I managed to put together the set for a reasonable price on average. Some were higher but some were lower. But they are hard to come buy for a good price. Patience is key. The Mosaic set isn't that bad price wise when you consider you get 8 cds and it's on sale for $128 which is $16 a disc. I can't afford it for now but will get it eventually at which point it'll he OOP and cost twice as much. lols. I'd also like to find a reasonably priced copy of the 2cd Live in Tivoli 1963 set. Eddie
I agree. I have all the Mercury boxes as well as the Mosaic. They all sound great to me. They were worth it for me because of some of the otherwise hard-to-find singles and unreleased alternates. I wouldn't shell out that kind of money for many singers, but she's one of them. Now if only someone would put together a well-done complete collection of her early recordings for Columbia, Musicraft and other sundry labels....
Yeh , i'm gonna keep my eyes open for the Mercury sets If they happen to pop up for better Prices . the Mosaic is alos on my Radar , but i like you can't swing that $$$ right now right after Xmas ...... let's hope there are still some around when we are ready to Buy . I still have not received my Cheap albums collection , but i have little hopes , i read reviews of others from the series & some of them seem to be noisy Needle-drops put to cd .
The Mosaic site has this item on back order with stock expected in February. So there's a few weeks left to save up. lols.
Well i got my 8- albums on 4-cd set in the Mail today , spinning it now ... I was surprised they are in a Hard double sized Jewel case , I figured it would be a cardboard cd sized box ...... ZERO artwork or Info on any of the tracks/albums etc. Pretty much just that Front cover art is what you get & a booklet with other releases they have . Listening to "Hot jazz" now & it's pretty "flat" sounding , sounds a lot like a small older AM Radio ...... I am guessing the rest of the set will be similar ......Oh well , it was cheap .
That's too bad. Sorry that it's not a better package although, as you say, it was cheap. I have no idea what the complete Mercury boxes are going for these days, but maybe with an eBay alert and some patience, you'll get lucky. I just ordered a dvd of a concert in Prague in 1978. It seemed to go out of print for a while but has shown up again through eBay and Amazon sellers. Will report back once it arrives. An Amazon review was very positive, although I try to take those with a grain of salt. Sarah Vaughan: Live in Prague 1978
Well, that Prague concert dvd arrived this weekend. I popped it in just to take a look, and it appears to be at least a 2nd- or 3rd-generation copy of a tv broadcast. Watchable, but hardly ideal.
I just ordered a Mosaic box. I have a couple of the albums already but don't have the majority, and everyone says how nice the sound and packaging are, so I'm looking forward.
it is a great set, some wonderful albums contained within...a bit of this leans to treacle for me, but the bulk is worthy for sure...
It took me awhile to get into Sarah, but once I did, I was hooked! I bought the first of the Mercury box sets from my local store and the next week asked him to order the second volume. By the time I had asked him to order the third, he had it in stock for me, along with volume four I also like the Mosaic box quite a bit. I know that some of arrangements and song selections on all of these boxes can be questionable, but I just chalk it up to the time period in which this stuff was being recorded, and find I really enjoy it -- treacle and all
haha, I like most of the contents of these box sets, but not every note of the instrumentation, which is where some issues reside and you nail it the arrangements are the blame...sometimes the A&R is the issue, but her voice, really, has there ever been a better voice on the planet? she's certainly a candidate for best female singer of all time...
How is the sound on these newly remastered albums? Sarah Vaughan -- Divine: The Jazz Albums 1954 - 1958 --from Hipo Select Sarah Vaughan Divine: The Jazz Albums 1954-1958 Disc One 1. Lover Man 2. Shulie A Bop 3. Polka Dots And Moonbeams 4. Body And Soul 5. They Can’t Take That Away From Me 6. Prelude To A Kiss 7. You Hit The Spot 8. If I Knew Then (What I Know Now) 9. I Cried For You 10. All Of Me 11. Words Can’t Describe 12. Pennies From Heaven 13. Linger Awhile 14. Over The Rainbow 15. Soon 16. Cherokee 17. I’ll Never Smile Again 18. Don’t Be On The Outside 19. How High The Moon 20. It Shouldn’t Happen To A Dream 21. Sometimes I’m Happy 22. Maybe 23. An Occasional Man 24. Why Can’t I 25. Oh My Disc Two 1. Lullaby Of Birdland 2. April In Paris 3. He’s My Guy 4. Jim 5. You’re Not The Kind 6. Embraceable You 7. I’m Glad There Is You 8. September Song 9. It’s Crazy Disc Three 1. September In The Rain 2. Willow Weep For Me 3. Just One Of Those Things 4. Be Anything But Darling Be Mine 5. Thou Swell 6. Stairway To The Stars 7. Honeysuckle Rose 8. Just A Gigolo 9. How High The Moon 10. Dream 11. I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter 12. It’s Got To Be Love (first night) 13. Alone 14. It’s Got To Be Love (second night) 15. If This Isn’t Love 16. Embraceable You 17. Lucky In Love 18. Dancing In The Dark 19. Poor Butterfly 20. Sometimes I’m Happy 21. I Cover The Waterfront Disc Four 1. Like Someone In Love 2. Detour Ahead 3. Three Little Words 4. I’ll String Along With You 5. You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To 6. Speak Low 7. All Of You 8. Thanks For The Memory 9. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes 10. Doodlin’ 11. Darn That Dream 12. Just One Of Those Things 13. Moonlight In Vermont 14. No ’Count Blues 15. Cheek To Cheek 16. Stardust 17. Missing You Price: $79.98 Sarah Vaughan was already considered one of the greatest singers of her era when she signed with Mercury Records in 1954. She was given the charge to record jazz for the subsidiary EmArcy, pop for the main label Mercury, though the assignments sometimes overlapped. No matter the imprint, during the decade Vaughan and an incredible array of talented musicians created six of the greatest jazz vocal albums of all time. These jazz vocal classics are all newly remastered and included in the 4-CD box set Divine: The Jazz Albums 1954-1958, which also includes a 4,000-word essay by award-winning writer Will Friedwald, detailed track annotations and uncommon photos, as well as faithful reproductions of the original album jackets and their rare EP counterparts. The albums in the set are: Images, an original 10-inch album that included her signature tracks “Lover Man” and “Body And Soul”; when the album was reissued a few years later as a 12-inch LP the label added five tunes from the sessions, including “All Of Me,” and re-named the album Swingin’ Easy. All of the extra Swingin’ tracks are included on the box set. Sarah Vaughan, a self-titled album famous not only for Sarah’s great voice, particularly on “Lullaby Of Birdland,” but also for the accompaniment by Clifford Brown, Herbie Mann and Paul Quinichette. In The Land Of Hi-Fi, featuring soloist Cannonball Adderley and definitive versions of “Over The Rainbow” and “How High The Moon.” The live At Mister Kelly’s, a successful outing featuring not only the original album but all 12 bonus tracks from the shows previously available only on a Japanese import, now out of print. Her second live LP recorded as a follow-up to Mr. Kelly’s, After Hours At The London House, with Count Basie’s horn section and an adoring audience. No Count Sarah, featuring the full Basie band without their leader – hence the album’s title – and astounding vocalese from Sarah, whether in “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” or “No ’Count Blues.” Divine: The Jazz Albums 1954-1958 is housed in the acclaimed Verve Select mini-album packaging, which features a hard-backed book with the afore-mentioned essay, photographs, album reproductions and more. Producers: Discs 1, 2 and 3: Bob Shad Disc 4, tracks 1-8: David Carroll and Jack Tracy Disc 4, tracks 9-17: Jack Tracy Price: $79.98
I just picked up the Japanese mono self-titled with Clifford Brown. Holy cow, this might be the best album I've ever heard. It sounds like she's sitting right in my lap singing to me.
I am extremely curious about the rare "The Complete Stardust Session" on 12" 45RPM single-sided disc from Mercury Japan, as I thought that usually they would have included all the outtakes, alternative versions, etc. on the box sets. But seems that they didn't and had issued it out on a one-sided 12" single. From the visuals I have seen of the disc, it has 4 tracks on it (Takes 1 to 4) Does anyone here have any info about it and if it's really crucial to track a copy down as an essential or just another plain fancy? Also if there is anyway or manner to purchase or download the recordings?
For many years, I have been amazed that there has not been a complete reissue set of Sarah's Columbia label recordings from 1949-1953. I will agree that other recordings of Sarah may be preferred, but in this time her voice was incredible. Sarah was certainly one of a small circle of "giants", and the complete works of nearly every one of her peers has been reissued, often in numerous editions. Yet, for many of Sarah's Columbia recordings, the only available edition is the original 78 RPM. Given her incredible following worldwide, and the fact that all are in that "grey-market" period, why has no one done this? Am I wrong? Please tip me to something that is more than the usual reissue of Sarah on Columbia, and I will buy it!
Also, I was delighted to learn that Sass was just honored with a stamp by the US Postal Service. Below is a photo of her daughter, Paris Vaughan, with the stamp. Postal Service Immortalizes Jazz Vocalist Sarah Vaughan
I confess I run hot and cold on Sarah. I respect a lot of her recordings more than I actually like them I guess. But one that really gets me is the Roulette record with Count Basie. Just love it! And especially the US cd issue that includes the amazing single with duets with Joe Williams, "If I Were A Bell" and "Teach me Tonight."
I love that stamp! I'll buy a few sheets. I hope you are "hot" on her record with Clifford! And from her later period the "Live in Japan". I saw her in Carnegie Hall on July 3, 1976. At exactly midnight she did an acapella version of "America the Beautiful" (July 4, 1976....200th, of course). It was mind blowing. But many people got up and walked out on her during that. The Vietnam era was still leaving a sour taste. It was a very strange experience. People just could not celebrate the moment.
Warm, not hot on those recordings. I don't reach for Sarah often at all, she doesn't reach me the way that quite a few others do.
