I am looking for the final complete Mercury set...if anybody has a spare or knows of a copy...please PM me...(this would be the final set...vol 4..)
Sarah and Benny Carter I've got to give a nod to the aforementioned Explosive Side; the band really cooks on this one. Not surprising that Carter, himself a great individual player, was able to fashion arrangements with plenty of space in them for the soloists. Plas Johnson, Buddy Collette, Earl Palmer, Larry Bunker, Jimmy Rowles - great spots for all of them. I cannot, however, recommend with as much enthusiasm their follow up:The Lonely Hours. Sarah seems a little uninterested (a common accusation with her) and unwilling to invest in the lyrics; Carter's arrangements have a rather perfunctory feel to them as well, quite unlike the previous album.
oh neat one the Gershwin vinyl. I googled to find the album cover....Seems there is a volume 1 and 2 on cd with a very different cover, same photo of Sarah but dullsville on cd.....and as I've got these 6 disc box sets, hard to know exactly what was on the original vinyl copy and what are "bonus" cuts..or were there 15 tracks per volume on vinyl....can someone post the vinyl sequence to both volumes by chance? After Hours is becoming a fave of mine as well. its also a wonderful "autumnal" listen as is a few other stripped down records I'd lump in this category, the Sammy Davis Laurindo Almeida, the Ella and Joe Pass, the Johnny Mathis open fire two guitars record....really great non percussive listens, all very autumnal and also for the occasions Jason mentioned above....
She was just phenomenal. She had the ability to convey moods, emotions, settings, etc... when you listened to her. It's the mark of all great artists. My fave of hers is Live At Mister Kelly's.
I have a re-release from the 70s I'm guessing, with a very cool photo that actually dates to earlier than the sessions, I believe. 1940s vintage. The Mathis album is interesting, but I only have a scratchy vinyl copy of it. I've always been amused by the possible double meaning of that title: "Open Fire! Two Guitars!"
this really is a fantastic live album and a great place to start, this and self titled are the two best places to start IMO..... i'm actually spinning the Tivoli show from 63 now. Not a live set I've ever really listened to before. So far, so nice...
She's probably my favorite singer of all time. Granted I don't have a huge collection: - The Proper box set that covers her pre-1950 material - After Hours at the London House - At Mister Kelly's - Sarah + 2 (as my version of the drummer-less trio date was labeled) - and of course the famous s/t w/ Cliff Brown Some singers get far with the unique and/or beautiful tonal quality of their voices; some because they have gifted musical ears and can do interesting things with phrasing or pitch; some because they were sensitive to lyrics. Vaughan, more than anyone else I can think of, excelled at all of these simultaneously at her best. She could have the ear of Ella, the intimacy of Billie, the sultriness of Peggy Lee, the attitude of O'Day, all in the same song.
oh such a great post, thanks for taking the time to articulate what you hear when listening to Sarah. I gotta tell you, if you like Sarah +2 you need her "After Hours" drummerless release which is what started this thread for me.... Clearly its different than the live "After Hours" at the london house, though has a similar title...i've got these live tracks on the complete Verve boxes, so i'm going to listen to this live outing next....thanks for the posting of your thoughts.
wow, seems she had an "After Hours" put out on Columbia too! how many artists have the same album title on totally different albums on totally different record labels?
That After Hours in London is really good. Very different then Mister Kelly's (in terms of how she handled the songs) which shows just why she was incredible.
listened to this late night recording early this morning and its very very laid back and languid and i mean this in a good way...here is some info about the After Hours In London House (taped in chicago) from allmusic.com...so if i'm reading this correctly...she performed 3 sets across town then recorded this one with some musicians that hadnt even rehearsed this material together, now thats kinda cool IMO... Seven months after Mercury recorded Sarah Vaughan in a live setting for the surprisingly successful At Mr. Kelly's, the label planned another date with the microphones for the night of March 7, 1958. This time, however, instead of setting up at Mr. Kelly's (although she was booked for three shows that night), the producers invited a small group of friends and well-wishers to another Chicago club, London House, for an after-hours session. Vaughan expanded her trio with a quartet of Count Basie titans, including trumpeter Thad Jones and tenor Frank Wess, and as if the settings weren't challenging enough already, decided to record a set that, in true after-hours fashion, was completely improvised. (The cover photo even shows her studying a sheet as she sings.) Although the results are certainly far looser and more relaxed than a studio date, Vaughan and the instrumentalists don't shine as expected. Vaughan in particular plays it safe with this material, drawing out her cozy ballads with interpretive ease, but never taking them as far as she could in a more stable setting. The format breaks down completely on the final song, "Thanks for the Memory," when Vaughan misreads a lyric, puzzles over it for a few seconds, restarts the number, flubs it again, starts over one more time, and finally wraps up after seven minutes by declaring the session — while still singing, of course — "the most craziest, upsettin', down-sided recording date I ever had in my life."
Nice summary, sometimes I forget to read some linear notes before putting the CDs on. I'm just to excited about playing the music. Thought she had recorded this in London. Oh well thanks for the story.
yeah I thought it was recorded in London at first..."London House"...oh right, the London House in Chicago......haha...threw me too. A very loose recording, a must for improv jazz fans for sure, this one is really smokey cool in my book. i'm still in a Sarah mood so today I'm spending time with this cool Columbia release.... Sarah Vaughan in Hi Fi...a sparkling 78 rpm era collection... An essay by Michael Fremer here as Pure Pleasure did vinyl on it recently.... http://www.musicangle.com/album.php?id=504 Miles Davis, Freddie Green,Benny Green and other jazz luminaries add luster to this early Columbia Vaughan outing.... Track Listings 1. East Of The Sun (And West Of The Moon) 2. Nice Work If You Can Get It 3. Come Rain Or Come Shine 4. Mean To Me 5. It Might As Well Be Spring 6. Can't Get Out Of This Mood 7. Goodnight My Love 8. Ain't Misbehavin' 9. Pinky 10. Nearness Of You 11. Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year 12. Ooh What Cha Doin' To Me 13. It's All In The Mind 14. Nearness Of You 15. Ain't Misbehavin' 16. Goodnight My Love 17. Can't Get Out Of This Mood 18. It Might As Well Be Spring 19. Mean To Me 20. Come Rain Or Come Shine 21. East Of The Sun (And West Of The Moon
After Hours @ London has its moments, but its not a favorite of mine. To begin with, it has that crazy wiideee stereo separation, with Sarah all the way to your left speaker and the trumpet all the way to the right. She is a bit tired. By the time she gets to 'Thanks for the memory' she really just wants to go home.
It was a figure of speech, guys, and yes, Coltrane too made a bad album: that most sacred of cows called (let the flames begin), A Love Supreme. After decades of forcing this album into my listening time, I'm still not getting on board. Sarah's attempt at pop are a bit disappointing (to some), but my intent was to show that she has long been a favorite of mine — along with Dinah, Ella and Billie.
nothing this loved by so many people can be "bad" really....but me too, i just don't get this one, YET...maybe some day. i hate they took away the popcorn emoticon....cause I'd use it here....
So, so much I could say, but no time. Suffice it to say that MacDonald's sells more hamburgers than the Waldorf-Astoria too.
Yeah!...no swingin' around here unless we're "Swingin' Easy" wow, what a fantastic Sarah album this one is....two great Trio sessions. Eight of these songs recorded in 1954 with John Malachi on piano and Joe Benjamin on bass and these were originally released that year on a 10" LP entitled Images. coupled in the 12" era with five tracks from 1957 and in the CD era, an extra minute of something special. All in Glorious Monoaural sounds.....just a fantastic album in every way and a great primer for Sarah as well as the s/t... Track listing "Shulie a Bop" (George Treadwell, Sarah Vaughan) - 2:42 "Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)" (Jimmy Davis, Ram Ramirez, Jimmy Sherman) - 3:19 "I Cried for You" (Gus Arnheim, Arthur Freed, Abe Lyman) - 1:42 "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" (Sonny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen) - 2:36 "All of Me" (Gerald Marks, Seymour Simons) - 3:18 "Words Can't Describe" (Bill Tennyson) - 4:35 "Prelude to a Kiss" (Duke Ellington, Irving Gordon, Irving Mills) - 2:48 "You Hit the Spot" (Mack Gordon, Harry Revel) - 3:03 "Pennies from Heaven" (Johnny Burke, Arthur Johnston) - 3:07 "If I Knew Then (What I Know Now)" (Eddie Howard, Dick Jurgens) - 2:33 "Body and Soul" (Frank Eyton, Johnny Green, Edward Heyman, Robert Sour) - 3:15 "They Can't Take That Away from Me" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) - 2:44"Linger Awhile" (Harry Owens, Vincent Rose) 1:00 (Bonus track not on the original LP.)
yes thank you, you inspired me to piece this one together from the box sets and i'm enjoying it now...my post is more a wiki cut and paste job with pictures, for novices like me.. thanks for bringing it up, these are some of my favorite Sarah recordings now!
