SARAH VAUGHAN
INTERLUDE
Early Recordings 1944-1947
Sarah Vaughan with the Orchestras of Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Eckstine,
John Kirby, George Treadwell, Georgie Auld and Dickie Wells. Featuring
various artists including Charlie Parker, Don Byas, Charlie Ventura,
Flip Phillips, Buck Clayton and Teddy Wilson.
Recorded December 1944- December 1947. No location given.
NAXOS JAZZ LEGENDS
8.120572
1. Mean To Me
2. Interlude
3. No Smokes
4. What More Can A Woman
5. East Of The Sun
6. Lover Man
7. Signing Off
8. I'll Wait And Pray
9. You Go To My Head
10. I'm Scared
11. I Could Make You Love Me
12. It Might As Well Be Spring
13. I'm Through With Love
14. September Song
15. Don't Worry 'Bout Me
16. Gentleman Friend
17. We're Through
18. A Hundred Years From Today
Sarah Vaughan ( 1924 - 1990 ) was undoubtedly one of the greatest singers
in the history of jazz. Her outstanding vocal abilities - vast range,
excellent sense of pitch and flawless intonation, clear articulation
and a wonderful feeling for nuances of tone and dynamics - place her
in the category of a great singer, whatever one's taste in music might
be. She is, in my opinion, a musician's musician in much the same way
as Tony Bennett is amongst male vocalists.
This release, as indicated in the title, is comprised of early performances
recorded from 1944 to 1947. These tracks are doubly significant in that
they cover the early years of Be-Bop and feature some of the bands and
many of the players associated with popularisation and development of
that style. There are also examples of Sarah Vaughan performing with
more mainstream ensembles ( John Kirby, Dicky Wells, Teddy Wilson ).
However, the musicians in these groups must be considered to be the
cream of their particular style and many of them played a major part
in influencing the more modern players. What is fascinating is the ease
with which Sassy adapts herself to these varied groups - she is able
to sound completely at home without compromising her already personalised
delivery.
The selection of songs on this album is a real mixture of well and lesser
- known material. "Interlude" is in actuality a vocal version
of "A Night In Tunisia". I particularly enjoyed " Lover
Man" ( complete with Charlie Parker ), "I'll Wait And Pray"
( A Tune later played beautifully by John Coltrane on "Coltrane
Jazz"), "You Go To My Head" and "It Might As Well
Be Spring" ( this could have been written for Vaughan's unique
vocal talents ).
Throughout the disc there are solo gems from some of the most outstanding
players from that era including Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Flip
Phillips and Charlie Ventura, to select just a few. The liner note is
most informative and the transfer and "cleaning up" of the
sound is first class. This is amongst the best discs in this series
that I have heard so far.
Dick Stafford
D.S. is a professional reed player and teacher living
in Coventry.
Crotchet
CD Reviews
