After Hours [Columbia]

Artist: Sarah Vaughan

Number of Discs: 1

Total time: 35:22
Label: Roulette
Availability: In stock
Item #: 5152883

Available in U.S. only.

List Price: $16.99
Member Price: $11.98

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Review

From 1961-1962, Sarah Vaughan recorded two albums while accompanied by just guitar and bass. Her 1962 outing for the obscure Reactivation label (with guitarist Barney Kessel and bassist Joe Comfort) remains out of print, but her earlier set with guitarist Mundell Lowe and bassist George Duvivier was finally reissued in 1997, along with one previously unreleased selection ("Through the Years") taken from a slightly earlier exploratory session with the same players. Surprisingly, Lowe only has one solo, so the emphasis throughout is exclusively on Sassy's magnificent voice. The program mostly sticks to ballads, with a couple of exceptions (most notably "Great Day"), and is a quiet and intimate affair, with Vaughan more subtle than she sometimes was. Despite a lightweight version of "My Favorite Things" that will not remind listeners of John Coltrane, this is an excellent if brief set (34-and-a-half minutes) with some fine jazz singing. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

Read About This Recording

Throughout her career, the great Sarah Vaughan recorded in many different settings. Few however were as intimate as this 1961 outing which found her accompanied by just guitarist Mundell Lowe and bassist George Duvivier. The 11 songs (including a previously unreleased Through The Years) are mostly ballads and showcase the beauty of Sassy's remarkable voice. Lowe actually only has one guitar solo so Vaughan is continually in the spotlight which should delight her many fans. Among the highlights of the continually intriguing set (which has many subtle surprises) are My Favorite Things, Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye, Easy To Love and In A Sentimental Mood. The sensitive accompaniment brings out the best in Vaughan's voice and, even with her huge discography, this set definitely stands out.

-Scott Yanow

Extended Article

In the pantheon of great jazz singers, Sarah Vaughan stands out as the most accomplished of the goddesses. She exhibits utter control over every note, so that we have the sensation of going from solid to liquid to gas in some kind of transormative magic act. She is certainly the most operatic of jazz musicians. But, some have seen in her perfect voice too much of the theatrical. She, of all performers, comes the closest to the sense of Broadway in her recordings from hit shows, but it would be Sassy herself who would give the lie to those who see her as a pop singer in this 1961 recording complemented by only bass and guitar. Here is the intimate Sarah singing on powerglide, less conscious of her technique so carefully managed elsewhere, and more concerned with the improvisational character of jazz. It is this more informal Sarah singing jazz classics in a jazz framework that makes her ours to cherish.

My Favorite Things; Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye; Wonder Why; Easy To Love; Sophisticated Lady; Great Day; Ill Wind; If Love Is Good To Me; In A Sentimental Mood; Vanity; Through The Years*.

(*Not on original LP)

Sarah Vaughan, Vocals; Mundell Lowe, Guitar; George Duvivier, Bass.

CD Special Features

Contains Through The Years - A previously unissued track!

Digitally remixed from the original 3-track tape and mastered by Malcolm Addey.

Tracks + Soundclips

After Hours [Columbia]
	1. My Favorite Things	2:46
	2. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye	2:26
	3. Wonder Why	4:21
	4. Easy to Love	2:12
	5. Sophisticated Lady	3:52
	6. Great Day	2:18
	7. Ill Wind	3:13
	8. If Love Is Good to Me	2:12
	9. In a Sentimental Mood	4:06
	10. Vanity	4:19
	11. Through the Years	3:09