Sarah Vaughan: The Complete Columbia Albums Collection auf 4 CDs

Die Alben in dieser Sammlung dienen als Anfang und Ende der langen und illustren Karriere von Sarah Vaughan (+1990). Die ersten beiden enthalten Aufnahmen von 1949-1953, als sie erstmals für ein Major Label aufnahm - Columbia. Die letzten beiden sind zwei ihrer letzten und besten Alben, 1982 und 1987 als Special Projects für CBS / Columbia aufgenommen. CD 1 enthält vier Bonus-Tracks, die nicht auf der Original-LP waren, CD 2 sogar 9. Sarah war meisterhaft im Interpretieren von Gershwin und brasilianischer Musik, beides auf CD 3 und 4 gut zu hören.

Product Information

The very top tier of America's greatest (and most studied and copied) female jazz and blues vocalists of the 20th century is where Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and 'Sassy' Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990) are found. Born in Newark and raised in the church, Vaughan's voice could have earned her a career on the classical stage. But popular music lured her to different stages, where big bands held sway under the leadership of Earl 'Fatha' Hines and (later) Billy Eckstine, Vaughan's lifelong mentor.

Early 78 rpm records on the old Musicraft label brought her to the attention of Columbia in January 1949, when the earliest session on After Hours With Sarah Vaughan took place, an orchestral date that Vaughan deftly transcended, her jazz chops taking over. The 1955 LP, "at the dawn of the long-playing era," as popular vocal aficionado Will Friedwald's notes remind, compiled material from Columbia dates in 1949, '50, '51, and '52, conforming to a template of sorts, "consisting of well-known standards rendered in what jazz fans would have regarded as commercial settings."

Thankfully, Vaughan also recorded with small jazz combos, most famously the two May 1950 dates which featured Miles Davis and trombonist Benny Green. Those dates (and two others with different orchestral lineups) were culled for Sarah Vaughan In Hi-Fi, her other 1955 Columbia LP, whose first four songs became a litany for every singer: "East Of The Sun (And West Of The Moon)," "Nice Work If You Can Get It," "Come Rain Or Come Shine," and "Mean To Me." (The original 12-song LP turned into a 21-track CD in 1996, with the addition of "Ooh, What'cha Doin' To Me" and eight alternate takes.)

Some three decades later in 1982, after her career had taken Vaughan to the moon and beyond, she was coaxed into a concert recording at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a tribute to her favorite composers, George and Ira Gershwin. Abundance of riches would righteously describe Gershwin Live!, including the Porgy And Bess medley, two other medleys that cover nine songs, and other selections ranging from "Sweet And Low-Down" and "Fascinating Rhythm," to 'The Man I Love."

Sarah Vaughan's final LP under her own name, Brazilian Romance, marked her return to Columbia in 1987, for a concept album produced by Sergio Mendes and devoted (mostly) to the songs of Milton Nascimento (who joined her on vocals) and guitarist-arranger Dori Caymmi. A who's who of jazz players were onboard, including soloists Hubert Laws, Tom Scott, and Ernie Watts. Friedwald notes, "there was still time to create some Sarah Vaughan classics, such as 'Nothing Will Be As It Was' and 'Photograph.' Most moving of all is album producer Sergio Mendes' 'So Many Stars,' truly one of the all-time great Vaughan love songs, thanks partly to an expert lyric by Alan and Marilyn Bergman."

1. After Hours With Sarah Vaughan (Columbia, 1955)
2. Sarah Vaughan In Hi-Fi (Columbia, 1955)
3. Michael Tilson Thomas / Sarah Vaughan: Gershwin Live! (Sony Classical, 1982)
4. Brazilian Romance (Columbia, 1987)

(legacyrecordings. com)