The Great Sarah Vaughan

Of all of the jazz singers who have recorded since the 1920s, Sarah Vaughan was the one who most inspired the reaction, "What an amazing voice!" Blessed with a large range and a beautiful tone, whether hitting high notes or surprisingly low ones, Sassy (as her friends called her) brought bebop ideas into the mainstream. In another time period she could have been an opera singer but, fortunately for jazz, she stuck to swinging and improvising instead.

Sarah Vaughan was born in 1924 and was well trained as a pianist. She won the amateur contest at the Apollo Theater and was soon hired by the great Earl Hines to become part of his big band as a singer and second pianist. Unfortunately, a musician's union recording strike resulted in this period being undocumented and she also only recorded one song while with the Billy Eckstine Orchestra in 1944. In both settings, she learned from two of the sidemen: Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. By the time she went out on her own in 1945, she fully understood bebop yet had the vocal chops to perform any style of music extremely well. Whether it was swinging jazz, pop songs, ballads with strings, or religious material, Sassy was impossible to top. She was a major attraction and a wondrous singer up until the time of her death in 1990.

The Great Sarah Vaughan is a three-CD set in which the discs are housed in an LP-sized cover. The music dates from 1960-63 when Sassy was in her late 30s and at the peak of her powers. Accompanied by big bands, string orchestras, a combo, a duo consisting of guitarist Barney Kessel and bassist Joe Comfort or the Count Basie Orchestra, Sarah Vaughan is the star throughout.

Such songs as "Have You Met Miss Jones," "Perdido," "One Mint Julep," "'Round Midnight," "Lonely Hours" and "Call Me Irresponsible" are just a few of the highlights found among the 36 songs on this very enjoyable reissue.

—Scott Yanow