Sarah Vaughan: Finest Hour - The Best Of Sarah Vaughan auf CD

+ Clifford Brown,Jimmy Jones,Benny Powell,
Richard Davis,Charles Williams u.a.

On that first listen, it's the unending lushness of Vaughan's voice that smacks you in the face. Still, the Divine Sarah's soul and intellect outperformed even her gargantuan chops. She could run a song through every trick in every book -- slurring a vowel so far it extended into a nonverbal interlude, letting her consonants ring with a declarative quaver, matching her vibrato to the hi-hat cymbal-knowing full well her radiant warmth would save it from becoming an empty exercise in technique. She could also touch on a love song's every tender emotion, trusting that her improvisatory skills would confound expectation and, thereby, steer her clear of mere sentimentality. She basked in the million-dollar opulence of her own voice, fully aware of the power and beauty of her gift; her ability to use it was a triumph of taste over modesty.