan million-selling numbers and a stage and recording career that spanned half a decade.Sarah Lois Vaughan was born the daughter of Asbury and Ada Vaughan on March 27, 1924, in Newark, New Jersey. As a youth Vaughan took piano lessons and attended the Mount Zion Baptist Church, where she served as a church keyboardist. At home Vaughan played the family's upright piano and listened to the recordings of jazz artists Count Basie and Erskine Hawkins. After discovering Newark's numerous theaters and movie houses, she skipped school and left home at night to watch dances and stage shows. By age 15, she performed at local clubs, playing piano and singing.
Not long after, Vaughan took the train across the river to Harlem to frequent the Savoy Ballroom and the Apollo Theatre. One evening, in 1943, she sat in at the Apollo amateur show, a fiercely competitive contest that often exposed lesser talents to the harsh criticism of the theater's audience. Vaughan's moving performance of “Body and Soul” not only brought a fever of applause from the crowd, it also caught the attention of singer Billy Eckstine. Eckstine informed his bandleader Earl “Fatha” Hines about the young singer. Hines then allowed Vaughan to attend the band's uptown band rehearsal. At the rehearsal, Vaughan's singing won immediate praise from Hines and his musicians. One of the premiere modern big bands of the era, Hines's ensemble included such talents as trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Fats Navarro, saxophonist Charlie Parker, and trombonist J. J. Johnson. As the only female bandmember, Vaughan shared the vocal spotlight with Eckstine and played piano, often in duet settings with Hines. Vaughan debuted at the Apollo with Hines's band on April 23, 1943.
Not long after, most of Hines's modernist sidemen, including Gillespie, Parker, and Eckstine, gradually left the band. Vaughan remained briefly with Hines's band until she accepted an invitation to join Eckstine's newly-formed bebop big band in 1944. In December of that year, she cut her first side “I'll Wait and Pray,” backed by the Eckstine band, which included Dizzy Gillespie, saxophonists Dexter Gordon and Gene Ammons, and pianist John Malachi.
Through the intercession of jazz writer and pianist Leonard Feather, Vaughan recorded her first date as a leader for the small Continental label. Under the production of Feather, Vaughan and Her All-Stars attended their session on New Year's Eve 1944. Acting as the session's producer and pianist, Feather assembled such sidemen as Dizzy Gillespie and saxophonist Georgie Auld to cut four sides: “Signing Off,” Feather's “No Smoke Blues,” Gillespie's “Interlude” (a vocal version of “Night in Tunisia”), and “East of the Sun,” on which Gillespie replaced Feather on keyboard.On a second session, Feather relinquished the piano duties to Nat Jaffe, and brought together Gillespie and Charlie Parker.
After a nearly year-long stay with Eckstine, Vaughan left the band. With the exception of a job with the sextet of bassist and trombonist John Kirby in the winter of 1945, she performed as a solo act. On May 11, 1945 she recorded “Lover Man” with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. In October of 1945 Vaughan signed with Musicraft label, and, in the same month, recorded for the label with jazz violinist Stuff Smith's group. Her Musicraft 1946 recording of Tadd Dameron's “If You Could See Me Now” is considered a modern classic. She also recorded with the bands of Dickie Wells and Georgie Auld.
Hailed by Metronome magazine as the “Influence of the Year” in 1948, Vaughan rose to jazz stardom. In the following year, she signed a five-year contract with Columbia and recorded her classic “Black Coffee” with the Joe Lippman Orchestra--a number that climbed to number 13 on Billboard's pop charts. For Columbia she recorded in various settings and attended two sessions that emerged as the albums “Summertime,” with the Jimmy Jones band, and “Sarah Vaughan in Hi-Fi,” both of which featured trumpeter Miles Davis. Vaughan was now presenting herself as a pop singer who could do popular ballads in a straightforward style, the soft, sultry sound of her voice unfurling with hypnotic effect, moving with ease between her soprano and contralto registers. During the next year, Vaughan made her first trip to Europe. During her stay in England she sang to enthusiastic audience at Royal Albert Hall.
In 1954, Vaughan signed a contract with the Mercury label and recorded numerous sides primarily in orchestral settings. In December of the same year, her trio--pianist Jimmy Jones, bassist Joe Benjamin, and drummer Roy Haynes--joined 24-year-old trumpet talent Clifford Brown, saxophonist Paul Quinichette, and flutist Herbie Mann to record the LP Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown. Surrounded by first-rate musicians sensitive to her vocal talent, Vaughan produced an album that, as the author to the original LP's notes wrote, “It is doubtful whether anyone, including Sarah herself, is likely to be able to find any more completely satisfying representation of her work, or any more appropriate musical setting than are offered in this LP. These sides are sure to rank among the foremost achievements of her decade as a recording artist.”
During a stint at Chicago's Mr. Kelly's nightclub in August of 1957, Vaughan recorded a live album with her trio: pianist Jimmy Jones, bassist Richard Davis, and drummer Roy Haynes. In the following year, she and pianist Ronnell Bright recorded with the Count Basie Band and took part in a session in Paris under the direction of orchestra leader and conductor Quincy Jones, issued as the Mercury LP, “Vaughan and Violins.”
In 1958, Vaughan was earning a yearly income of $230,000. In July of the following year, she scored her first million-selling hit, “Broken Hearted Melody,” with the Ray Ellis Orchestra. A hit with both black and white audiences, “Broken Hearted Melody,” which was nominated for a Grammy Award, reached number five on the pop R&B charts.
When Vaughan's contract with Mercury ended in the fall of 1959, she signed with Roulette Records and became, over the next few years, one the label's biggest stars. Her 1960 sessions for Roulette included “The Divine One,” arranged by Jimmy Jones and a session with Count Basie Band featuring such talents as trumpeters Thad Jones and Joe Newman and saxophonists Frank Foster and Billy Mitchell. Featured in duet numbers with singer Joe Williams, the Basie Band session produced the sides, “If I Were a Bell” and “Teach Me Tonight.”
Several arrangements recorded with the Basie Band in January of 1961, were complied as the album “Sarah Vaughan and Count Basie.” Vaughan signed with Mercury again in 1963. Her recorded work in the sixties featured the ensembles of Benny Carter, Quincy Jones, and Gerald Wilson. Her trio accompanists included noted pianists Roland Hanna and Bob James. Vaughan debuted on the Mainstream record label with the 1971 LP “A Time in Life.” On her 1977 live recording at Ronnie Scott's in the Soho section of London, Vaughan produced a classic with her rendition of “Send in the Clowns.”
In 1978, she recorded an album backed by pianist Oscar Peterson, guitarist Joe Pass, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Louie Bellson. Recorded with an-star line up, she devoted two albums, in 1979, to the music of Duke Ellington, “Duke Ellington Songbook One,” and “Duke Ellington Songbook Two.” Though she had been nominated for Grammy Awards several times, including a nomination for her 1979 effort “I Love Brazil,” Vaughan did not win her first Grammy until 1982 for “Gershwin Live!.”
Throughout the 1980s Vaughan recorded on the Pablo label, often with the label's featured artists Count Basie, Oscar Peterson, and Dizzy Gillespie. As she told Max Jones in Talking Jazz; “Now that I've been in so long, you know, I can work with whom I want to. I have more say now over what jobs I do and how I want to do them.” During a trip to Brazil in 1987, she recorded the CBS album “Brazilian Romance,” and afterward appeared at a festival in Rio de Janeiro. On her last recording--Quincy Jones's all-star 1989 album “Back on the Block,” she sang with Ella Fitzgerald on the introduction of “Birdland.” In February, of the same year, she received a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement.
A tireless live performer who still maintained a fine voice, Vaughan showed little signs of artistic diminution. Offstage, however, band members began to notice the slowed pace of her walk and her shortness of breath. Diagnosed with lung cancer, she died on April 4, 1990.
Jazz artists and critics have described Sarah Vaughan as a musical innovator whose voice reached the level of the finest jazz instrumentalists. Betty Carter told how “Sarah Vaughan took those melodies and did something with them. She opened the door to do anything you wanted with a melody.” From her first appearances on the jazz scene in the early 1940s until her death, Vaughan's voice became a model of excellence and an inspiration of those venturing to strive beyond the role of popular vocal entertainer and into the higher realm of musical artistry.
Sarah Vaughan received in her lifetime an Emmy Award, for individual achievement, 1981; Grammy Award for best jazz vocalist, 1982; Hollywood Walk of Fame Star, 1985; Grammy Award, for lifetime achievement, 1989.
Source: James Nadal
http://www.npr.org/2013/05/20/179869404/sarah-vaughan-a-new-box-set-revels-in-glorious-imperfections
Sarah Vaughan: A New Box Set Revels In Glorious Imperfections
by Kevin Whitehead
NPR (National Public Radio)
Singer Sarah Vaughan came up in the 1940s alongside bebop lions Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, starting out in Earl Hines' big band. Hines had hired her as his singer and deputy pianist, while Gillespie praised her fine ear for chords as she grasped the arcane refinements of bebop harmony. Vaughan put them to good use as a singer, picking notes other vocalists wouldn't.
A lot of jazz singing is about consonants — the percussive attacks from which the music swings. With Vaughan, it's also about the way she rolled out her vowels, reveling in a held note like Miles Davis. Later, her vibrato could get excessive, but in the mid-'50s her taste and control were a marvel. That much is clear from a new anthology of Vaughan titled Divine: The Jazz Albums 1954-1958. (In that period, she was recording pop albums with strings, using some of the same tunes.) It's six albums-plus on four CDs, recorded live or in the studio with bands big and small. All but one session is sparked by another bebop institution, drummer Roy Haynes. He achieves a springy beat using brushes, and doesn't overplay.
Vaughan had a gallery of vocal timbres: gravelly to silky, round or strident, white-gloved or blues-drenched. Her pitch range was operatic and her low notes have uncommon power. She drew inspiration from great soloists and gave it right back — notably in a loose session with trumpeter Clifford Brown, with whom she trades phrases on "April in Paris."
Two live albums from Chicago nightclubs are standouts, partly for their glorious imperfections. Vaughan didn't know some of the material so well, taking lyric sheets on stage, and she sometimes had to improvise her way out of trouble. Recording in the wee hours at the London House, she keeps bobbling the start of the last tune of the night, "Thanks for the Memory" — particularly when she hits the word "Parthenon." But with every take, her entrance gets more elaborate.
If anything, she sounds more focused and at ease after two false starts — at least till she blows another line, and does her best to spoil the full take. (That just made it more of a keeper.) The live dates in Divine show how a great improviser can always recover from a tailspin. The beboppers were big on that: putting the wrongest note in a context where it sounds like the perfect thing.
Featured Artist
Sarah Vaughan, 'Divine One' Of Jazz Singing, Is Dead at 66
By STEPHEN HOLDEN
April 5, 1990
New York Times
Sarah Vaughan, a singer who brought an operatic
splendor to her performances of popular standards and jazz, died of lung
cancer on Tuesday at her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Hidden
Hills. She was 66 years old.
In a career that spanned nearly 50 years, Miss
Vaughan influenced countless other singers - including Phoebe Snow,
Anita Baker, Sade and Rickie Lee Jones - and made hits of such songs as
''It's Magic,'' ''Make Yourself Comfortable'' and ''Broken-Hearted
Melody.'' Her ornate renditions of ''Misty'' and ''Send In the Clowns''
were invariable show-stoppers at jazz festivals in recent years,
including the JVC Jazz Festival in New York, at which she appeared
almost yearly.
Her voice remained remarkably unravaged by time; in
her mid-60's, a period when most singers' vocal powers have sharply
diminished, she was still close to her peak. Though her speaking voice
deepened and darkened in later years, her singing retained a youthful
suppleness and remarkably luscious timbre, and she could still project
delicate but ringingly high coloratura passages.
Where more idiosyncratic jazz artists like Billie
Holiday excelled at interpretation, Miss Vaughan was a contralto who
gloried in displaying the distinctive instrumental qualities of a voice
that had a comfortable three-octave range and was marked by a
voluptuous, heavy vibrato. Known for her dazzling vocal leaps and
swoops, she was equally adept at be-bop improvisation and singing
theater songs with a symphony orchestra. Among the singers of her
generation, only Ella Fitzgerald enjoyed comparable stature.
''She had the single best vocal instrument of any
singer working in the popular field,'' the singer Mel Torme said
yesterday. ''So much so that I used to call her the diva. At one point, I
asked her why she had never opted for an operatic career. She got kind
of huffy, and said, 'Do you mean jazz isn't legit?' She was very
defensive about being a jazz singer. Where someone like Benny Goodman
was able to split his musical image and record Mozart concerts, she
wanted to perform precisely where she was.''
Appropriate Nicknames
Throughout her career, Miss Vaughan was
affectionately known as Sassy or the Divine Sarah. The first nickname
reflected her sense of humor and the mischievous sexiness that often
inflected her singing and stage patter. The second, appropriated from
the legendary actress Sarah Bernhardt, acknowledged her phenomenonally
versatile voice. Foremost among the singers Miss Vaughan admired was the
soprano Leontyne Price, to whom she bore more than a passing vocal
resemblance.
John S. Wilson, in a New York Times review of a
Vaughan performance in 1957, credited the singer with ''what may well be
the finest voice ever applied to jazz.''
When Miss Vaughan appeared at Avery Fisher Hall in
1974 as part of the Newport Jazz Festival, Mr. Wilson commented on the
''soaring highs and incredibly full lows'' she displayed in her opening
numbers and summed up the conclusion of her concert as ''totally
virtuosic.''
Sarah Lois Vaughan was born in Newark, on March 27,
1924. Her father was a carpenter and amateur guitarist and her mother a
laundress and church vocalist. She studied the piano from the age of 7
and later took up the organ, and at age 12 she became the organist at
Mount Zion Baptist Church in Newark, where she was also a soloist in the
choir.
Career Began on a Dare
She also enjoyed performing popular tunes at
parties, and when friends urged her to enter an amateur contest at the
Apollo Theater in New York, she took the dare and won first prize in
October 1942, singing ''Body and Soul.'' The singer Billy Eckstine heard
her perform, and six months after winning the contest she was hired at
his recommendation as a second pianist and singer with Earl (Fatha)
Hines's big band, in which Mr. Eckstine was a vocalist and Dizzy
Gillespie and Charlie Parker were instrumentalists.
The following year, when Mr. Eckstine formed his own
band - which featured Mr. Parker, Mr. Gillespie, Art Blakey and Miles
Davis, among other jazz greats - Miss Vaughan went along, and remained
with him for a year. After a two-month stint in John Kirby's jazz group
in the winter of 1945-46, she began a solo career. Her early solo
recordings - on which she performed songs like ''Lover Man'' in
full-blown be-bop style, accompanied by Mr. Parker and Mr. Gillespie
-helped establish her reputation as a jazz singer.
First Husband Was Her Manager
During an extended engagement at Cafe Society
Downtown in New York City, Miss Vaughan met George Treadwell, a trumpet
player, whom she married. He became her manager, and under his guidance
she made the transition from jazz cult figure to popular singing star.
She had her first hit in late 1947 with
''Tenderly,'' for the small Musicraft label. The following year, her
version of ''It's Magic,'' a song from the movie ''Romance on the High
Seas,'' established her as a full-fledged pop star. In 1949, she signed a
five-year contract with Columbia Records, where she remained until
1954, recording mostly popular songs backed by studio orchestras. Out of
more than a dozen hits she had on Columbia, the most successful was
''These Things I Offer You,'' in 1951. Although most of her Columbia
hits were disposable pop confections, she also recorded many lasting
standards. Columbia recently reissued a collection of 28 songs she
recorded between 1949 and 1953.
When Miss Vaughan moved to the Mercury label in
1954, she was given the freedom to pursue a dual career as both a
popular and jazz singer. For EmArcy, Mercury's jazz subsidiary, she
recorded with Clifford Brown, Cannonball Adderley and members of Count
Basie's Orchestra, among other jazz artists. On the parent label, she
also scored a steady succession of hits for the rest of the decade.
Songs of Seduction
Two of her biggest successes, ''Make Yourself
Comfortable'' (1954) and ''Whatever Lola Wants'' (1955), from the
Broadway musical ''Damn Yankees,'' were songs of seduction in which her
almost overripe timbre gave an extra edge of sensuality to come-hither
messages. Her two other biggest hits were the title song of the Broadway
show ''Mr. Wonderful'' (1956) and ''Broken-Hearted Melody'' (1959), a
ballad with a light rock-and-roll beat. Her complete output for Mercury
-263 cuts - was recently reissued.
After 1959, Miss Vaughan would never have any
commercially significant pop hits. But over the next 30 years, her
reputation as consummate vocal artist soared steadily, thanks to her
appearances in nightclubs, at jazz festivals and increasingly with
symphony orchestras in the United States and abroad.
During the 1960's, she recorded briefly with
Roulette, then again with Mercury and Columbia, and in the 70's and
early 80's she made albums for Mainstream and Pablo. It was for Pablo,
run by the jazz producer Norman Granz, that she recorded the most
critically acclaimed album of her career, ''How Long Has This Been Going
On?'' in which she sang with a group that included Oscar Peterson, Joe
Pass, Louie Bellson and Ray Brown.
The singer's later recordings ranged from an album
of Beatles tunes to a collection of Brazilian pop songs. On CBS's
classical crossover recording of ''South Pacific,'' she sang the role of
Bloody Mary, and on Quincy Jones's all-star pop-jazz album, ''Back on
the Block,'' she and Ella Fitzgerald sang together on a version of Josef
Zawinul's ''Birdland.'' In 1982 she won a Grammy for best jazz vocal
performance, for her ''Gershwin Live!'' recording on CBS.
Two Perennial Offerings
Though Miss Vaughan's repertory during her 1980's
appearances at the JVC Festival varied from year to year, two songs she
would always perform were ''Misty,'' which she had first recorded in
1957 with Mr. Jones, and ''Send In the Clowns,'' which became her
musical signature during the last decade of her life.
Living up to her Sassy sobriquet, the singer liked
to perform ''Misty'' as a duet with herself, singing the first half in
her regular voice, than dipping to the bottom of her contralto to do an
amusing imitation of a seductive male lounge singer. ''Send In the
Clowns,'' the song that usually closed her shows, became her ultimate
vocal showpiece, a three-octave tour de force of semi-improvisational
pyrotechnics in which the jazz, pop and operatic sides of her musical
personality came together and found complete expression. The
performances invariably won standing ovations.
Mr. Jones, who first worked with Miss Vaughan in
Paris in 1957 when they recorded the original vocal rendition of
''Misty,'' had recently signed her to record a Brazilian fusion album on
his label, Qwest. ''Sarah was the most musical singer America has ever
known,'' Mr. Jones said yesterday.
Miss Vaughan's marriage to Mr. Treadwell ended in
divorce, as did her marriages to Clyde Atkins, a professional football
player; Marshall Fisher, a Las Vegas restaurateur, and Waymon Reed, a
trumpet player.
She is survived by her mother, Ada, and a daughter,
Deborah Vaughan, who uses the first name Paris for her acting career.
Both live in Los Angeles.
Miss Vaughan's body will be flown to Newark for a
funeral service on Saturday at Mount Zion Baptist Church.
SOME RECORDINGS BY SARAH VAUGHAN:
The Complete Sarah Vaughan on Mercury, Vol. 1: Great
Jazz Years, 1954-56; (Mercury 826320; all three formats)
The Divine Sarah Vaughan: The Columbia Years, 1949-53; (Columbia 44165; all three formats)
The Duke Ellington Songbook, Vols. 1 and 2; (Pablo 2312-111 and 116; all three formats)
Gershwin Live; (Columbia 37277; all three formats)
How Long Has This Been Going On?; (Pablo 2310-821; all three formats)
Irving Berlin Songbook; With Billy Eckstine (Verve 822526, all three formats)
Sassy Swings the Tivoli; 1963 concerts in Copenhagen (EmArcy 832788, CD)
Send In the Clowns; (Pablo 2312-130; LP and cassette)
photos: Sarah Vaughan (Steve J. Sherman, 1989) (pg.
A1); Sarah Vaughan at a recording session in the 1950's. (Photo Files)
(pg. B14)
• Sarah Vaughan possessed one of the legendary voices in jazz. In this program from 1986, Vaughan's lively and sassy personality is on display, as are her amazing vocals.
Originally recorded Jan. 17, 1986. Originally broadcast May 8, 1986.
Set List:
- "Misty" (Burke, Garner)
- "You are So Beautiful" (Fisher, Preston)
- "Nice Work If You Can Get It" (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin)
- "Tenderly" (Fields, McHugh)
- "My Funny Valentine" (Hart, Rodgers)
- "East of the Sun" (Bowman)
- "I Can't Get Started" (Duke, Gershwin)
- "There'll Be Other Times" (McPartland, Jones)
- "Poor Butterfly" (Hubbell)
- "Swingin' Till the Girls Come Home" (Pettiford)
- "If You Could See Me Now" (Dameron, Sigman)
Sassy: The Life Of Sarah Vaughan
by Leslie Gourse
Paperback, 320 pages
Published August 22nd 1994
by Da Capo Press
(First published by C. Scribner's Sons in hardcover in 1993)
by Leslie Gourse
Paperback, 320 pages
Published August 22nd 1994
by Da Capo Press
(First published by C. Scribner's Sons in hardcover in 1993)
Sarah
Vaughan possessed the most spectacular voice in jazz history. In Sassy,
Leslie Gourse, the acclaimed biographer of Nat King Cole and Joe
Williams, defines and celebrates Vaughan’s vital musical legacy and
offers a detailed portrait of the woman as well as the singer. Revealed
here is ”The Divine One” as only her closest friends and musical
associates knew her. By her early twenties Sarah Vaughan was singining
with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Billy Eckstine, helping them
invent bebop. For forty-five years thereafter, she reigned supreme in
both pop and jazz, with several million-selling hits (among them ”Broken
Hearted Melody,” ”Make Yourself Comfortable,” and ”Misty”).But life
offstage was never smooth for Sarah Vaughan. Her voluptuous voice was
matched by her exuberant appetite for excess: three failed marriages,
financial difficulties through many changes in management, late-night
jam sessions, liquor, and cocaine. In Sassy, though, we also see the
feisty and unpretentious woman who worked hard all her life to support
her parents and adopted daughter, and who came to savor the hard-won
independence and worldwide acclaim she achieved as the greatest jazz
singer of her generation.
THE MUSIC OF SARAH VAUGHAN: AN EXTENSIVE VIDEO OVERVIEW, A CROSS SECTION OF RECORDINGS, MUSICAL ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY, PLUS VARIOUS INTERVIEWS WITH MS. VAUGHAN:
Sarah Vaughan live at Mr. Kelly's, Chicago, 1957-- (full album):
Sarah Vaughan "Misty" Live 1964:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ-9IBZaydQ
Sarah Vaughan *Tenderly* Live 1958:
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=179869404&m=185547892&live=1
http://www.npr.org/2013/05/20/179869404/sarah-vaughan-a-new-box-set-revels-in-glorious-imperfections
<iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/179869404/185547892" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Count Basie & Sarah Vaughan LIVE in Carnegie Hall 1981:
Sarah Vaughan - Live in '58 & '64:
Performers:
Sarah Vaughan (Vocal)
Richard Davis (Bass)
Ronnell Bright (Piano)
Art Morgan (Drums)
SONGS:
Live in Sweden 1958
Sometimes I’m Happy
Lover Man
September In The Rain
Mean To Me
Tenderly
If This Isn’t Love
Live in Holland 1958
Over The Rainbow
They All Laughed
Lover Man
Cherokee
Sometimes I’m Happy
Live in Sweden 1964
I Feel Pretty
The More I See You
Baubles, Bangles And Beads
I Got Rhythm
Misty
Honeysuckle Rose
Maria
Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home
from her album entitled "A Lover's Concerto":
http://www.jazzonthetube.com/page/7605.html
http://www.jazzonthetube.com/page/26433.html
http://www.jazzonthetube.com/page/26895.html
http://video-embed.nj.com/servic…/player/bcpid1949044328001…
Entertainment › Noah K. Murray/ The Star-Ledger
Sarah Vaughan "Misty" Live 1964:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ-9IBZaydQ
Sarah Vaughan *Tenderly* Live 1958:
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=179869404&m=185547892&live=1
http://www.npr.org/2013/05/20/179869404/sarah-vaughan-a-new-box-set-revels-in-glorious-imperfections
<iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/179869404/185547892" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Count Basie & Sarah Vaughan LIVE in Carnegie Hall 1981:
Sarah Vaughan - Live in '58 & '64:
Performers:
Sarah Vaughan (Vocal)
Richard Davis (Bass)
Ronnell Bright (Piano)
Art Morgan (Drums)
SONGS:
Live in Sweden 1958
Sometimes I’m Happy
Lover Man
September In The Rain
Mean To Me
Tenderly
If This Isn’t Love
Live in Holland 1958
Over The Rainbow
They All Laughed
Lover Man
Cherokee
Sometimes I’m Happy
Live in Sweden 1964
I Feel Pretty
The More I See You
Baubles, Bangles And Beads
I Got Rhythm
Misty
Honeysuckle Rose
Maria
Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home
Sarah Vaughan - Hit Songs Collection:
Songs of Sarah Vaughanfrom her album entitled "A Lover's Concerto":
http://www.jazzonthetube.com/page/7605.html
http://www.jazzonthetube.com/page/26433.html
http://www.jazzonthetube.com/page/26895.html
http://video-embed.nj.com/servic…/player/bcpid1949044328001…
Entertainment › Noah K. Murray/ The Star-Ledger
Poet Amiri Baraka reads a poem about Sarah Vaughan
August 22, 2010
Author Amiri Baraka, who turns 75 next week (10-7-2009), reads his poetry at Skippers Pub in Newark. The poem entitled, "The Lullabye of Avon Avenue" is about American jazz singer and Newarker, Sarah Vaughan. Starting tomorrow, several commemorative events are planned in the city to examine his career as an artist and activist. (Video by Noah K. Murray / The Star-Ledger)
August 22, 2010
Author Amiri Baraka, who turns 75 next week (10-7-2009), reads his poetry at Skippers Pub in Newark. The poem entitled, "The Lullabye of Avon Avenue" is about American jazz singer and Newarker, Sarah Vaughan. Starting tomorrow, several commemorative events are planned in the city to examine his career as an artist and activist. (Video by Noah K. Murray / The Star-Ledger)
Poet Amiri Baraka reads a poem about Sarah Vaughan:
http://videos.nj.com/star-ledger/2009/10/poet_amiri_baraka_reads_a_poem.html
Author Amiri Baraka, who turns 75 next week, reads his poetry at Skippers Pub in Newark. The poem entitled, "The Lullabye of Avon Avenue" is about American jazz singer and Newarker, Sarah Vaughan:
http://video-embed.nj.com/services/player/bcpid1949044328001?bctid=591969742001&bckey=AQ~~,AAAAPLMIP6E~,BRrRHTAljlHRdo2SPuH4cYpjTxdIZDlA
http://www.npr.org/artists/15202481/sarah-vaughan
Sarah Vaughan Discography:
Sarah Vaughan recorded extensively through all periods of her career and most recordings are of fairly high technical and artistic quality. While there are comprehensive box sets of her recordings for Mercury (1954 - 1959 and 1963 - 1967) and Musicraft (1946 - 1948), as of this writing there are only less comprehensive collections of her work available from her Columbia (1948 - 1953) and Roulette (1960 - 1963) years. Most of her later albums are available in commercial release in their original form as individual disks. There are numerous collections of individual songs of varying quality and sequencing coherence and buyers would be well advised to do research before investing in an unfamiliar collection.
Early Recordings:
New York City, December 5, 1944 for the Deluxe label
Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra
Trumpets: Dizzy Gillespie, Shorty McConnell, Gail Brockman, Marion "Boonie" Hazel
Trombones: Gerald Valentine, Taswell Baird, Howard Scott, Chips Outcalt
Reeds: John Jackson, Bill Frazer (alto); Dexter Gordon, Gene Ammons (tenor); Leo Parker (baritone)
Piano: John Malachi
Guitar: Connie Wainwright
Bass: Tommy Potter
Drums: Art Blakey
I'll Wait and Pray
New York City, December 31, 1944 for the Continental label
Sarah Vaughan and Her All-Stars
Trumpet/Piano: Dizzy Gillespie
Clarinet: Aaron Sachs
Tenor: Georgie Auld
Bass: Jack Lesberg
Guitar: Chuck Wayne
Piano/Producer: Leonard Feather
Drums: Morey Feld
Signing Off
Interlude (a.k.a. Night in Tunisia)
No Smokes Blues
East of the Sun (Gillespie for Feather on piano)
New York City, May 11, 1945 for the Guild label
Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Quintet
Trumpet: Dizzy Gillespie
Alto: Charlie Parker
Piano: Al Haig
Bass: Curly Russell
Drums: Sid Catlett
Lover Man
New York City, May 25, 1945
Trumpet: Dizzy Gillespie
Alto: Charlie Parker
Tenor: Flip Phillips
Piano: Nat Jaffe
Piano: Tadd Dameron
Bass: Curly Russell
Drums: Max Roach
Guitar: Bill De Arango
What More Can a Woman Do?
I'd Rather Have a Memory Than a Dream (Dameron for Jaffe)
Mean to Me
New York City, October 1, 1945, on the Musicraft label
Stuff Smith Trio
Violin: Stuff Smith
Piano: Freddie Jefferson
Drums: Pete Glover
Time and Again
New York City, January 9, 1946 for the Crown label
John Kirby Band
Trumpet: Clarence Brereton
Clarinet: Buster Bailey
Alto: Russell Procope
Piano: Billy Kyle
Bass: John Kirby
Drums: Bill Beason
I'm Scared
You Go to My Head
I Can Make You Love Me
It Might as Well Be Spring
New York City, March 6, 1946 for the Gotham label
Tony Scott and His Down Beat Septet
Alto/Clarinet: Tony Scott
Trumpet: Dizzy Gillespie
Trombone: Trummy Young
Tenor: Ben Webster
Piano: Jimmy Jones
Bass: Gene Ramey
Drums: Ed Nicholson
All Too Soon
New York City, March 21, 1946
Dicky Wells's Big Seven
Trumpet: George Treadwell
Trombone: Dicky Wells
Tenor: Budd Johnson
Baritone: Cecil Scott
Piano: Jimmy Jones
Bass: Al McKibbon
Drums: Jimmy Crawford
We're Through
Musicraft Records (1946 - 1949)
New York City, April 30, 1946
Georgie Auld Orchestra
Trumpet: Al Aaron, Danny Blue, Art House, Al Porcino
Trombone: Tracy Allen, Mike Datz, Rudy de Luca
Reeds: Georgie Auld (soprano), Lou Prisby, Gene Zononi (alto), Al Cohn, Irv Roth (tenor), Serge Chaloff (baritone)
Piano: Roy Kral
Guitar: Barry Galbraith
Bass: Ed Cunningham
Drums: Art Mardigan
Arranger: Tadd Dameron
A Hundred Years from Today
New York City, May 7, 1946
Conductor: Tadd Dameron
Trumpet: Freddie Webster
Alto: Leroy Harris
Baritone: Leo Parker
Piano: Bud Powell
Bass: Ted Sturgis
Drums: Kenny Clarke
Clarinet: Hank Ross
plus strings
My Kinda Love
I Can Make You Love Me If You'll Let Me
If You Could See Me Now (arr. Dameron)
You're Not the Kind
New York City, June 14, 1946.
Georgie Auld Orchestra
Trumpet: Neal Hefti, Al Porcino, Sonny Rich, George Schwartz
Trombone: Mike Datz, Gus Dixon, Johnny Mandel
Reeds: Georgie Auld, Gene Zanoni, Sam Zittman (alto), Al Cohn, Irv Roth (tenor), Serge Chaloff (baritone)
Piano: Harvey Leonard, Joe Pillicane
Drums: Art Mardigan
Arranger: Al Cohn
You're Blase
New York City, July 18, 1946.
Trumpet/Leader: George Treadwell
Clarinet/Alto: Al Gibson
Tenor: George "Big Nick" Nicholas
Alto/Baritone: Eddie de Verteuill
Piano: Jimmy Jones
Bass: Al McKibbon
Drums: William Barker
Guitar: Jimmy Smith
I'm Through with Love
Everything I Have Is Yours
Body and Soul
I've Got a Crush on You
New York City, August 19, 1946
Teddy Wilson Octet
Trumpet: Buck Clayton
Alto: Scoville Browne
Tenor: Don Byas
Baritone: George James
Piano: Teddy Wilson
Bass: Billy Taylor, Sr.
Drums: J. C. Heard
Guitar: Remo Palmier
Penthouse Serenade
Don't Worry 'Bout Me
New York City, November 19, 1946
Teddy Wilson Quartet
Tenor: Charlie Ventura
Piano: Teddy Wilson
Guitar: Remo Palmier
Bass: Billy Taylor, Sr.
Time After Time
September Song
New York City, July 2, 1947
Trumpet/Leader: George Treadwell
Trumpet: E. V. Perry, Roger Jones, Hal Mitchell, Jesse Drakes
Trombone: Ed Burke, Dickie Harris, Donald Coles
Reeds: Rupert Cole, Scoville Browne (alto), Budd Johnson, Lowell Hastings (tenor), Eddie de Verteuill (baritone)
Piano: Jimmy Jones
Bass: Al McKibbon
Drums: J. C. Heard
Arranger: Bill Doggett
I Cover the Waterfront
Ghost of a Chance
Tenderly
Don't Blame Me
New York City, October 10, 1947
Ted Dale Orchestra
The Lord's Prayer
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
I Can't Get Started
Trouble Is a Man
New York City, November 8, 1947
Ted Dale Orchestra
Clarinet: Sam Musiker
Piano: Nicholas Tagg
Guitar: Tony Mottola, Al Casey
Bass: Mack Shopnick
Drums: Cozy Cole
Arranger: Ted Dale
Additional strings, instruments
Love Me or Leave Me
I'll Wait and Pray
I Get a Kick Out of You
The Man I Love
I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter
The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else
Button Up Your Overcoat
I Feel So Smoochie
Blue Grass
New York City, December 27, 1947 (date and personnel uncertain)
Richard Maltby and His Studio Orchestra
It's You or No One
It's Magic
I Can't Get Started
New York City, December 29, 1947
Piano/Musical Director: Jimmy Jones
Bass: Al McGibbon
Drums: Kenny Clarke
Guitar: John Collins
What a Diffrence a Day Makes
Gentleman Friend
Once in a While
How Am I to Know
New York City, April 8, 1948
Earl Rodgers Choir
The 1948 musician's union recording ban prevented professional instrumentalists from recording for almost a year. Aside from releases of recordings made before the ban, a number of singers released new recordings made with a capella choirs (which were not under AFM jurisdiction). The recording ban essentially drove Musicraft into bankruptcy and gave Vaughan the chance to invalidate her contract and move to the more profitable environs of CBS records.
Nature Boy
I'm Glad There Is You
CBS Records (1949 - 1953)
New York City, January 10, 1949
CBS Studio Orchestra
Conductor/Arranger: Joe Lippman
Trumpet: Jimmy Maxwell
Piano: Henry W. Rowland
Bass: Bob Haggart
Drums: Norris "Bunny" Shawker
Strings and additional instruments
Black Coffee
As You Desire Me
Bianca
New York City, January 25, 1949
CBS Studio Orchestra
Conductor/Arranger: Joe Lippman
Piano: Henry W. Rowland
Bass: Bob Haggart
Drums: Terry Snyder
While You Are Gone
Tonight I Shall Sleep
That Lucky Old Sun
Los Angeles, May 6, 1949.
Conductor/Arranger: Joe Lippman
Tonight I Shall Sleep
That Lucky Old Sun
Los Angeles, May 1949
Piano: Jimmy Jones
Studio orchestra
Everything I Have Is Yours
I Get a Kick Out of You
Tenderly
New York City, July 7, 1949.
Conductor/Arranger: Joe Lippman
Piano: Jimmy Jones
Bass: Jack Lesberg
Drums: Bunny Shawker
Guitar: Al Caiola
Strings and vocal group
Just Friends
Give Me a Song with a Beautiful Melody
Make Believe
You Taught Me to Love Again
New York City, September 25, 1949
CBS Studio Orchestra,
Conductor/Arranger: Hugo Winterhalter
Piano: Jimmy Jones
Bass: Bob Haggart
Drums: Terry Snyder
Guitar: Tony Mottola
Strings and additional instruments
Lonely Girl
New York City, September 28, 1949
CBS Studio Orchestra,
Conductor/Arranger: Hugo Winterhalter
Piano: Jimmy Jones
Bass: Bob Haggart
Drums: Terry Snyder
Guitar: Tony Mottola
Strings and additional instruments
I Cried for You
You Say You Care
Fool's Paradise
New York City, December 21, 1949
Conductor/Arranger: Joe Lippman
Trumpet: Billy Butterfield, Taft Jordan
Trombone: Will Bradley
Reeds: Toots Mondello, Hymie Schertzer (alto), Art Drellinger, George Kelly (tenor), Stan Webb (baritone)
Piano: Jimmy Jones
Bass: Eddie Safranski
Drums: William "Cozy" Coles
Guitar: Al Caiola
You're Mine, You (arr. Tadd Dameron)
I'm Crazy to Love You
Summertime
The Nearness of You
New York City, December 21, 1949 for MGM Records
Vocal duet with Billy Eckstine
Reeds: Toots Mondello, Bernard Kaufmamn, Art Drellinger, Hank Ross
Piano: Jimmy Jones
Bass: Sid Weiss
Drums: Bunny Shawker
Strings
Dedicated to You
You're All I Need
I Love You
Every Day
New York City, May 4, 1950.
Norman Leyden Orchestra (?)
Trumpet: Bob Cusumano, John Carroll, Bernie Privin
Trombone: Jack Satterfield, John D'Agostino
Reeds: Bill Versaci, Paul Ricci, Tom Parshley, Harry Terrill, G. Tudor
Piano: Bernie Leighton
Bass: Frank Carroll
Guitar: Art Ryerson
Drums: Terry Snyder
Our Very Own
Don't Be Afraid
Apollo Theatre, New York City, May 18, 1950
George Treadwell and His All-Stars
Trumpet: Miles Davis
Tenor: Budd Johnson
Trombone: Benny Green
Clarinet: Tony Scott
Piano: Jimmy Jones
Bass: Billy Taylor, Jr.
Drums: J. C. Heard
Guitar: Freddie Green
Ain't Misbehavin'
Goodnight, My Love
Can't Get out of This Mood
It Might as Well Be Spring
729 Seventh Avenue, New York City, May 19, 1950
George Treadwell and His All-Stars
Trumpet: Miles Davis
Tenor: Budd Johnson
Trombone: Benny Green
Clarinet: Tony Scott
Piano: Jimmy Jones
Bass: Billy Taylor, Jr.
Drums: J. C. Heard
Guitar: Mundell Lowe
Mean to Me
Come Rain or Come Shine
Nice Work If You Can Get It
East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)
New York City, July 27, 1950.
CBS Studio Orchestra
Conductor/Arranger: Norman Leyden
Piano: Bud Powell
Bass: Frank Carroll
Drums: Terry Synder
Guitar: Mundell Lowe
Trumpet: Jimmy Maxwell
Eleven others on brass and reeds
Thinking of You
I Love the Guy
September 5, 1950
Norman Leyden and His Orchestra
Perdido
Whippa Whippa Woo
New York City, December 6, 1950
Conductor/Arranger: Norman Leyden
Piano: Jimmy Jones
Bass: Frank Carroll
Drums: Bunny Shawker
Guitar: Mundell Lowe
Bongos: Jose Luis Mangual
Studio Orchestra
I'll Know
De Gas Pipe She's Leaking, Joe
New York City, January 17, 1951
Norman Leyden and His Orchestra
Ave Maria
City Called Heaven
New York City, April 4, 1951
CBS Studio Orchestra
Conductor/Arranger: Percy Faith
Piano: Stan Freeman
Bass: Frank Carroll
Drums: Terry Snyder
Guitar: Art Ryerson
Strings
Deep Purple
These Things I Offer You
New York City, June 1, 1951.
CBS Studio Orchestra
Conductor/Arranger: Paul Weston
Piano: Milton Raskin
Bass: John Ryan
Drums: Nick Fatool
Guitar: George Van Eps
Trumpet: Ziggy Elman
Additional brass and strings
My Reverie
After Hours
Vanity
Out of Breath
New York City, September 19, 1951
Conductor/Arranger: Percy Faith
Piano: Stan Freeman
Bass: Frank Carroll
Drums/Vibraphone: Phil Kraus
Guitar: Art Ryerson
CBS Studio Orchestra
Pinky
Just a Moment More
I Ran All the Way Home
A Miracle Happened
New York City, March 19, 1952
Conductor/Arranger: Percy Faith
Piano: Robert Kitsis
Bass: Frank Carroll
Drums: Phil Kraus
Guitar: Art Ryerson
CBS Studio Orchestra
Street of Dreams
Time to Go
Corner to Corner
If Someone Had Told Me
New York City, July 28, 1952
CBS Studio Orchestra
Trumpets: Chris Griffin, Red Solomon, J. Milazzo
Trombones: L. Altpeter, R. Dupont, John D'Agostino
Reeds: Bernie Kaufman, Al Freistat, Bill Versaci, T. Gompers, Harold Freedman
Piano: Lou Stein
Bass: Frank Carroll
Drums: Terry Snyder
Guitar: Art Ryerson
Strings
Say You'll Wait for Me
Sinner or Saint
My Tormented Heart
Mighty Lonesome Feeling
New York City, December 30, 1952
Leader: Percy Faith (?)
Trombones: Will Bradley, Jack Satterfield, Al Godlis
Piano: Lou Stein
Bass: Frank Carroll
Drums: Terry Snyder
Guitar: Art Ryerson
Strings
I Confess
Lover's Quarrel
Time After Time
New York City, January 5, 1953
Arranger/Conductor: Percy Faith
CBS Studio Orchestra
Piano: Louis Stein
Bass: Frank Carroll
Drums: Terry Snyder
Guitar: Art Ryerson
Linger Awhile
Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year
A Blues Serenade
Oo Whatcha Doin' to Me?
Mercury Records (1953 - 1960)
New York, February 10, 1954
Richard Hayman and His Studio Orchestra
I Still Believe in You
My Funny Valentine
My One and Only Love
Come Along with Me
New York, March 29, 1954
Don Costa and His Studio Orchestra
Imagination
It's Easy to Remember
And This Is My Beloved
Easy Come, Easy Go Lover
New York, April 2, 1954
Piano: John Malachi
Bass: Joe Benjamin
Drums: Roy Haynes
Lover Man
Shulie a Bop
Polka Dots and Moonbeams
Body and Soul
They Can't Take That Away from Me
Prelude to a Kiss
You Hit the Spot
If I Knew Then What I Know Now
New York, July 6, 1954
Hugo Peretti and His Studio Orchestra
Old Love
Old Devil Moon
Exactly Like You
Saturday
New York, September 24, 1954
Hugo Peretti and His Studio Orchestra
Idle Gossip
Make Yourself Comfortable
New York, October 20-21, 1954
Hugo Peretti and His Studio Orchestra
Oh Yeah
I'm in the Mood for Love
I Don't Know Why
Let's Put out the Lights
Waltzing Down the Aisle
It's Magic
Honey
New York, Circa November-December, 1954
Hugo Peretti and His Studio Orchestra
How Important Can It Be?
The Touch of Your Lips
'S Wonderful
Tenderly
New York, December 16-18, 1954.
Leader/Arranger: Ernie Wilkins
Trumpet: Clifford Brown
Flute: Herbie Mann
Tenor: Paul Quinichette
Piano: Jimmy Jones
Bass: Joe Benjamin
Drums: Roy Haynes
September Song
Lullaby of Birdland (two takes)
I'm Glad There Is You
You're Not the Kind
Jim
He's My Guy
April in Paris
It's Crazy
Embraceable You
New York, March 17, 1955
Hugo Peretti and His Studio Orchestra
Whatever Lola Wants
New York, March 20, 1955.
Hugo Peretti and His Studio Orchestra
Slowly with Feeling
Experience Unnecessary
New York, August 9, 1955.
Hugo Peretti and His Studio Orchestra
Fabulous Character
Johnny, Be Smart
Hey, Naughty Papa
New York, October 10, 1955
Hugo Peretti and His Studio Orchestra
The Other Woman
Never
C'est la Vie
New York, Mid-October, 1955
Hugo Peretti and His Studio Orchestra
Paradise
Time on My Hands
Gimme a Little Kiss
New York, October 22, 1955
Hugo Peretti and His Studio Orchestra
Mr. Wonderful
You Ought to Have a Wife
New York, October 25-27, 1955
Ernie Wilkins and His Studio Orchestra
Trumpet: Ernie Wilkins, Ernie Royal, Bernie Glow
Trombone: J. J. Johnson, Kai Winding
Alto: Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, Sam Marowitz
Tenor/Flute: Jerome Richardson
Piano: Jimmy Jones
Guitar: Turk Van Lake
Bass: Joe Benjamin
Drums: Roy Haynes
Sometimes I'm Happy
I'll Never Smile Again
Don't Be on the Outside
It Shouldn't Happen to a Dream
An Occasional Man
Soon
Cherokee
Maybe
Why Can't I?
How High the Moon
Over the Rainbow
Oh, My
New York, April 1, 1956
Hal Mooney and His Studio Orchestra
The Boy Next Door
Shake Down the Stars
I'm Afraid the Masquerade Is Over
Lush Life
A Sinner Kissed an Angel
Old Folks
The House I Live In
I'm the Girl
New York, April 2, 1956
Hal Mooney and His Studio Orchestra
Hot and Cold Runnin' Tears
The Edge of the Sea
I've Got Some Crying to Do
That's Not the Kind of Love I Want
Old Love (Brown says date is July 6, 1954.)
New York, April 8, 1956
Hal Mooney and His Studio Orchestra
My Romance
Lonely Woman
Only You Can Say
I Loved Him
New York, June 21, 1956
Hugo Peretti and His Studio Orchestra
It Happened Again
I Wanna Play House
New York, October 29, 1956
Hal Mooney and His Studio Orchestra.
You're My Everything
Autumn in New York
My Darling, My Darling
Little Girl Blue
Bewitched
Dancing in the Dark
New York, October 30, 1956.
Hal Mooney and His Studio Orchestra.
Can't We Be Friends?
All the Things You Are
It Never Entered My Mind
Homework
They Say It's Wonderful
The Touch of Your Hand
New York, October 31, 1956.
Hal Mooney and His Studio Orchestra.
My Heart Stood Still
Let's Take an Old-Fashioned Walk
My Ship
A Tree in the Park
A Ship Without a Sail
He's Only Wonderful
New York, November 1, 1956.
Hal Mooney and His Studio Orchestra.
But Not for Me
Poor Butterfly
Love Is a Random Thing
If I Loved You
September Song
Lost in the Stars
New York, November 2, 1956.
Hal Mooney and His Studio Orchestra.
If This Isn't Love
It's Delovely
It's Love
Lucky in Love
It's Got To Be Love
Comes Love
New York, Mid-November, 1956.
Hal Mooney and His Studio Orchestra
The Bashful Matador
Leave It to Love
Don't Let Me Love You
The Second Time
New York, November 29, 1956.
David Carroll and His Studio Orchestra
April Gave Me One More Day
I've Got a New Heartache
Don't Look at Me That Way
The Banana Boat Song
New York, February 14, 1957.
Piano: Jimmy Jones
Bass: Richard Davis
Drums: Roy Haynes
Words Can't Describe
Pennies from Heaven
All of Me
I Cried for You
Linger Awhile
New York, March 20, 1957
Hal Mooney and His Studio Orchestra
Piano: Jimmy Jones
Someone to Watch Over Me
A Foggy Day
Bidin' My Time
He Loves and She Loves
Love Walked In
Looking for a Boy
I've Got a Crush on You
Isn't It a Pity
Do It Again
How Long Has This Been Going On?
Aren't You Kinda Glad We Did?
The Man I Love
New York, March 21, 1957.
Hal Mooney and His Studio Orchestra
Piano: Jimmy Jones
Let's Call the Whole Thing Off
They All Laughed
Lorelei
I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise
New York, April 24, 1957.
Hal Mooney and His Studio Orchestra
Piano: Jimmy Jones
Summertime
Things Are Looking Up
I Won't Say I Will
Of Thee I Sing
My One and Only
New York, April 24-26, 1957
Hal Mooney and His Studio Orchestra
Vocal Duet: Billy Eckstine
Isn't This a Lovely Day?
Easter Parade
Now It Can Be Told
Alexander's Ragtime Band
I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
You're Just in Love
My Man's Gone Now (no Eckstine)
Cheek to Cheek
Remember
Always
Passing Strangers
The Door Is Open
New York, June 3, 1957
Hal Mooney and His Studio Orchestra
You'll Find Me There
Please Mr. Brown
Band of Angels
Slow Down
New York, July 12, 1957.
Hal Mooney and His Studio Orchestra.
Vocal Duet: Billy Eckstine
Goodnight Kiss
No Limit
Mister Kelly's, Chicago, Illinois, August 6-8, 1957.
Piano: Jimmy Jones
Bass: Richard Davis
Drums: Roy Haynes
September in the Rain
Willow Weep for Me
Just One of Those Things
Be Anything but Darling Be Mine
Thou Swell
Stairway to the Stars
Honeysuckle Rose
Just a Gigolo
How High the Moon
Dream
I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter
It's Got to Be Love
Alone
It's Got to Be Love
If This Isn't Love
Embraceable You
Lucky in Love
Dancing in the Dark
Poor Butterfly
Sometimes I'm Happy
I Cover the Waterfront
New York, October 29, 1957
Hal Mooney and His Studio Orchestra
Sweet Affection
Meet Me Half Way
What's So Bad About It?
New York, November 11, 1957.
Hal Mooney and His Studio Orchestra
Gone Again
The Next Time Around
New York, November 26, 1957.
Hal Mooney and His Studio Orchestra
That Old Black Magic
I've Got the World on a String
Hit the Road to Dreamland
New York, December 18, 1957.
Hal Mooney and His Studio Orchestra
Friendly Enemies
Are You Certain?
New York, November-December 1957.
Ray Ellis and His Studio Orchestra.
Careless
January 5, 1958.
Count Basie Orchestra
Leader/Trumpet: Thad Jones
Piano: Ronnell Bright
Trumpet: Wendell Culley, Snooky Young, Joe Newman
Trombone: Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell
Alto/Clarinet: Marshall Royal
Alto/Tenor/Flute: Frank Wess
Tenor: Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell
Baritone: Charlie Fowlkes
Bass: Richard Davis
Drums: Sonny Payne
Guitar: Freddie Green
Stardust
Doodlin'
Darn That Dream
January 7, 1958
Ray Ellis Studio Orchestra
Mary Contrary
Separate Ways
Broken Hearted Melody
March 29, 1958
Hal Mooney and His Studio Orchestra and Chorus
Too Much Too Soon
Padre
Spin Little Bottle
December 15, 23, 1958
Count Basie Orchestra
Leader/Trumpet: Thad Jones
Piano: Ronnell Bright
Trumpet: Wendell Culley, Snooky Young, Joe Newman
Trombone: Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell
Alto/Clarinet: Marshall Royal
Alto/Tenor/Flute: Frank Wess
Tenor: Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell
Baritone: Charlie Fowlkes
Bass: Richard Davis
Drums: Sonny Payne
Guitar: Freddie Green
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
Moonlight in Vermont
Cheek to Cheek
Missing You
Just One of Those Things
No 'Count Basie
London House, Chicago, Illinois, March 7, 1958.
Trumpet: Thad Jones
Trumpet: Wendell Culley
Trombone: Henry Coker
Tenor: Frank Wess
Piano: Ronnell Bright
Bass: Richard Davis
Drums: Roy Haynes
Detour Ahead
Three Little Words
Speak Low
Like Someone in Love
You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To
I'll String Along with You
All of You
Thanks for the Memory
Paris, France, July 7, 1958.
Conductor/Arranger: Quincy Jones
Reeds: Zoot Sims, Jo and Marcel Hrasko, William Boucaya
Vibes: Michel Hausser
Piano: Ronnell Bright
Bass: Richard Davis, Pierre Michelot
Drums: Kenny Clarke
Guitar: Pierre Cullaz
Strings
Please Be Kind
The Midnight Sun Will Never Set
Live for Love
Misty
I'm Lost
Love Me
That's All
Paris, France, July 12, 1958
Conductor/Arranger: Quincy Jones
Piano: Maurice Vander, Ronnell Bright
Bass: Richard Davis
Drums: Roger Paraboschi / Kansas Fields
Additional strings and woodwinds
Day by Day
Gone with the Wind
I'll Close My Eyes
The Thrill Is Gone
New York City, September 26, 1958.
Hal Mooney and His Studio Orchestra.
Cool Baby
Everything
I Ain't Hurtin'
Disillusioned Heart
New York City, September 2, 1959
Belford Hendricks and his orchestra.
I Should Care
For All We Know
My Ideal
You're My Baby
Smooth Operator
Maybe It's Because I Love You Too Much
Our Waltz
Never in a Million Years
Close to You
Eternally
New York City, Late 1959
Fred Norman and his studio orchestra
Say It Isn't So
If You Are But a Dream
Maybe You'll Be There
All of a Sudden
My Heart Sings
There Is No You
Missing You
Please
Funny
I've Got to Talk to My Heart
Out of This World
Last Night When We Were Young
Through a Long and Sleepless Night
New York City, Late 1959
Belford Hendricks and his studio orchestra
I'll Never Be the Same
Through the Years
Roulette Records (1960 - 1963)
Vaughan's work for Roulette Records has poor public documentation and no complete box set of her Roulette releases exists. Therefore, the listings for this section are incomplete and of questionable accuracy.
Los Angeles, October 1960
Arranger: Billy May
The Green Leaves of Summer
Them There Eyes
Don't Go to Strangers
Love
New York, January 1961
Arranger: Joe Reisman
What's the Use?
Wallflower Waltz
True Believer
April
If Not For You
Oh, Lover
February 1962
Arranger: Quincy Jones
One Mint Julep
Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean
New York City, April 19, 1960
Jimmy Jones Orchestra
Trumpet: Harry "Sweets" Edison
Tenor: Gerald Sanfino
Harp: Janet Soyer
Piano: Ronnell Bright
Guitar: Barry Galbraith
Bass: Richard Davis or George Duvivier
Drums: Percy Brice
Strings
My Ideal
Hands Across the Table
You've Changed
Crazy He Calls Me
I'll Be Seeing You
Stormy Weather
The More I See You
Star Eyes
Trees
Moon over Miami
Dreamy
Why Was I Born
New York City, May 5, 1960
Joe Reisman Orchestra.
Serenata
My Dear Little Sweetheart
Let's
Ooh, What a Day
New York City, July 19, 1960.
Count Basie Orchestra
Vocal duet: Joe Williams
If I Were a Bell
Teach Me Tonight
Los Angeles, California, October 8, 1960
Billy May Orchestra
Green Leaves of Summer
Them There Eyes
Don't Go to Strangers
Love
October 12, 1960
Jimmy Jones Orchestra
Trumpet: Harry "Sweets" Edison
What Do You See in Her?
Trouble Is a Man
I'm Gonna Laugh You Right Out of My Life
Every Time I See You
New York City, October 13, 1960
Jimmy Jones Orchestra
Trumpet: Harry "Sweets" Edison
When Your Lover Has Gone
Ain't No Use
Gloomy Sunday
Somebody Else's Dream
New York City, October 19, 1960
Jimmy Jones Orchestra
Jump for Joy
You Stepped Out of a Dream
Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
Have You Met Miss Jones?
New York City, January 5, 1961
Joe Reisman Orchestra
What's the Use?
Wallflower Waltz
True Believer
New York City, January 9, 1961
Joe Reisman Orchestra
April
If Not for You
Oh, Lover
New York City, January 10, 1961
Count Basie Orchestra
You Go to My Head
You Turned the Tables on Me
January 11, 1961
Count Basie Orchestra
The Gentleman Is a Dope
January 12, 1961
Count Basie Orchestra
Mean to Me
Lover Man
Alone
January 13, 1961
Count Basie Orchestra
I Cried for You
Little Man You've Had a Busy Day
Until I Met You
There Are Such Things
Perdido
New York City, June 1961
Marty Manning Orchestra
Untouchable
Sleepy
The Hills of Assisi
New York City, July 1961
Guitar: Mundell Lowe
Bass: George Duvivier
Just Squeeze Me
Body and Soul
Through the Years
After Hours
My Favorite Things
Great Day
Sophisticated Lady
Every Time We Say Goodbye
Ill Wind
In a Sentimental Mood
If Love Is Good to Me
Easy to Love
Vanity
New York City, February 1962
Quincy Jones Orchestra.
The Best Is Yet to Come
Baubles, Bangles, and Beads
So Long
I Could Write a Book
Moonglow
Witchcraft
On Green Dolphin Street
Maria
The Second Time Around
Invitation
You're Mine You
Fly Me to the Moon
Baubles, Bangles, and Beads
One Mint Julep
Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean
New York City, July 23-27, 1962
Don Costa Orchestra
I Remember You
I Fall in Love Too Easily
I Hadn't Anyone Till You Glad to Be Unhappy
Oh, You Crazy Moon
Snowbound
Look to Your Heart
Stella by Starlight
Blab, Blah, Blab
What's Good About Goodbye
Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most
Los Angeles, California, August 7, 1962
Guitar: Barney Kessel
Bass: Joe Comfort
I Understand
Key Largo
The Very Thought of You
Just Squeeze Me
When Sunny Gets Blue
Baby, Won't You Please Come Home
When Lights Are Low
All I Do Is Dream of You
Just in Time
All or Nothing at All
Goodnight, Sweetheart
Los Angeles, California, August 1962
Benny Carter Orchestra
Nobody Else But Me
Falling in Love with Love
I Believe in You
A Garden in the Rain
I'm Gonna Live 'Till I Die
I Can't Give You Anything but Love
After You've Gone
Moonlight on the Ganges
The Lady's in Love with You
The Trolley Song
Honeysuckle Rose
Great Day
February 13, 1963
Marty Manning Orchestra
There'll Be Other Times
Don't Go to Strangers
Enchanted Wall
Call Me Irresponsible
February 27, 1963.
Marty Manning Orchestra
Star Eyes
Do You Remember?
I'll Never Be the Same
I Was Telling Him About You
March 5, 1963.
Marty Manning Orchestra
Icy Stone
As Long as He Needs Me
Once Upon a Summertime
Bewildered
Within Me I Know
March 11, 1963.
Marty Manning Orchestra
Full Moon and Empty Arms
Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life
Because
Be My Love
Intermezzo
My Reverie
Moonlight Love
I Give to You
Los Angeles, California, May 29, 1963
Gerald Wilson Orchestra
I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry
'Round Midnight
Midnight Sun
Easy Street
In Love in Vain
May 31, 1963.
Gerald Wilson Orchestra
A Taste of Honey
Moanin'
June 6, 1963.
Gerald Wilson Orchestra
What Kind of Fool Am I?
The Good Life
June 12, 1963.
Gerald Wilson Orchestra
Sermonette
The Gravy Waltz
Baby, Won't You Please Come Home
Los Angeles, California, June 13-16, 1963
Benny Carter Orchestra
If I Had You
What'll I Do?
You're Driving Me Crazy
Always on My Mind
Solitude
I'll Never Be the Same
So Long, My Love
The Lonely Hours
These Foolish Things
Look for Me, I'll Be Around
Friendless
The Man I Love
Chicago, Illinois, late June 1963
Lalo Schifrin Orchestra
More Than You Know
Something I Dreamed Last Night
Lazy Afternoon
I Didn't Know About You
I Got Rhythm
I Wish I Were in Love Again
This Can't Be Love
Just Married Today
Come Spring
Slowly
July 1963
Marty Manning Orchestra
Til the End of Time
None But the Lonely Heart
If You Are But a Dream
Only
Experience Unnecessary
Mercury Records (1963 - 1967)
Copenhagen, Denmark, July 1963
Conductor: Quincy Jones
He Never Mentioned Love
Gone
Right or Wrong
Show Me a Man
Tivoli, Copenhagen, Denmark, July 18-21, 1963
Piano: Kirk Stuart
Bass: Charles "Buster" Williams
Drums: Georges Hughes
I Feel Pretty
Misty
What Is This Thing Called Love?
Lover Man
Sometimes I'm Happy
Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey?
Tenderly
Sassy's Blues
Polka Dots and Moonbeams
I Cried for You
Poor Butterfly
I Could Write a Book
Time After Time
All of Me
I Hadn't Anyone Till You
I Can't Give You Anything But Love
I'll Be Seeing You
Maria
Day In, Day Out
Fly Me to the Moon
Baubles, Bangles, and Beads
The Lady's in Love with You
Honeysuckle Rose
The More I See You
Say It Isn't So
Black Coffee
Just One of Those Things
On Green Dolphin Street
Over the Rainbow
Copenhagen, Denmark, October 12, 1963
Arranger/Conductor: Robert Farnon
Leader: Quincy Jones
Svend Saaby Choir
Charade
It Could Happen to You
Blue Orchids
This Heart of Mine
Then I'll Be Tired Of You
Funny
My Coloring Book
How Beautiful Is the Night
Hey There
Deep Purple
I'll Be Around
The Days of Wine and Roses
Los Angeles, California, February 13 and 14, 1964
Producer: Quincy Jones
How's the World Treating You
My Darling, My Darling
Bluesette
You Got It Made
Make Someone Happy
Sole Sole
The Other Half of Me
New York City, August 23, 1964
Producer: Quincy Jones
Arranger/Director: Frank Foster
Trombones: Richard Hixon, Billy Byers, Britt Woodman, Wayne Andre, Benny Powell
Flute: Jerome Richardson
Piano: Bob James
Guitar: Barry Galbraith
Bass: George Duvivier
Drums: Bobby Donaldson
Percussion: Willie Rodrigues
Violins: Lewis Eley, Emanuel Green, Charles Libove, Leo Kruczek, Tosha Samaroff, Gene Orloff, Bernard Eichen, Harry Lookofsky
Mr. Lucky
The Boy from Ipanema
New York City, August 14, 1964
Producer: Quincy Jones
Arranger/Director: Frank Foster
Trombones: Richard Hixon, Billy Byers, Britt Woodman, Wayne Andre
Flute: Jerome Richardson
Piano: Bob James
Drums: Bobby Donaldson
Percussion: Jose Mangual, Juan Cadavieco, Rafael Sierra
Violins: Lewis Eley, Emanuel Green, Charles Libove, Leo Kruczek, Tosha Samaroff, Gene Orloff, Bernard Eichen, Harry Lookofsky
Quiet Nights
Jive Samba
New York City, August 15, 1964
Arranger/Conductor: Frank Foster
Producer: Quincy Jones
Trombones: Kai Winding, Richard Hixon, Billy Byers, Wayne Andre, Benny Powell
Flute: Jerome Richardson
Bass: Robert Rodriguez
Percussion: Bobby Donaldson, William Correa, Juan Cadavieco, Jose Mangual, Rafael Sierra
Violins: Lewis Eley, Emanuel Green, Charles Libove, Leo Kruczek, Tosha Samaroff,
Bernard Eichen, David Nadien, Harry Lookofsky
A Taste of Honey
Shiny Stockings
Night Song
Stompin' at the Savoy
Fascinating Rhythm
The Moment of Truth
Tea for Two
New York City, August 18, 1964.
Arranger/Conductor: Frank Foster
Producer: Quincy Jones
Trombones: Kai Winding, Richard Hixon, Bill Watrous, Wayne Andre, Benny Powell
Flute: Jerome Richardson
Bass: Robert Rodriguez
Percussion: Bobby Donaldson, William Correa, Juan Cadavieco, Jose Mangual, Rafael Sierra
Violins: Lewis Eley, Emanuel Green, Charles Libove, Leo Kruczek, Tosha Samaroff, Bernard Eichen, David Nadien, Harry Lookofsky
Fever
Avalon
December 1964
We Almost Made It
How Soon
Dear Heart
Too Little Time
Dreamsville
Bye Bye (theme from Peter Gunn)
Moon River
(I Love You and) Don't You Forget It
Slow Hot Wind
It Had Better Be Tonight
October 10, 1965
Darling
I'll Never Be Lonely Again
Habibi (love song from Sallah)
November 10-12, 1965
Arranger: Luchi De Jesus
Make It Easy on Yourself
What the World Needs Now Is Love
I Know a Place
Little Hands
Yesterdays
A Lover's Concerto
He Touched Me
If I Ruled the World
Waltz For Debbie
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
The First Thing Every Morning
April 7-8 1966
Arranger: Luchi De Jesus
Who Can I Turn To? (arr. Bob James)
The Shadow of Your Smile (arr. Bob James)
I Should Have Kissed Him More
Call Me
One, Two, Three
Michelle
Sneaking Up on You
April 11, 1966
Arranger: Luchi De Jesus
With These Hands
Dominique's Discotheque
Everybody Loves Somebody
What Now My Love
Love
January 1967
Jim
The Man That Got Away
My Man
Happiness Is Just a Thing Called Joe
Trouble Is a Man
He's Funny That Way
For Every Man There's a Woman
I'm Just Wild About Harry
Danny Boy
Alfie
January 23-24, 1967.
Trumpets: Clark Terry, Charlie Shavers, Joe Newman, Freddie Hubbard
Trombones: J. J. Johnson, Kai Winding
Reeds: Phil Woods, Benny Golson
Piano: Bob James
Strings
On the Other Side of the Tracks (arr. J.J. Johnson)
All Alone (arr. Thad Jones)
I Want to Be Happy (arr Thad. Jones)
S'posin' (arr. Manny Albam)
I Had a Ball (arr. J.J. Johnson)
Take the `A' Train (arr. J.J. Johnson)
I Left My Heart in San Francisco (arr. Thad Jones)
The Sweetest Sounds (arr. Bob James)
Los Angeles, 1969 (?)
Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice (film soundtrack)
Arranger: Quincy Jones
Aria from Handel's Messiah
Los Angeles, 1969 (?)
Album: Cactus Flower (film soundtrack)
A Time for Love Is Anytime
Mainstream Records (1971 - 1973)
As with Vaughan's Roulette recordings, details and dates for her work on Mainstream are incomplete and of questionable accuracy.
Los Angeles, California, November 16-20, 1971.
Ernie Wilkins Orchestra
Trumpet: Buddy Childers, Al Aarons, Gene Coe
Trombone: George Bohanon, Benny Powell
Reeds: Jerome Richardson, Bill Green, Jackie Kelso
Piano: Bill Mays
Guitars: Joe Pass, Al Vescovo
Bass: Bob Magnusson
Drums: Earl Palmer, Jimmy Cobb
Percussion: Alan Estes
Imagine
On Thinking It Over
Inner City Blues
Sweet Gingerbread Man
Magical Connection
That's the Way I Heard It Should Be
Tomorrow City
Universal Prisoner
Trouble
If Not for You
Los Angeles, California, 1972 (?)
Album: Feelin' Good
Alone Again Naturally (arr. Peter Matz)
Easy Evil (arr. Peter Matz)
When You Think of It (arr. Peter Matz)
Take a Love Song (arr. Peter Matz)
And the Feeling's Good (arr. Peter Matz)
Promise Me (arr. Peter Matz)
Rainy Days and Mondays (arr. Peter Matz)
Deep in the Night (arr. Michel Legrand)
Run to Me (arr. Jack Elliott and Allyn Ferguson)
Greatest Show on Earth (arr. Jack Elliott and Allyn Ferguson)
Just a Little Lovin' (arr. Jack Elliott and Allyn Ferguson)
April 17-20, 1972.
Arranger/Conductor: Michel Legrand
Trumpets: Buddy Childers, Chuck Findley, Conte Condoli, Gary Barone, Al Aarons
Trombones: Lloyd Ulyate, Charlie Loper, Frank Rosolino, Grover Mitchell, Bob Knight, George Roberts
Tuba: Tommy Johnson
French Horns: Vince De Rosa, Bill Hinshaw, Art Maebe, George Price, Sinclair Lott, Ralph Pyle, Dick Perissi, Dick Macker
Reeds: Bud Shank, Pete Christlieb, Jerome Richardson, Bob Cooper, Bill Hood, Bernie Fleischer
Keyboards: Dave Grusin, Mike Wofford, Artie Kane
Bass: Ray Brown, Chuck Berghofer, Bob Magnusson
Electric Bass: Chuck Rainey
Drums: Shelly Manne, John Guerin
Percussion: Larry Bunker
Guitar: Tom Tedesco
Strings
The Summer Knows
What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?
Once You've Been in Love
Hands of Time (Brian's Song)
I Was Born in Love with You
I Will Say Goodbye
Summer Me, Winter Me
His Eyes, Her Eyes
Pieces of Dreams
Blue, Green, Gray, and Gone
New York / Los Angeles, 1973/1974
Send in the Clowns (arr. Paul Griffin)
Love Don't Live Here Anymore (arr. Gene Page)
That'll Be Johnny (arr. Gene Page)
Right in the Next Room (arr. Gene Page)
I Need You More (Than Ever Now) (arr. Gene Page)
On Thinking It Over (arr. Ernie Wilkins)
Do Away with April (arr. Gene Page)
Wave (arr. Michel Legrand)
Got to See If I Can't Get Daddy to Come Back Home (arr. Gene Page)
Frasier (the Sensuous Lion) (arr. Wade Marcus)
Sun Plaza Hotel, Tokyo, Japan, September 24, 1973
Piano: Carl Schroeder
Bass: John Cianelli
Drums: Jimmy Cobb
A Foggy Day
Poor Butterfly
The Lamp Is Low
'Round Midnight
Willow Weep for Me
There Will Never Be Another You
Misty
Wave
Like Someone in Love
My Funny Valentine
All of Me
Love Story
Over the Rainbow
I Could Write a Book
The Nearness of You
I'll Remember April
Watch What Happens
Bye-Bye Blackbird
Rainy Days and Mondays
Sarah's Tune, Number One
On a Clear Day
I Remember You
I Cried for You
Tenderly
Summertime
The Blues
There Is No Greater Love
Tonight
Los Angeles, California, circa 1974
Jimmy Rowles Quintet
Trumpet: Al Aarons
Tenor: Teddy Edwards
Piano: Jimmy Rowles
Bass: Monte Budwig
Drums: Donald Bailey
The Folks Who Live on the Hill (minus Aarons and Edwards)
That Face
That Sunday
A House Is Not a Home
Frasier
Morning Star (music: Jimmy Rowles, lyrics: Johnny Mercer)
I Can't Escape from You (unreleased)
There's Danger in Your Eyes, Cherie (unreleased)
Cherie (unreleased)
Too Late Now (unreleased)
Bewitched (unreleased)
Warsaw, Poland, October 24, 1975
Album: Jazz Jamboree (Pronit Records)
Piano: Carl Schroeder
Bass: Bob Magnusson
Drums: Jimmy Cobb
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
'Round Midnight
What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?
Sassy's Blues
They Long to Be Close to You
A Foggy Day
My Funny Valentine
Tenderly
Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey?
The Nearness of You
Daven Sound Studios, Universal City, California, 1977
Album: Sarah Vaughan: Songs of the Beatles (released by Atlantic Records in 1981)
Conductor: Billy Thetford
Arrangers: Marty Paich, David Paich
Guitars: Lee Ritenour, Dean Parks, Louis Shelton
Keyboards: Mike Lang, Steve Porcaro
Piano: Davis Hungate
Percussion/Drums: Jeff Porcaro
Percussion: Bobbye Hall, Joe Porcaro, Steve Forman
Harmonica: Toots Thielemans
Tenor: John Smith
Bass: Bob Magnusson
Singers: Perry Morgan, Jim Gilstrap
Concertmaster: Sid Sharp
Strings
Get Back
And I Love Her
Eleanor Rigby
Fool on the Hill
You Never Give Me Your Money
Come Together
I Want You
Blackbird
Something
Here, There, and Everywhere
The Long and Winding Road
Yesterday
Hey Jude
Honey (unissued)
Oh, Darling (unissued)
Golden Slumbers (unissued)
Pablo Records (1977 - 1982)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 31, November 3, 4, 5, and 7, 1977
Album: I Love Brazil (Grammy nominee)
Arranger/Piano: Edson Federico
Producer: Aloysio de Oliveira
Creative Director/Composer: Durval Ferreira
Keyboards: Antonio Carlos Jobim
Guitar/Vocal: Milton Nascimento
Electric Piano: Jose Roberto Bertrami, Tom Jobim
Electric Bass: Novelli
Electric Guitar: Nelson Angelo
Drums: Roberto Silva, Wilson Das Neves
Flutes: Danilo Caymmi, Paulo Jobim
Percussion: Chico Batera, Arivoldo
Bass: Sergio Barroso, Claudio Bertrami
Guitar: Helio Delmiro
Harmonica: Mauricio Einhorn
Vocal: Dori Caymmi
Someone to Light Up My Life,
Triste
Vera Cruz
The Face I Love
Cantador
Courage
If You Went Away
Roses and Roses
I Live to Love You
The Day It Rained
A Little Tear
Hollywood, California, January 18, 1978.
Album: Milt Jackson and Count Basie and the Big Band, Vol. 2
Arranger: Quincy Jones
For Lena and Lennie
Hollywood, California, April 25, 1978
Piano: Oscar Peterson
Bass: Ray Brown
Drums: Louis Bellson
Guitar: Joe Pass (guitar)
I've Got the World on a String
Midnight Sun
How Long Has This Been Going On?
You're Blase
Easy Living
More Than You Know
My Old Flame
Teach Me Tonight
Body and Soul
When Your Lover Has Gone
Hollywood, California, August 15 and 16, 1979
Album: Sarah Vaughan: Duke Ellington Song Book One
Conductor/Arranger: Billy Byers
Trumpet/Flugelhorn: Waymon Reed
Trombone: J. J. Johnson
Tenor: Frank Foster, Zoot Sims
Tenor/Flute: Frank Wess
Piano: Jimmy Rowles
Guitar: Joe Pass
Bass: Andy Simpkins
Drums: Grady Tate
Additional studio musicians
I'm Just a Lucky So and So
Solitude
I Didn't Know About You
All Too Soon
Sophisticated Lady
Day Dream
New York City, September 12 and 13, 1979
Album: Sarah Vaughan: Duke Ellington Song Book One
Conductor/Arranger: Billy Byers
Trumpet/Flugelhorn: Waymon Reed
Trombone: J. J. Johnson
Tenor: Frank Foster, Zoot Sims
Tenor/Flute: Frank Wess
Piano: Mike Wofford
Guitar: Bucky Pizzarelli
Bass: Andy Simpkins
Drums: Grady Tate
Additional studio musicians
In a Sentimental Mood
I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart
Lush Life
In a Mellow Tone
Hollywood, California, August 15 and 16, 1979, and New York City, September 12 and 13, 1979
Album: Sarah Vaughan: Duke Ellington Song Book Two
Trumpet/Flugelhorn: Waymon Reed
Flute: Frank Wess
Alto/Vocals: Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
Piano: Mike Wofford, Jimmy Rowles, Lloyd Glenn
Bass: Andy Simpkins, Bill Walker
Drums: Grady Tate, Charles Randell, Roy McCurdy
Guitars: Joe Pass, Bucky Pizzarelli, Pee Wee Crayton
Additional studio musicians
Chelsea Bridge
What Am I Here For?
Tonight I Shall Sleep
Rocks in My Bed
I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good
Everything But You
Mood Indigo
It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
Prelude to a Kiss
I Ain't Got Nothing But the Blues
Black Butterfly
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 1-5, 1979.
Album: Copacabana
Arranger: Edison Federico
Guitar: Helio Delmiro
Bass: Andy Simpkins
Drums: Grady Tate
Percussion: Wilson Das Neves
Additional musicians
Dindi
Bonita
Double Rainbow
Copacabana
To Say Goodbye
Gentle Rain
Dreamer
Tete
The Smiling Hour
Hollywood, California, February 16 and 18, 1981
Count Basie Orchestra
Conductor/Arranger: Sam Nestico
Trumpets: Sonny Cohn, Frank Szabo, Willie Cook, Bob Summers, Dale Carley
Trombones: Mitchell "Booty" Wood, Bill Hughes, Dennis Wilson, Grover Mitchell
Reeds: Kenny Hing, Eric Dixon, Bobby Plater, Danny Turner, Johnny Williams
Piano: George Gaffney
Bass: Andy Simpkins (possibly Cleveland Eaton)
Drums: Harold Jones (possibly Greg Field)
Guitar: Freddie Green
I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues
Just Friends
If You Could See Me Now (arr. Allyn Ferguson)
Ill Wind
When Your Lover Has Gone
Send in the Clowns
I Hadn't Anyone Till You
All the Things You Are (arr. Allyn Ferguson)
Indian Summer
From This Moment On
Los Angeles, 1981 (?)
Sharkey's Machine (Film soundtrack - Warner Brothers Records)
Love Theme
Before You (duet with Joe Williams)
Hollywood, California, March 1 and 2, 1982
Album: Crazy and Mixed Up
Piano: Sir Roland Hanna
Bass: Andy Simpkins
Drums: Harold Jones
Guitar: Joe Pass
I Didn't Know What Time It Was
That's All
Autumn Leaves
Love Dance
The Island
Seasons
In Love in Vain
You Are Too Beautiful
Final Recordings
Los Angeles, 1982
Album: Gershwin Live! (CBS Records - Grammy winner)
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Arranger: Marty Paich
Conducter: Michael Tilson Thomas
Piano: George Gaffney
Bass: Andy Simpkins
Drums: Harold Jones
Overture: Porgy and Bess
Medley: Summertime / It Ain't Necessarily So / I Loves You, Porgy
Medley: But Not for Me / Love Is Here to Stay / Embraceable You
Someone to Watch Over Me
Sweet and Low Down
Fascinating Rhythm
Do It Again
My Man's Gone Now
The Man I Love
Medley: Nice Work If You Can Get It / They Can't Take That Away from Me / 'S Wonderful / Sewanee / Strike Up the Band
Encore: I've Got a Crush on You/A Foggy Day
Los Angeles, California, 1984
Album: 2 AM Paradise Cafe (Arista Records)
Vocal Duet: Barry Manilow
Baritone: Gerry Mulligan
Piano: Bill Mays
Bass: George Duvivier
Drums: Shelly Manne
Guitar: Mundell Lowe
Blue
Dusseldorf, West Germany, June 30, 1984
Album: The Planet Is Alive, Let It Live (Jazzletter Records)
Studio orchestra
Conductor: Lalo Schifrin
Arranger: Francy Boland
Composers: Tito Fontana, Sante Palumbo
Lyrics: Karol Wytola (Pope John Paul II)
Translation: Gene Lees
London, England, January 27-31, 1986
Album: South Pacific (CBS Records)
London Symphony Orchestra
Director: Jonathan Tunick
Happy Talk
Bali Ha'i
New York City / Detroit, Michigan, January - February 1987 (recording location uncertain)
Album: Brazilian Romance (CBS Records)
Producer/Composer: Sergio Mendes
Vocals/Composer: Milton Nascimento
Flute: Hubert Laws
Lyricon/Tenor: Tom Scott
Alto: Ernie Watts
Trumpet/Flugelhorn: Marcio Montarroyos
Keyboards: George Duke
Bass: Alphonso Johnson, Chuck Domanico
Guitar: Dan Huff
Guitar/Arranger/Composer: Dori Caymmi
Drums: Carlos Vega
Percussion: Paulinho DaCosta
Vocals: Siedah Garrett, Gracinha Leporace, Kate Markowitz
Strings
Make This City Ours Tonight
Romance
Love and Passion
So Many Stars
Photograph
Nothing Will Be as It Was
Obsession
Wanting More
Your Smile
Summer 1988
Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Utah Symphony Orchestra
Christmas carol collection for Hallmark Cards
Los Angeles, California, 1989
Album: Back on the Block (Qwest Records)
Producer: Quincy Jones
Wee B. Dooinit
Jazz Corner of the World
Birdland
If you don't know what to do with your hands, keep them in your pocket.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Background information
Birth name Sarah Lois Vaughan
Also known as "Sassy"
"The Divine One"
"Sailor"
Born March 27, 1924
Newark, New Jersey, United States
Died April 3, 1990 (aged 66)
Hidden Hills, California. United States
Genres Vocal jazz, bebop, cool jazz, blues, traditional pop, bossa nova
Occupation(s) Singer
Years active 1942–1989
Labels Columbia, Mercury, Verve, Roulette, Pablo
Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer, described by music critic Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."[1]
Nicknamed "Sassy", "The Divine One" and "Sailor" (for her salty speech),[2] Sarah Vaughan was a Grammy Award winner.[3] The National Endowment for the Arts bestowed upon her its "highest honor in jazz", the NEA Jazz Masters Award, in 1989.[4]
Contents
1 Early life
2 Early career: 1942–1943
3 With Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine: 1943–1944
4 Early solo career: 1945–1948
5 Stardom and the Columbia years: 1948–1953
6 Mercury years: 1954–1958
7 1960s
8 Rebirth in the 1970s
9 Late career
10 Death
11 Grammy Hall of Fame
12 Voice
13 Personal life
14 Discography
15 Tributes
16 References
17 External links
Early life
Sarah Vaughan's father, Asbury "Jake" Vaughan, was a carpenter by trade and played guitar and piano. Her mother, Ada Vaughan, was a laundress and sang in the church choir.[5] Jake and Ada Vaughan had migrated to Newark from Virginia during the First World War. Sarah was their only biological child, although in the 1960s they adopted Donna, the child of a woman who traveled on the road with Sarah Vaughan.[6]
The Vaughans lived in a house on Brunswick Street, in Newark, New Jersey, for Sarah's entire childhood.[6] Jake Vaughan was deeply religious and the family was very active in the New Mount Zion Baptist Church on 186 Thomas Street. Sarah began piano lessons at the age of seven, sang in the church choir and occasionally played piano for rehearsals and services.
Vaughan developed an early love for popular music on records and the radio. In the 1930s, Newark had a very active live music scene and Vaughan frequently saw local and touring bands that played in the city at venues like the Montgomery Street Skating Rink.[6] By her mid-teens, Vaughan began venturing (illegally) into Newark's night clubs and performing as a pianist and, occasionally, singer, most notably at the Piccadilly Club and the Newark Airport USO.
Vaughan initially attended Newark's East Side High School, later transferring to Newark Arts High School,[6] which had opened in 1931 as the United States' first arts "magnet" high school. However, her nocturnal adventures as a performer began to overwhelm her academic pursuits and Vaughan dropped out of high school during her junior year to concentrate more fully on music. Around this time, Vaughan and her friends also began venturing across the Hudson River into New York City to hear big bands at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
Early career: 1942–1943
Biographies of Vaughan frequently stated that she was immediately thrust into stardom after a winning amateur night performance at Harlem's Zeus Theater. In fact, the story that biographer Renee relates seems to be a bit more complex. Vaughan was frequently accompanied by a friend, Doris Robinson, on her trips into New York City. Some time in the fall of 1942 (when Sarah was 18 years old), Vaughan suggested that Robinson enter the Apollo Theater Amateur Night contest. Vaughan played piano accompaniment for Robinson, who won second prize. Vaughan later decided to go back and compete herself as a singer. Vaughan sang "Body and Soul" and won, although the exact date of her victorious Apollo performance is uncertain. The prize, as Vaughan recalled later to Marian McPartland, was $10 and the promise of a week's engagement at the Apollo. After a considerable delay, Vaughan was contacted by the Apollo in the spring of 1943 to open for Ella Fitzgerald.
Some time during her week of performances at the Apollo, Vaughan was introduced to bandleader and pianist Earl "Fatha" Hines, although the exact details of that introduction are disputed. Billy Eckstine, Hines' singer at the time, has been credited by Vaughan and others with hearing her at the Apollo and recommending her to Hines. Hines also claimed later to have discovered her himself and offered her a job on the spot. Regardless, after a brief tryout at the Apollo, Hines officially replaced his current male singer with Vaughan on April 4, 1943.
With Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine: 1943–1944
Vaughan spent the remainder of 1943 and part of 1944 touring the country with the Earl Hines big band that also featured baritone Billy Eckstine. Vaughan was hired as a pianist, reputedly so Hines could hire her under the jurisdiction of the musicians' union (American Federation of Musicians) rather than the singers union (American Guild of Variety Artists), but after Cliff Smalls joined the band as a trombonist and pianist, Sarah's duties became limited exclusively to singing. This Earl Hines band is best remembered today as an incubator of bebop, as it included trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, saxophonist Charlie Parker (playing tenor saxophone rather than the alto saxophone that he would become famous with later) and trombonist Bennie Green. Gillespie also arranged for the band, although a recording ban by the musicians union prevented the band from recording and preserving its sound and style for posterity.
Eckstine left the Hines band in late 1943 and formed his own big band with Gillespie, leaving Hines to become the new band's musical director. Parker came along too, and the Eckstine band over the next few years would host a startling cast of jazz talent: Miles Davis, Kenny Dorham, Art Blakey, Lucky Thompson, Gene Ammons, and Dexter Gordon, among others.
Vaughan accepted Eckstine's invitation to join his new band in 1944, giving her an opportunity to develop her musicianship with the seminal figures in this era of jazz. Eckstine's band also afforded her first recording opportunity, a December 5, 1944 date that yielded the song "I'll Wait and Pray" for the Deluxe label. That date led to critic and producer Leonard Feather to ask her to cut four sides under her own name later that month for the Continental label, backed by a septet that included Dizzy Gillespie and Georgie Auld.
Band pianist John Malachi is credited with giving Vaughan the moniker "Sassy", a nickname that matched her personality. Vaughan liked it and the name (and its shortened variant "Sass") stuck with colleagues and, eventually, the press. In written communications, Vaughan often spelled it "Sassie".
Vaughan officially left the Eckstine band in late 1944 to pursue a solo career, although she remained very close to Eckstine personally and recorded with him frequently throughout her life.
Early solo career: 1945–1948
At Café Society, September 1946
Vaughan began her solo career in 1945 by freelancing in clubs on New York's 52nd Street such as the Three Deuces, the Famous Door, the Downbeat and the Onyx Club. Vaughan also hung around the Braddock Grill, next door to the Apollo Theater in Harlem. On May 11, 1945, Vaughan recorded "Lover Man" for the Guild label with a quintet featuring Gillespie and Parker with Al Haig on piano, Curly Russell on double bass and Sid Catlett on drums. Later that month she went into the studio with a slightly different and larger Gillespie/Parker aggregation and recorded three more sides.
After being invited by violinist Stuff Smith to record the song "Time and Again" in October, Vaughan was offered a contract to record for the Musicraft label by owner Albert Marx, although she would not begin recording as a leader for Musicraft until May 7, 1946. In the intervening time, Vaughan made a handful of recordings for the Crown and Gotham labels and began performing regularly at Café Society Downtown, an integrated club in New York's Sheridan Square.
While at Café Society, Vaughan became friends with trumpeter George Treadwell. Treadwell became Vaughan's manager and she ultimately delegated to him most of the musical director responsibilities for her recording sessions, leaving her free to focus almost entirely on singing. Over the next few years, Treadwell also made significant positive changes in Vaughan's stage appearance. Aside from an improved wardrobe and hair style, Vaughan had her teeth capped, eliminating an unsightly gap between her two front teeth.
Many of Vaughan's 1946 Musicraft recordings became quite well known among jazz aficionados and critics, including "If You Could See Me Now" (written and arranged by Tadd Dameron), "Don't Blame Me", "I've Got a Crush on You", "Everything I Have Is Yours" and "Body and Soul". With Vaughan and Treadwell's professional relationship on solid footing, the couple married on September 16, 1946.
Vaughan's recording success for Musicraft continued through 1947 and 1948. Her recording of "Tenderly" became an unexpected pop hit in late 1947. Her December 27, 1947, recording of "It's Magic" (from the Doris Day film Romance on the High Seas) found chart success in early 1948. Her recording of "Nature Boy" from April 8, 1948, became a hit around the same time as the release of the famous Nat King Cole recording of the same song. Because of yet another recording ban by the musicians union, "Nature Boy" was recorded with an a cappella choir as the only accompaniment, adding an ethereal air to a song with a vaguely mystical lyric and melody.
Stardom and the Columbia years: 1948–1953
The musicians union ban pushed Musicraft to the brink of bankruptcy and Vaughan used the missed royalty payments as an opportunity to sign with the larger Columbia record label. Following the settling of the legal issues, her chart successes continued with the charting of "Black Coffee" in the summer of 1949. During her tenure at Columbia through 1953, Vaughan was steered almost exclusively to commercial pop ballads, a number of which had chart success: "That Lucky Old Sun", "Make Believe (You Are Glad When You're Sorry)", "I'm Crazy to Love You", "Our Very Own", "I Love the Guy", "Thinking of You" (with pianist Bud Powell), "I Cried for You", "These Things I Offer You", "Vanity", "I Ran All the Way Home", "Saint or Sinner", "My Tormented Heart", and "Time", among others.
Vaughan also achieved substantial critical acclaim. She won Esquire magazine's New Star Award for 1947 as well as awards from Down Beat magazine continuously from 1947 through 1952, and from Metronome magazine from 1948 through 1953. A handful of critics disliked her singing as being "over-stylized", reflecting the heated controversies of the time over the new musical trends of the late 40s. However, the critical reception to the young singer was generally positive.
Recording and critical success led to numerous performing opportunities, packing clubs around the country almost continuously throughout the years of the late 1940s and early 1950s. In the summer of 1949, Vaughan made her first appearance with a symphony orchestra in a benefit for the Philadelphia Orchestra entitled "100 Men and a Girl." Around this time, Chicago disk jockey Dave Garroway coined a second nickname for her, "The Divine One", that would follow her throughout her career. One of her early television appearances was on DuMont's variety show Stars on Parade (1953–54), in which she sang "My Funny Valentine" and "Linger Awhile".
With improving finances, in 1949 Vaughan and Treadwell purchased a three-story house on 21 Avon Avenue in Newark, occupying the top floor during their increasingly rare off-hours at home and relocating Vaughan's parents to the lower two floors. However, the business pressures and personality conflicts led to a cooling in the personal relationship between Treadwell and Vaughan. Treadwell hired a road manager to handle Vaughan's touring needs and opened a management office in Manhattan so he could work with clients in addition to Vaughan.
Vaughan's relationship with Columbia Records also soured as she became dissatisfied with the commercial material she was required to record and lackluster financial success of her records. A set of small group sides recorded in 1950 with Miles Davis and Bennie Green are among the best of her career, but they were atypical of her Columbia output.
Mercury years: 1954–1958
In 1953, Treadwell negotiated a unique contract for Vaughan with Mercury Records. She would record commercial material for the Mercury label and more jazz-oriented material for its subsidiary EmArcy. Vaughan was paired with producer Bob Shad and their excellent working relationship yielded strong commercial and artistic success. Her debut Mercury recording session took place in February 1954 and she stayed with the label through 1959. After a stint at Roulette Records (1960 to 1963), Vaughan returned to Mercury from 1964 to 1967.
Vaughan's commercial success at Mercury began with the 1954 hit, "Make Yourself Comfortable", recorded in the fall of 1954, and continued with a succession of hits, including: "How Important Can It Be" (with Count Basie), "Whatever Lola Wants", "The Banana Boat Song", "You Ought to Have A Wife" and "Misty". Her commercial success peaked in 1959 with "Broken Hearted Melody", a song she considered to be "corny", but, nonetheless, became her first gold record and a regular part of her concert repertoire for years to come. Vaughan was reunited with Billy Eckstine for a series of duet recordings in 1957 that yielded the hit "Passing Strangers". Vaughan's commercial recordings were handled by a number of different arrangers and conductors, primarily Hugo Peretti and Hal Mooney.
The jazz "track" of her recording career also proceeded apace, backed either by her working trio or various combinations of stellar jazz players. One of her own favorite albums was a 1954 sextet date that included Clifford Brown.
In the latter half of the 1950s she followed a schedule of almost non-stop touring, with many famous jazz musicians. She was featured at the first Newport Jazz Festival in the summer of 1954 and starred in subsequent editions of that festival at Newport and in New York City for the remainder of her life. In the fall of 1954, she performed at Carnegie Hall with the Count Basie Orchestra on a bill that also included Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Lester Young and the Modern Jazz Quartet. That fall, she again toured Europe successfully before embarking on a "Big Show" U.S. tour, a grueling succession of start-studded one-nighters that included Count Basie, George Shearing, Erroll Garner and Jimmy Rushing. At the 1955 New York Jazz Festival on Randalls Island, Vaughan shared the bill with the Dave Brubeck quartet, Horace Silver, Jimmy Smith, and the Johnny Richards Orchestra
Although the professional relationship between Vaughan and Treadwell was quite successful through the 1950s, their personal relationship finally reached a breaking point and she filed for a divorce in 1958. Vaughan had entirely delegated financial matters to Treadwell, and despite significant income figures reported through the 1950s, at the settlement Treadwell said that only $16,000 remained. The couple evenly divided the amount and their personal assets, terminating their business relationship.
1960s
The exit of Treadwell from Vaughan's life was also precipitated by the entry of Clyde "C.B." Atkins, a man of uncertain background whom she had met in Chicago and married on September 4, 1959. Although Atkins had no experience in artist management or music, Vaughan wished to have a mixed professional and personal relationship like the one she had with Treadwell. She made Atkins her personal manager, although she was still feeling the sting of the problems she had with Treadwell and initially kept a slightly closer eye on Atkins. Vaughan and Atkins moved into a house in Englewood, New Jersey.[7]
When Vaughan's contract with Mercury Records ended in late 1959, she immediately signed on with Roulette Records, a small label owned by Morris Levy, who was one of the backers of New York's Birdland, where she frequently appeared. Roulette's roster also included Count Basie, Joe Williams, Dinah Washington, Lambert, Hendricks and Ross and Maynard Ferguson.
Vaughan began recording for Roulette in April 1960, making a string of strong large ensemble albums arranged and/or conducted by Billy May, Jimmy Jones, Joe Reisman, Quincy Jones, Benny Carter, Lalo Schifrin, and Gerald Wilson. Surprisingly, she also had some pop chart success in 1960 with "Serenata" on Roulette and a couple of residual tracks from her Mercury contract, "Eternally" and "You're My Baby". She also made a pair of intimate vocal/guitar/double bass albums of jazz standards: After Hours (1961) with guitarist Mundell Lowe and double bassist George Duvivier and Sarah + 2 (1962) with guitarist Barney Kessell and double bassist Joe Comfort.
Vaughan was incapable of having children so, in 1961, she and Atkins adopted a daughter, Debra Lois. However, the relationship with Atkins proved difficult and violent so, following a series of strange[clarification needed] incidents, she filed for divorce in November 1963. She turned to two friends to help sort out the financial affairs of the marriage: club owner John "Preacher" Wells, a childhood acquaintance, and Clyde "Pumpkin" Golden, Jr. Wells and Golden found that Atkins' gambling and profligate spending had put Vaughan around $150,000 in debt. The Englewood house was ultimately seized by the IRS for nonpayment of taxes. Vaughan retained custody of their child and Golden essentially took Atkins place as Vaughan's manager and lover for the remainder of the decade.
Around the time of her second divorce, she also became disenchanted with Roulette Records. Roulette' finances were even more deceptive and opaque than usual in the record business and its recording artists often had little to show for their efforts other than some excellent records. When her contract with Roulette ended in 1963, Vaughan returned to the more familiar confines of Mercury Records. In the summer of 1963, Vaughan went to Denmark with producer Quincy Jones to record four days of live performances with her trio, Sassy Swings the Tivoli, an excellent example of her live show from this period. The following year, she made her first appearance at the White House, for President Johnson.
The Tivoli recording would be the brightest moment of her second stint with Mercury. Changing demographics and tastes in the 1960s left jazz artists with shrinking audiences and inappropriate material. While Vaughan retained a following large and loyal enough to maintain her performing career, the quality and quantity of her recorded output dwindled even as her voice darkened and her skill remained undiminished. At the conclusion of her Mercury deal in 1967, she was left without a recording contract for the remainder of the decade.
In 1969, Vaughan terminated her professional relationship with Golden and relocated to the West Coast, settling first into a house near Benedict Canyon in Los Angeles and then into what would end up being her final home in Hidden Hills.
Rebirth in the 1970s
Vaughan met Marshall Fisher after a 1970 performance at a casino in Las Vegas and Fisher soon fell into the familiar dual role as Vaughan's lover and manager. Fisher was another man of uncertain background with no musical or entertainment business experience but, unlike some of her earlier associates, he was a genuine fan devoted to furthering her career.
The seventies also heralded a rebirth in Vaughan's recording activity. In 1971, Bob Shad, who had worked with her as producer at Mercury Records, asked her to record for his new record label, Mainstream Records. Basie veteran Ernie Wilkins arranged and conducted her first Mainstream album, A Time in My Life in November 1971. In April 1972, Vaughan recorded a collection of ballads written, arranged and conducted by Michel Legrand. Arrangers Legrand, Peter Matz, Jack Elliott and Allyn Ferguson teamed up for Vaughan's third Mainstream album, Feelin' Good. Vaughan also recorded Live in Japan, a live album in Tokyo with her trio in September 1973.
During her sessions with Legrand, Bob Shad presented "Send in the Clowns", a Stephen Sondheim song from the Broadway musical A Little Night Music, to Vaughan for consideration. The song would become her signature, replacing the chestnut "Tenderly" that had been with her from the beginning of her solo career.
Unfortunately, Vaughan's relationship with Mainstream soured in 1974, allegedly in a conflict precipitated by Fisher over an album cover photograph and/or unpaid royalties[citation needed]. This left Vaughan again without a recording contract for three years.
In December 1974, Vaughan played a private concert for the United States president, Gerald Ford, and French president, Giscard d'Estaing, during their summit on Martinique.
Also in 1974, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas asked Vaughan to participate in an all-Gershwin show he was planning for a guest appearance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. The arrangements were by Marty Paich and the orchestra would be augmented by established jazz artists Dave Grusin on piano, Ray Brown on double bass, drummer Shelly Manne and saxophonists Bill Perkins and Pete Christlieb. The concert was a success and Thomas and Vaughan repeated the performance with Thomas' home orchestra in Buffalo, New York, followed by appearances in 1975 and 1976 with symphony orchestras around the country. These performances fulfilled a long-held interest by Vaughan in working with symphonies and she made orchestra performances without Thomas for the remainder of the decade.
In 1977, Vaughan terminated her personal and professional relationship with Marshall Fisher. Although Fisher is occasionally referenced as Vaughan's third husband, they were never legally married. Vaughan began a relationship with Waymond Reed, a trumpet player 16 years her junior who was playing with the Count Basie band. Reed joined her working trio as a musical director and trumpet player and became her third husband in 1978.
In 1977, Tom Guy, a young filmmaker and public TV producer, followed Vaughan around on tour, interviewing numerous artists speaking about her and capturing both concert and behind-the-scenes footage. The resulting sixteen hours of footage was pared down into an hour-and-a-half documentary, Listen to the Sun, that aired on September 21, 1978, on New Jersey Public Television, but was never commercially released.
In 1977, Norman Granz, who was also Ella Fitzgerald's manager, signed Vaughan to his Pablo Records label. Vaughan had not had a recording contract for three years, although she had recorded a 1977 album of Beatles songs with contemporary pop arrangements for Atlantic Records that was eventually released in 1981. Vaughan's first Pablo release was I Love Brazil!, recorded with an all-star cast of Brazilian musicians in Rio de Janeiro in the fall of 1977. It garnered a Grammy nomination.
1977 also saw the release of the Godley & Creme album "Consequences", on which Vaughan sang one of the few tracks to achieve popularity outside of the album: "Lost Weekend".
The Pablo contract resulted in a total of seven albums: a second and equally wondrous Brazilian record, "Copacabana", again recorded in Rio (1979), How Long Has This Been Going On? (1978) with a quartet that included pianist Oscar Peterson, guitarist Joe Pass, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Louis Bellson; two Duke Ellington Songbook albums (1979); Send in the Clowns (1981) with the Count Basie orchestra playing arrangements primarily by Sammy Nestico; and Crazy and Mixed Up (1982), another quartet album featuring Sir Roland Hanna, piano, Joe Pass, guitar, Andy Simpkins, bass, and Harold Jones, drums.
Vaughan and Waymond Reed divorced in 1981.
Late career
Vaughan remained quite active as a performer during the 1980s and began receiving awards recognizing her contribution to American music and status as an important elder stateswoman of jazz. In the summer of 1980, Vaughan received a plaque on 52nd Street outside the CBS Building (Black Rock) commemorating the jazz clubs she had once frequented on "Swing Street" and which had long since been demolished and replaced with office buildings.
A performance of her symphonic Gershwin program with the New Jersey Symphony in 1980 was broadcast on PBS and won her an Emmy Award in 1981 for "Individual Achievement – Special Class". She was reunited with Michael Tilson Thomas for slightly modified version of the Gershwin program with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the CBS Records recording, Gershwin Live! won Vaughan the Grammy award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female. In 1985, Vaughan received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1988, Vaughan was inducted into the American Jazz Hall of Fame.
After the conclusion of her Pablo contract in 1982, Vaughan did only a limited amount of studio recording. She made a guest appearance in 1984 on Barry Manilow's 2:00 AM Paradise Cafe, an album of original pastiche compositions that featured a number of established jazz artists. In 1984, Vaughan participated in one of the more unusual projects of her career, The Planet is Alive, Let It Live a symphonic piece composed by Tito Fontana and Sante Palumbo on Italian translations of Polish poems by Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II. The recording was made in Germany with an English translation by writer Gene Lees and was released by Lees on his own private label after the recording was turned down by the major labels. In 1986, Vaughan sang two songs, "Happy Talk" and "Bali Ha'i", in the role of Bloody Mary on an otherwise stiff studio recording by opera stars Kiri Te Kanawa and José Carreras of the score of the Broadway musical South Pacific, while sitting on the studio floor.
Vaughan's final complete album was Brazilian Romance, produced and composed by Sérgio Mendes and recorded primarily in the early part of 1987 in New York and Detroit. In 1988, Vaughan contributed vocals to an album of Christmas carols recorded by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir with the Utah Symphony Orchestra and sold in Hallmark Cards stores. In 1989, Quincy Jones' album Back on the Block featured Vaughan in a brief scatting duet with Ella Fitzgerald. This was Vaughan's final studio recording and, fittingly, it was Vaughan's only formal studio recording with Fitzgerald in a career that had begun 46 years earlier opening for Fitzgerald at the Apollo.
Vaughan is featured in a number of video recordings from the 1980s. Sarah Vaughan Live from Monterey was taped in 1983 or 1984 and featured her working trio with guest soloists. Sass and Brass was taped in 1986 in New Orleans and also features her working trio with guest soloists, including Dizzy Gillespie and Maynard Ferguson. Sarah Vaughan: The Divine One was featured in the American Masters series on PBS. Also in 1986, on Independence Day in a program nationally-televised on PBS she performed with the National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich, in a medley of songs composed by George Gershwin[8]
She was given the George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement, UCLA Spring Sing.[9]
Death
In 1989, Vaughan's health began to decline, although she rarely revealed any hints in her performances. She canceled a series of engagements in Europe in 1989 citing the need to seek treatment for arthritis in the hand, although she was able to complete a later series of performances in Japan. During a run at New York's Blue Note Jazz Club in 1989, Vaughan received a diagnosis of lung cancer and was too ill to finish the final day of what would turn out to be her final series of public performances.
Vaughan returned to her home in California to begin chemotherapy and spent her final months alternating stays in the hospital and at home. Vaughan grew weary of the struggle and demanded to be taken home, where she died on the evening of April 3, 1990, while watching a television movie featuring her daughter, a week after her 66th birthday.
Vaughan's funeral was held at Mount Zion Baptist Church at 208 Broadway in Newark, New Jersey, which was the same congregation she grew up in. Following the ceremony, a horse-drawn carriage transported her body to its final resting place in Glendale Cemetery, Bloomfield in New Jersey.[10][11]
Grammy Hall of Fame
Recordings of Sarah Vaughan were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance."
Grammy Hall of Fame[12]
Year Recorded Title Genre Label Year Inducted
1954 Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown Jazz (Album) Mercury 1999
1946 "If You Could See Me Now" Jazz (Single) Musicraft 1998
Voice
Parallels have been drawn between Vaughan's voice and that of opera singers. Jazz singer Betty Carter said that with training Vaughan could have "...gone as far as Leontyne Price."[13] Bob James, Vaughan's musical director in the 1960s said that "...the instrument was there. But the knowledge, the legitimacy of that whole world were not for her...But if the aria were in Sarah's range she could bring something to it that a classically trained singer could not."[14]
In a chapter devoted to Vaughan in his book Visions of Jazz (2000), critic Gary Giddins described Vaughan as the "...ageless voice of modern jazz – of giddy postwar virtuosity, biting wit and fearless caprice".[15] He concluded by saying that "No matter how closely we dissect the particulars of her talent...we must inevitably end up contemplating in silent awe the most phenomenal of her attributes, the one she was handed at birth, the voice that happens once in a lifetime, perhaps once in several lifetimes."[15]
Her voice had wings: luscious and tensile, disciplined and nuanced, it was as thick as cognac, yet soared off the beaten path like an instrumental solo...that her voice was a four-octave muscle of infinite flexibility made her disarming shtick all the more ironic" – Gary Giddins
Vaughan's New York Times obituary described her as a "singer who brought an operatic splendour to her performances of popular standards and jazz."[16] Fellow jazz singer Mel Tormé said that Vaughan had "...the single best vocal instrument of any singer working in the popular field." Her ability was envied by Frank Sinatra who said that "Sassy is so good now that when I listen to her I want to cut my wrists with a dull razor."[17] The New York Times critic John S. Wilson said in 1957 that Vaughan possessed "what may well be the finest voice ever applied to jazz."[16] Age hardly affected Vaughan's voice.[16] Her voice was still close to its peak before her death at the age of 66. Late in life Vaughan retained a "youthful suppleness and remarkably luscious timbre", she was also still capable of the projection of coloratura passages described as "delicate and ringingly high".[16]
Vaughan had a large vocal range of soprano through a female baritone, exceptional body, volume, a variety of vocal textures, and superb and highly personal vocal control. Her ear and sense of pitch were just about perfect, and there were no difficult intervals.[18]
In her later years her voice was described as a "burnished contralto" and as her voice deepened with age her lower register was described as having "shades from a gruff baritone into a rich, juicy contralto".[19] Her use of her contralto register was likened to "dipping into a deep, mysterious well to scoop up a trove of buried riches."[20] Musicologist Henry Pleasants noted that "Vaughan who sings easily down to a contralto low D, ascends to a pure and accurate [soprano] high C."[21]
Vaughan's vibrato was described as "an ornament of uniquely flexible size, shape and duration,"[18] a vibrato also described as "voluptuous" and "heavy"[16] Vaughan was also accomplished in her ability to "fray" or "bend" notes at the extremities of her vocal range.[18] It was noted in a 1972 performance of Leslie Bricusse and Lionel Bart's "Where Is Love?" that "In mid-tune she began twisting the song, swinging from the incredible cello tones of her bottom register, skyrocketing to the wispy pianissimos of her top."[17]
Vaughan would use a handheld microphone in live performance, using its placement as part of her performance.[18] Her various placings of the microphone would allow her to complement her volume and vocal texture, often holding the microphone at arms length and moving it to alter her volume.[18]
Vaughan would frequently use the song "Send in the Clowns" to demonstrate her vocal abilities in live performance, it was described as a "three-octave tour de force of semi-improvisational pyrotechnics in which the jazz, pop and operatic sides of her musical personality came together and found complete expression" by the New York Times.[16]
Singers directly influenced by Vaughan have included Phoebe Snow, Anita Baker, Sade and Rickie Lee Jones.[16] Singers Carmen McRae and Dianne Reeves both recorded tribute albums to Vaughan following her death; Sarah: Dedicated to You (1991) and The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan (2001) respectively.
Though usually considered a "jazz singer", Vaughan avoided classifying herself as one. Vaughan discussed the term in an 1982 interview for Down Beat:
"I don't know why people call me a jazz singer, though I guess people associate me with jazz because I was raised in it, from way back. I'm not putting jazz down, but I'm not a jazz singer...I've recorded all kinds of music, but (to them) I'm either a jazz singer or a blues singer. I can't sing a blues – just a right-out blues – but I can put the blues in whatever I sing. I might sing 'Send In the Clowns' and I might stick a little bluesy part in it, or any song. What I want to do, music-wise, is all kinds of music that I like, and I like all kinds of music."
Personal life
Vaughan was married three times: to George Treadwell (1946–1958), Clyde Atkins (1958–1961) and Waymon Reed (1978–1981). Unable to bear children, Vaughan adopted a baby girl (Debra Lois) in 1961. Debra worked in the 1980s and 1990s as an actress under the name Paris Vaughan.[22]
Sarah Vaughan's personal life was a jumble of paradoxes. She had a mercurial personality and could be extremely difficult to work with (especially in areas outside music), but numerous fellow musicians recounted their experiences with her to be some of the best of their careers. None of her marriages were successful, yet she maintained close long-running friendships with a number of male colleagues in the business and was devoted to her parents and daughter. Despite effusive public acclaim, Vaughan was insecure and suffered from stage fright that was, at times, almost incapacitating[citation needed]. While shy and often aloof with strangers, she was quite gregarious and generous with friends.
Sarah Vaughan was a member of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority.[23]
Discography
Main article: Sarah Vaughan discography
Tributes
In 2004–2006, New Jersey Transit paid tribute to Miss Vaughan in the design of its new Newark Light Rail stations. Passengers stopping at any station on this line can read the lyric to one of her signature songs, "Send in the Clowns", along the edge of the station platform.
On March 27, 2003, initiated by Susie M. Butler, the cities of San Francisco and Berkeley, California, signed a proclamation making March 27 "Sarah Lois Vaughan Day" in their respective cities.
In 2012, Vaughan was elected into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.[24]
References
Allmusic.com
Jazz: A Film By Ken Burns, Episode 9, 2001.
"Entertainment Awards Database". theenvelope.latimes.com. November 11, 2008. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
Gates, Cornell The African-American Century: How Black Americans Have Shaped Our Country ISBN 0684864150, page 229
Gourse, Leslie Sassy: the life of Sarah Vaughan ISBN 0306805782
Gourse, Leslie. "Sassy: the life of Sarah Vaughan", p. 106, Da Capo Press, 1994. ISBN 0-306-80578-2. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
"Turner Classic Movies Database".
"Student Alumni Association | UCLA Alumni". Uclalumni.net. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
Scaduto, Anthony. "A Final Farewell To Sarah Vaughan", Newsday, April 10, 1990. Retrieved July 18, 2011. "Two white horses, bedecked with black plumes over their ears, pulled the hearse a little over three miles to Glendale Cemetery in nearby Bloomfield."
"Sarah Vaughan (1924–1990) – Find A Grave Memorial". Findagrave.com. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
"GRAMMY Hall Of Fame". GRAMMY.org. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
Ian Carr; Digby Fairweather; Brian Priestley (2004). The Rough Guide to Jazz. Rough Guides. pp. 147–. ISBN 978-1-84353-256-9. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
Gourse 2001, p. 246.
Gary Giddins (May 18, 2000). Visions of Jazz: The First Century. Oxford University Press. pp. 307–. ISBN 978-0-19-513241-0. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
Holden, Stephen (April 5, 1990). "Sarah Vaughan, 'Divine One' Of Jazz Singing, Is Dead at 66". The New York Times. p. 1.
Time Inc (June 16, 1972). LIFE. Time Inc. pp. 27–. ISSN 0024-3019.
Martin Williams (November 11, 1992). The Jazz Tradition. Oxford University Press. pp. 211–. ISBN 978-0-19-536017-2. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
Holden, Stephen (June 21, 1987). "Sarah Vaughan At Carnegie". The New York Times. p. 52.
Holden, Stephen (July 3, 1988). "Jazz Festival; Sarah Vaughan, at Carnegie, Shows Grace in Adversity". The New York Times. p. 33.
Pleasants, H. (1985). The Great American Popular Singers. Simon and Schuster
"Paris Vaughan". IMDb. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
"ZΦΒ Heritage :: Notable Zetas". Zphib1920.org. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
"The Newark Star Ledger".
Gourse, Leslie (1993). Sassy – The Life of Sarah Vaughan. London: Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-851584-130.
Sarah Vaughan - William P. Gottlieb
Sarah Vaughan, c. 1946
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sarah Vaughan | |
|---|---|
Sarah Vaughan, c. 1946
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Sarah Lois Vaughan |
| Also known as | "Sassy" "The Divine One" "Sailor" |
| Born | March 27, 1924 Newark, New Jersey, United States |
| Died | April 3, 1990 (aged 66) Hidden Hills, California, United States |
| Genres | Vocal jazz, bebop, smooth jazz, blues, Jazz, traditional pop, bossa nova |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1942–1990 |
| Labels | Columbia, Mercury, Verve, Roulette, Pablo |
Background information
Birth name Sarah Lois Vaughan
Also known as "Sassy"
"The Divine One"
"Sailor"
Born March 27, 1924
Newark, New Jersey, United States
Died April 3, 1990 (aged 66)
Hidden Hills, California. United States
Genres Vocal jazz, bebop, cool jazz, blues, traditional pop, bossa nova
Occupation(s) Singer
Years active 1942–1989
Labels Columbia, Mercury, Verve, Roulette, Pablo
Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer, described by music critic Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."[1]
Nicknamed "Sassy", "The Divine One" and "Sailor" (for her salty speech),[2] Sarah Vaughan was a Grammy Award winner.[3] The National Endowment for the Arts bestowed upon her its "highest honor in jazz", the NEA Jazz Masters Award, in 1989.[4]
Contents
1 Early life
2 Early career: 1942–1943
3 With Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine: 1943–1944
4 Early solo career: 1945–1948
5 Stardom and the Columbia years: 1948–1953
6 Mercury years: 1954–1958
7 1960s
8 Rebirth in the 1970s
9 Late career
10 Death
11 Grammy Hall of Fame
12 Voice
13 Personal life
14 Discography
15 Tributes
16 References
17 External links
Early life
Sarah Vaughan's father, Asbury "Jake" Vaughan, was a carpenter by trade and played guitar and piano. Her mother, Ada Vaughan, was a laundress and sang in the church choir.[5] Jake and Ada Vaughan had migrated to Newark from Virginia during the First World War. Sarah was their only biological child, although in the 1960s they adopted Donna, the child of a woman who traveled on the road with Sarah Vaughan.[6]
The Vaughans lived in a house on Brunswick Street, in Newark, New Jersey, for Sarah's entire childhood.[6] Jake Vaughan was deeply religious and the family was very active in the New Mount Zion Baptist Church on 186 Thomas Street. Sarah began piano lessons at the age of seven, sang in the church choir and occasionally played piano for rehearsals and services.
Vaughan developed an early love for popular music on records and the radio. In the 1930s, Newark had a very active live music scene and Vaughan frequently saw local and touring bands that played in the city at venues like the Montgomery Street Skating Rink.[6] By her mid-teens, Vaughan began venturing (illegally) into Newark's night clubs and performing as a pianist and, occasionally, singer, most notably at the Piccadilly Club and the Newark Airport USO.
Vaughan initially attended Newark's East Side High School, later transferring to Newark Arts High School,[6] which had opened in 1931 as the United States' first arts "magnet" high school. However, her nocturnal adventures as a performer began to overwhelm her academic pursuits and Vaughan dropped out of high school during her junior year to concentrate more fully on music. Around this time, Vaughan and her friends also began venturing across the Hudson River into New York City to hear big bands at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
Early career: 1942–1943
Biographies of Vaughan frequently stated that she was immediately thrust into stardom after a winning amateur night performance at Harlem's Zeus Theater. In fact, the story that biographer Renee relates seems to be a bit more complex. Vaughan was frequently accompanied by a friend, Doris Robinson, on her trips into New York City. Some time in the fall of 1942 (when Sarah was 18 years old), Vaughan suggested that Robinson enter the Apollo Theater Amateur Night contest. Vaughan played piano accompaniment for Robinson, who won second prize. Vaughan later decided to go back and compete herself as a singer. Vaughan sang "Body and Soul" and won, although the exact date of her victorious Apollo performance is uncertain. The prize, as Vaughan recalled later to Marian McPartland, was $10 and the promise of a week's engagement at the Apollo. After a considerable delay, Vaughan was contacted by the Apollo in the spring of 1943 to open for Ella Fitzgerald.
Some time during her week of performances at the Apollo, Vaughan was introduced to bandleader and pianist Earl "Fatha" Hines, although the exact details of that introduction are disputed. Billy Eckstine, Hines' singer at the time, has been credited by Vaughan and others with hearing her at the Apollo and recommending her to Hines. Hines also claimed later to have discovered her himself and offered her a job on the spot. Regardless, after a brief tryout at the Apollo, Hines officially replaced his current male singer with Vaughan on April 4, 1943.
With Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine: 1943–1944
Vaughan spent the remainder of 1943 and part of 1944 touring the country with the Earl Hines big band that also featured baritone Billy Eckstine. Vaughan was hired as a pianist, reputedly so Hines could hire her under the jurisdiction of the musicians' union (American Federation of Musicians) rather than the singers union (American Guild of Variety Artists), but after Cliff Smalls joined the band as a trombonist and pianist, Sarah's duties became limited exclusively to singing. This Earl Hines band is best remembered today as an incubator of bebop, as it included trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, saxophonist Charlie Parker (playing tenor saxophone rather than the alto saxophone that he would become famous with later) and trombonist Bennie Green. Gillespie also arranged for the band, although a recording ban by the musicians union prevented the band from recording and preserving its sound and style for posterity.
Eckstine left the Hines band in late 1943 and formed his own big band with Gillespie, leaving Hines to become the new band's musical director. Parker came along too, and the Eckstine band over the next few years would host a startling cast of jazz talent: Miles Davis, Kenny Dorham, Art Blakey, Lucky Thompson, Gene Ammons, and Dexter Gordon, among others.
Vaughan accepted Eckstine's invitation to join his new band in 1944, giving her an opportunity to develop her musicianship with the seminal figures in this era of jazz. Eckstine's band also afforded her first recording opportunity, a December 5, 1944 date that yielded the song "I'll Wait and Pray" for the Deluxe label. That date led to critic and producer Leonard Feather to ask her to cut four sides under her own name later that month for the Continental label, backed by a septet that included Dizzy Gillespie and Georgie Auld.
Band pianist John Malachi is credited with giving Vaughan the moniker "Sassy", a nickname that matched her personality. Vaughan liked it and the name (and its shortened variant "Sass") stuck with colleagues and, eventually, the press. In written communications, Vaughan often spelled it "Sassie".
Vaughan officially left the Eckstine band in late 1944 to pursue a solo career, although she remained very close to Eckstine personally and recorded with him frequently throughout her life.
Early solo career: 1945–1948
At Café Society, September 1946
Vaughan began her solo career in 1945 by freelancing in clubs on New York's 52nd Street such as the Three Deuces, the Famous Door, the Downbeat and the Onyx Club. Vaughan also hung around the Braddock Grill, next door to the Apollo Theater in Harlem. On May 11, 1945, Vaughan recorded "Lover Man" for the Guild label with a quintet featuring Gillespie and Parker with Al Haig on piano, Curly Russell on double bass and Sid Catlett on drums. Later that month she went into the studio with a slightly different and larger Gillespie/Parker aggregation and recorded three more sides.
After being invited by violinist Stuff Smith to record the song "Time and Again" in October, Vaughan was offered a contract to record for the Musicraft label by owner Albert Marx, although she would not begin recording as a leader for Musicraft until May 7, 1946. In the intervening time, Vaughan made a handful of recordings for the Crown and Gotham labels and began performing regularly at Café Society Downtown, an integrated club in New York's Sheridan Square.
While at Café Society, Vaughan became friends with trumpeter George Treadwell. Treadwell became Vaughan's manager and she ultimately delegated to him most of the musical director responsibilities for her recording sessions, leaving her free to focus almost entirely on singing. Over the next few years, Treadwell also made significant positive changes in Vaughan's stage appearance. Aside from an improved wardrobe and hair style, Vaughan had her teeth capped, eliminating an unsightly gap between her two front teeth.
Many of Vaughan's 1946 Musicraft recordings became quite well known among jazz aficionados and critics, including "If You Could See Me Now" (written and arranged by Tadd Dameron), "Don't Blame Me", "I've Got a Crush on You", "Everything I Have Is Yours" and "Body and Soul". With Vaughan and Treadwell's professional relationship on solid footing, the couple married on September 16, 1946.
Vaughan's recording success for Musicraft continued through 1947 and 1948. Her recording of "Tenderly" became an unexpected pop hit in late 1947. Her December 27, 1947, recording of "It's Magic" (from the Doris Day film Romance on the High Seas) found chart success in early 1948. Her recording of "Nature Boy" from April 8, 1948, became a hit around the same time as the release of the famous Nat King Cole recording of the same song. Because of yet another recording ban by the musicians union, "Nature Boy" was recorded with an a cappella choir as the only accompaniment, adding an ethereal air to a song with a vaguely mystical lyric and melody.
Stardom and the Columbia years: 1948–1953
The musicians union ban pushed Musicraft to the brink of bankruptcy and Vaughan used the missed royalty payments as an opportunity to sign with the larger Columbia record label. Following the settling of the legal issues, her chart successes continued with the charting of "Black Coffee" in the summer of 1949. During her tenure at Columbia through 1953, Vaughan was steered almost exclusively to commercial pop ballads, a number of which had chart success: "That Lucky Old Sun", "Make Believe (You Are Glad When You're Sorry)", "I'm Crazy to Love You", "Our Very Own", "I Love the Guy", "Thinking of You" (with pianist Bud Powell), "I Cried for You", "These Things I Offer You", "Vanity", "I Ran All the Way Home", "Saint or Sinner", "My Tormented Heart", and "Time", among others.
Vaughan also achieved substantial critical acclaim. She won Esquire magazine's New Star Award for 1947 as well as awards from Down Beat magazine continuously from 1947 through 1952, and from Metronome magazine from 1948 through 1953. A handful of critics disliked her singing as being "over-stylized", reflecting the heated controversies of the time over the new musical trends of the late 40s. However, the critical reception to the young singer was generally positive.
Recording and critical success led to numerous performing opportunities, packing clubs around the country almost continuously throughout the years of the late 1940s and early 1950s. In the summer of 1949, Vaughan made her first appearance with a symphony orchestra in a benefit for the Philadelphia Orchestra entitled "100 Men and a Girl." Around this time, Chicago disk jockey Dave Garroway coined a second nickname for her, "The Divine One", that would follow her throughout her career. One of her early television appearances was on DuMont's variety show Stars on Parade (1953–54), in which she sang "My Funny Valentine" and "Linger Awhile".
With improving finances, in 1949 Vaughan and Treadwell purchased a three-story house on 21 Avon Avenue in Newark, occupying the top floor during their increasingly rare off-hours at home and relocating Vaughan's parents to the lower two floors. However, the business pressures and personality conflicts led to a cooling in the personal relationship between Treadwell and Vaughan. Treadwell hired a road manager to handle Vaughan's touring needs and opened a management office in Manhattan so he could work with clients in addition to Vaughan.
Vaughan's relationship with Columbia Records also soured as she became dissatisfied with the commercial material she was required to record and lackluster financial success of her records. A set of small group sides recorded in 1950 with Miles Davis and Bennie Green are among the best of her career, but they were atypical of her Columbia output.
Mercury years: 1954–1958
In 1953, Treadwell negotiated a unique contract for Vaughan with Mercury Records. She would record commercial material for the Mercury label and more jazz-oriented material for its subsidiary EmArcy. Vaughan was paired with producer Bob Shad and their excellent working relationship yielded strong commercial and artistic success. Her debut Mercury recording session took place in February 1954 and she stayed with the label through 1959. After a stint at Roulette Records (1960 to 1963), Vaughan returned to Mercury from 1964 to 1967.
Vaughan's commercial success at Mercury began with the 1954 hit, "Make Yourself Comfortable", recorded in the fall of 1954, and continued with a succession of hits, including: "How Important Can It Be" (with Count Basie), "Whatever Lola Wants", "The Banana Boat Song", "You Ought to Have A Wife" and "Misty". Her commercial success peaked in 1959 with "Broken Hearted Melody", a song she considered to be "corny", but, nonetheless, became her first gold record and a regular part of her concert repertoire for years to come. Vaughan was reunited with Billy Eckstine for a series of duet recordings in 1957 that yielded the hit "Passing Strangers". Vaughan's commercial recordings were handled by a number of different arrangers and conductors, primarily Hugo Peretti and Hal Mooney.
The jazz "track" of her recording career also proceeded apace, backed either by her working trio or various combinations of stellar jazz players. One of her own favorite albums was a 1954 sextet date that included Clifford Brown.
In the latter half of the 1950s she followed a schedule of almost non-stop touring, with many famous jazz musicians. She was featured at the first Newport Jazz Festival in the summer of 1954 and starred in subsequent editions of that festival at Newport and in New York City for the remainder of her life. In the fall of 1954, she performed at Carnegie Hall with the Count Basie Orchestra on a bill that also included Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Lester Young and the Modern Jazz Quartet. That fall, she again toured Europe successfully before embarking on a "Big Show" U.S. tour, a grueling succession of start-studded one-nighters that included Count Basie, George Shearing, Erroll Garner and Jimmy Rushing. At the 1955 New York Jazz Festival on Randalls Island, Vaughan shared the bill with the Dave Brubeck quartet, Horace Silver, Jimmy Smith, and the Johnny Richards Orchestra
Although the professional relationship between Vaughan and Treadwell was quite successful through the 1950s, their personal relationship finally reached a breaking point and she filed for a divorce in 1958. Vaughan had entirely delegated financial matters to Treadwell, and despite significant income figures reported through the 1950s, at the settlement Treadwell said that only $16,000 remained. The couple evenly divided the amount and their personal assets, terminating their business relationship.
1960s
The exit of Treadwell from Vaughan's life was also precipitated by the entry of Clyde "C.B." Atkins, a man of uncertain background whom she had met in Chicago and married on September 4, 1959. Although Atkins had no experience in artist management or music, Vaughan wished to have a mixed professional and personal relationship like the one she had with Treadwell. She made Atkins her personal manager, although she was still feeling the sting of the problems she had with Treadwell and initially kept a slightly closer eye on Atkins. Vaughan and Atkins moved into a house in Englewood, New Jersey.[7]
When Vaughan's contract with Mercury Records ended in late 1959, she immediately signed on with Roulette Records, a small label owned by Morris Levy, who was one of the backers of New York's Birdland, where she frequently appeared. Roulette's roster also included Count Basie, Joe Williams, Dinah Washington, Lambert, Hendricks and Ross and Maynard Ferguson.
Vaughan began recording for Roulette in April 1960, making a string of strong large ensemble albums arranged and/or conducted by Billy May, Jimmy Jones, Joe Reisman, Quincy Jones, Benny Carter, Lalo Schifrin, and Gerald Wilson. Surprisingly, she also had some pop chart success in 1960 with "Serenata" on Roulette and a couple of residual tracks from her Mercury contract, "Eternally" and "You're My Baby". She also made a pair of intimate vocal/guitar/double bass albums of jazz standards: After Hours (1961) with guitarist Mundell Lowe and double bassist George Duvivier and Sarah + 2 (1962) with guitarist Barney Kessell and double bassist Joe Comfort.
Vaughan was incapable of having children so, in 1961, she and Atkins adopted a daughter, Debra Lois. However, the relationship with Atkins proved difficult and violent so, following a series of strange[clarification needed] incidents, she filed for divorce in November 1963. She turned to two friends to help sort out the financial affairs of the marriage: club owner John "Preacher" Wells, a childhood acquaintance, and Clyde "Pumpkin" Golden, Jr. Wells and Golden found that Atkins' gambling and profligate spending had put Vaughan around $150,000 in debt. The Englewood house was ultimately seized by the IRS for nonpayment of taxes. Vaughan retained custody of their child and Golden essentially took Atkins place as Vaughan's manager and lover for the remainder of the decade.
Around the time of her second divorce, she also became disenchanted with Roulette Records. Roulette' finances were even more deceptive and opaque than usual in the record business and its recording artists often had little to show for their efforts other than some excellent records. When her contract with Roulette ended in 1963, Vaughan returned to the more familiar confines of Mercury Records. In the summer of 1963, Vaughan went to Denmark with producer Quincy Jones to record four days of live performances with her trio, Sassy Swings the Tivoli, an excellent example of her live show from this period. The following year, she made her first appearance at the White House, for President Johnson.
The Tivoli recording would be the brightest moment of her second stint with Mercury. Changing demographics and tastes in the 1960s left jazz artists with shrinking audiences and inappropriate material. While Vaughan retained a following large and loyal enough to maintain her performing career, the quality and quantity of her recorded output dwindled even as her voice darkened and her skill remained undiminished. At the conclusion of her Mercury deal in 1967, she was left without a recording contract for the remainder of the decade.
In 1969, Vaughan terminated her professional relationship with Golden and relocated to the West Coast, settling first into a house near Benedict Canyon in Los Angeles and then into what would end up being her final home in Hidden Hills.
Rebirth in the 1970s
Vaughan met Marshall Fisher after a 1970 performance at a casino in Las Vegas and Fisher soon fell into the familiar dual role as Vaughan's lover and manager. Fisher was another man of uncertain background with no musical or entertainment business experience but, unlike some of her earlier associates, he was a genuine fan devoted to furthering her career.
The seventies also heralded a rebirth in Vaughan's recording activity. In 1971, Bob Shad, who had worked with her as producer at Mercury Records, asked her to record for his new record label, Mainstream Records. Basie veteran Ernie Wilkins arranged and conducted her first Mainstream album, A Time in My Life in November 1971. In April 1972, Vaughan recorded a collection of ballads written, arranged and conducted by Michel Legrand. Arrangers Legrand, Peter Matz, Jack Elliott and Allyn Ferguson teamed up for Vaughan's third Mainstream album, Feelin' Good. Vaughan also recorded Live in Japan, a live album in Tokyo with her trio in September 1973.
During her sessions with Legrand, Bob Shad presented "Send in the Clowns", a Stephen Sondheim song from the Broadway musical A Little Night Music, to Vaughan for consideration. The song would become her signature, replacing the chestnut "Tenderly" that had been with her from the beginning of her solo career.
Unfortunately, Vaughan's relationship with Mainstream soured in 1974, allegedly in a conflict precipitated by Fisher over an album cover photograph and/or unpaid royalties[citation needed]. This left Vaughan again without a recording contract for three years.
In December 1974, Vaughan played a private concert for the United States president, Gerald Ford, and French president, Giscard d'Estaing, during their summit on Martinique.
Also in 1974, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas asked Vaughan to participate in an all-Gershwin show he was planning for a guest appearance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. The arrangements were by Marty Paich and the orchestra would be augmented by established jazz artists Dave Grusin on piano, Ray Brown on double bass, drummer Shelly Manne and saxophonists Bill Perkins and Pete Christlieb. The concert was a success and Thomas and Vaughan repeated the performance with Thomas' home orchestra in Buffalo, New York, followed by appearances in 1975 and 1976 with symphony orchestras around the country. These performances fulfilled a long-held interest by Vaughan in working with symphonies and she made orchestra performances without Thomas for the remainder of the decade.
In 1977, Vaughan terminated her personal and professional relationship with Marshall Fisher. Although Fisher is occasionally referenced as Vaughan's third husband, they were never legally married. Vaughan began a relationship with Waymond Reed, a trumpet player 16 years her junior who was playing with the Count Basie band. Reed joined her working trio as a musical director and trumpet player and became her third husband in 1978.
In 1977, Tom Guy, a young filmmaker and public TV producer, followed Vaughan around on tour, interviewing numerous artists speaking about her and capturing both concert and behind-the-scenes footage. The resulting sixteen hours of footage was pared down into an hour-and-a-half documentary, Listen to the Sun, that aired on September 21, 1978, on New Jersey Public Television, but was never commercially released.
In 1977, Norman Granz, who was also Ella Fitzgerald's manager, signed Vaughan to his Pablo Records label. Vaughan had not had a recording contract for three years, although she had recorded a 1977 album of Beatles songs with contemporary pop arrangements for Atlantic Records that was eventually released in 1981. Vaughan's first Pablo release was I Love Brazil!, recorded with an all-star cast of Brazilian musicians in Rio de Janeiro in the fall of 1977. It garnered a Grammy nomination.
1977 also saw the release of the Godley & Creme album "Consequences", on which Vaughan sang one of the few tracks to achieve popularity outside of the album: "Lost Weekend".
The Pablo contract resulted in a total of seven albums: a second and equally wondrous Brazilian record, "Copacabana", again recorded in Rio (1979), How Long Has This Been Going On? (1978) with a quartet that included pianist Oscar Peterson, guitarist Joe Pass, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Louis Bellson; two Duke Ellington Songbook albums (1979); Send in the Clowns (1981) with the Count Basie orchestra playing arrangements primarily by Sammy Nestico; and Crazy and Mixed Up (1982), another quartet album featuring Sir Roland Hanna, piano, Joe Pass, guitar, Andy Simpkins, bass, and Harold Jones, drums.
Vaughan and Waymond Reed divorced in 1981.
Late career
Vaughan remained quite active as a performer during the 1980s and began receiving awards recognizing her contribution to American music and status as an important elder stateswoman of jazz. In the summer of 1980, Vaughan received a plaque on 52nd Street outside the CBS Building (Black Rock) commemorating the jazz clubs she had once frequented on "Swing Street" and which had long since been demolished and replaced with office buildings.
A performance of her symphonic Gershwin program with the New Jersey Symphony in 1980 was broadcast on PBS and won her an Emmy Award in 1981 for "Individual Achievement – Special Class". She was reunited with Michael Tilson Thomas for slightly modified version of the Gershwin program with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the CBS Records recording, Gershwin Live! won Vaughan the Grammy award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female. In 1985, Vaughan received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1988, Vaughan was inducted into the American Jazz Hall of Fame.
After the conclusion of her Pablo contract in 1982, Vaughan did only a limited amount of studio recording. She made a guest appearance in 1984 on Barry Manilow's 2:00 AM Paradise Cafe, an album of original pastiche compositions that featured a number of established jazz artists. In 1984, Vaughan participated in one of the more unusual projects of her career, The Planet is Alive, Let It Live a symphonic piece composed by Tito Fontana and Sante Palumbo on Italian translations of Polish poems by Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II. The recording was made in Germany with an English translation by writer Gene Lees and was released by Lees on his own private label after the recording was turned down by the major labels. In 1986, Vaughan sang two songs, "Happy Talk" and "Bali Ha'i", in the role of Bloody Mary on an otherwise stiff studio recording by opera stars Kiri Te Kanawa and José Carreras of the score of the Broadway musical South Pacific, while sitting on the studio floor.
Vaughan's final complete album was Brazilian Romance, produced and composed by Sérgio Mendes and recorded primarily in the early part of 1987 in New York and Detroit. In 1988, Vaughan contributed vocals to an album of Christmas carols recorded by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir with the Utah Symphony Orchestra and sold in Hallmark Cards stores. In 1989, Quincy Jones' album Back on the Block featured Vaughan in a brief scatting duet with Ella Fitzgerald. This was Vaughan's final studio recording and, fittingly, it was Vaughan's only formal studio recording with Fitzgerald in a career that had begun 46 years earlier opening for Fitzgerald at the Apollo.
Vaughan is featured in a number of video recordings from the 1980s. Sarah Vaughan Live from Monterey was taped in 1983 or 1984 and featured her working trio with guest soloists. Sass and Brass was taped in 1986 in New Orleans and also features her working trio with guest soloists, including Dizzy Gillespie and Maynard Ferguson. Sarah Vaughan: The Divine One was featured in the American Masters series on PBS. Also in 1986, on Independence Day in a program nationally-televised on PBS she performed with the National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich, in a medley of songs composed by George Gershwin[8]
She was given the George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement, UCLA Spring Sing.[9]
Death
In 1989, Vaughan's health began to decline, although she rarely revealed any hints in her performances. She canceled a series of engagements in Europe in 1989 citing the need to seek treatment for arthritis in the hand, although she was able to complete a later series of performances in Japan. During a run at New York's Blue Note Jazz Club in 1989, Vaughan received a diagnosis of lung cancer and was too ill to finish the final day of what would turn out to be her final series of public performances.
Vaughan returned to her home in California to begin chemotherapy and spent her final months alternating stays in the hospital and at home. Vaughan grew weary of the struggle and demanded to be taken home, where she died on the evening of April 3, 1990, while watching a television movie featuring her daughter, a week after her 66th birthday.
Vaughan's funeral was held at Mount Zion Baptist Church at 208 Broadway in Newark, New Jersey, which was the same congregation she grew up in. Following the ceremony, a horse-drawn carriage transported her body to its final resting place in Glendale Cemetery, Bloomfield in New Jersey.[10][11]
Grammy Hall of Fame
Recordings of Sarah Vaughan were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance."
Grammy Hall of Fame[12]
Year Recorded Title Genre Label Year Inducted
1954 Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown Jazz (Album) Mercury 1999
1946 "If You Could See Me Now" Jazz (Single) Musicraft 1998
Voice
Parallels have been drawn between Vaughan's voice and that of opera singers. Jazz singer Betty Carter said that with training Vaughan could have "...gone as far as Leontyne Price."[13] Bob James, Vaughan's musical director in the 1960s said that "...the instrument was there. But the knowledge, the legitimacy of that whole world were not for her...But if the aria were in Sarah's range she could bring something to it that a classically trained singer could not."[14]
In a chapter devoted to Vaughan in his book Visions of Jazz (2000), critic Gary Giddins described Vaughan as the "...ageless voice of modern jazz – of giddy postwar virtuosity, biting wit and fearless caprice".[15] He concluded by saying that "No matter how closely we dissect the particulars of her talent...we must inevitably end up contemplating in silent awe the most phenomenal of her attributes, the one she was handed at birth, the voice that happens once in a lifetime, perhaps once in several lifetimes."[15]
Her voice had wings: luscious and tensile, disciplined and nuanced, it was as thick as cognac, yet soared off the beaten path like an instrumental solo...that her voice was a four-octave muscle of infinite flexibility made her disarming shtick all the more ironic" – Gary Giddins
Vaughan's New York Times obituary described her as a "singer who brought an operatic splendour to her performances of popular standards and jazz."[16] Fellow jazz singer Mel Tormé said that Vaughan had "...the single best vocal instrument of any singer working in the popular field." Her ability was envied by Frank Sinatra who said that "Sassy is so good now that when I listen to her I want to cut my wrists with a dull razor."[17] The New York Times critic John S. Wilson said in 1957 that Vaughan possessed "what may well be the finest voice ever applied to jazz."[16] Age hardly affected Vaughan's voice.[16] Her voice was still close to its peak before her death at the age of 66. Late in life Vaughan retained a "youthful suppleness and remarkably luscious timbre", she was also still capable of the projection of coloratura passages described as "delicate and ringingly high".[16]
Vaughan had a large vocal range of soprano through a female baritone, exceptional body, volume, a variety of vocal textures, and superb and highly personal vocal control. Her ear and sense of pitch were just about perfect, and there were no difficult intervals.[18]
In her later years her voice was described as a "burnished contralto" and as her voice deepened with age her lower register was described as having "shades from a gruff baritone into a rich, juicy contralto".[19] Her use of her contralto register was likened to "dipping into a deep, mysterious well to scoop up a trove of buried riches."[20] Musicologist Henry Pleasants noted that "Vaughan who sings easily down to a contralto low D, ascends to a pure and accurate [soprano] high C."[21]
Vaughan's vibrato was described as "an ornament of uniquely flexible size, shape and duration,"[18] a vibrato also described as "voluptuous" and "heavy"[16] Vaughan was also accomplished in her ability to "fray" or "bend" notes at the extremities of her vocal range.[18] It was noted in a 1972 performance of Leslie Bricusse and Lionel Bart's "Where Is Love?" that "In mid-tune she began twisting the song, swinging from the incredible cello tones of her bottom register, skyrocketing to the wispy pianissimos of her top."[17]
Vaughan would use a handheld microphone in live performance, using its placement as part of her performance.[18] Her various placings of the microphone would allow her to complement her volume and vocal texture, often holding the microphone at arms length and moving it to alter her volume.[18]
Vaughan would frequently use the song "Send in the Clowns" to demonstrate her vocal abilities in live performance, it was described as a "three-octave tour de force of semi-improvisational pyrotechnics in which the jazz, pop and operatic sides of her musical personality came together and found complete expression" by the New York Times.[16]
Singers directly influenced by Vaughan have included Phoebe Snow, Anita Baker, Sade and Rickie Lee Jones.[16] Singers Carmen McRae and Dianne Reeves both recorded tribute albums to Vaughan following her death; Sarah: Dedicated to You (1991) and The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan (2001) respectively.
Though usually considered a "jazz singer", Vaughan avoided classifying herself as one. Vaughan discussed the term in an 1982 interview for Down Beat:
"I don't know why people call me a jazz singer, though I guess people associate me with jazz because I was raised in it, from way back. I'm not putting jazz down, but I'm not a jazz singer...I've recorded all kinds of music, but (to them) I'm either a jazz singer or a blues singer. I can't sing a blues – just a right-out blues – but I can put the blues in whatever I sing. I might sing 'Send In the Clowns' and I might stick a little bluesy part in it, or any song. What I want to do, music-wise, is all kinds of music that I like, and I like all kinds of music."
Personal life
Vaughan was married three times: to George Treadwell (1946–1958), Clyde Atkins (1958–1961) and Waymon Reed (1978–1981). Unable to bear children, Vaughan adopted a baby girl (Debra Lois) in 1961. Debra worked in the 1980s and 1990s as an actress under the name Paris Vaughan.[22]
Sarah Vaughan's personal life was a jumble of paradoxes. She had a mercurial personality and could be extremely difficult to work with (especially in areas outside music), but numerous fellow musicians recounted their experiences with her to be some of the best of their careers. None of her marriages were successful, yet she maintained close long-running friendships with a number of male colleagues in the business and was devoted to her parents and daughter. Despite effusive public acclaim, Vaughan was insecure and suffered from stage fright that was, at times, almost incapacitating[citation needed]. While shy and often aloof with strangers, she was quite gregarious and generous with friends.
Sarah Vaughan was a member of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority.[23]
Discography
Main article: Sarah Vaughan discography
Tributes
In 2004–2006, New Jersey Transit paid tribute to Miss Vaughan in the design of its new Newark Light Rail stations. Passengers stopping at any station on this line can read the lyric to one of her signature songs, "Send in the Clowns", along the edge of the station platform.
On March 27, 2003, initiated by Susie M. Butler, the cities of San Francisco and Berkeley, California, signed a proclamation making March 27 "Sarah Lois Vaughan Day" in their respective cities.
In 2012, Vaughan was elected into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.[24]
References
Allmusic.com
Jazz: A Film By Ken Burns, Episode 9, 2001.
"Entertainment Awards Database". theenvelope.latimes.com. November 11, 2008. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
Gates, Cornell The African-American Century: How Black Americans Have Shaped Our Country ISBN 0684864150, page 229
Gourse, Leslie Sassy: the life of Sarah Vaughan ISBN 0306805782
Gourse, Leslie. "Sassy: the life of Sarah Vaughan", p. 106, Da Capo Press, 1994. ISBN 0-306-80578-2. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
"Turner Classic Movies Database".
"Student Alumni Association | UCLA Alumni". Uclalumni.net. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
Scaduto, Anthony. "A Final Farewell To Sarah Vaughan", Newsday, April 10, 1990. Retrieved July 18, 2011. "Two white horses, bedecked with black plumes over their ears, pulled the hearse a little over three miles to Glendale Cemetery in nearby Bloomfield."
"Sarah Vaughan (1924–1990) – Find A Grave Memorial". Findagrave.com. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
"GRAMMY Hall Of Fame". GRAMMY.org. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
Ian Carr; Digby Fairweather; Brian Priestley (2004). The Rough Guide to Jazz. Rough Guides. pp. 147–. ISBN 978-1-84353-256-9. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
Gourse 2001, p. 246.
Gary Giddins (May 18, 2000). Visions of Jazz: The First Century. Oxford University Press. pp. 307–. ISBN 978-0-19-513241-0. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
Holden, Stephen (April 5, 1990). "Sarah Vaughan, 'Divine One' Of Jazz Singing, Is Dead at 66". The New York Times. p. 1.
Time Inc (June 16, 1972). LIFE. Time Inc. pp. 27–. ISSN 0024-3019.
Martin Williams (November 11, 1992). The Jazz Tradition. Oxford University Press. pp. 211–. ISBN 978-0-19-536017-2. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
Holden, Stephen (June 21, 1987). "Sarah Vaughan At Carnegie". The New York Times. p. 52.
Holden, Stephen (July 3, 1988). "Jazz Festival; Sarah Vaughan, at Carnegie, Shows Grace in Adversity". The New York Times. p. 33.
Pleasants, H. (1985). The Great American Popular Singers. Simon and Schuster
"Paris Vaughan". IMDb. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
"ZΦΒ Heritage :: Notable Zetas". Zphib1920.org. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
"The Newark Star Ledger".
Gourse, Leslie (1993). Sassy – The Life of Sarah Vaughan. London: Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-851584-130.
Sarah Vaughan - William P. Gottlieb
Sarah Vaughan, c. 1946
