Sarah Vaughan - Ultimate

Ultimate By   Sarah Vaughan Very Good Condition Sarah Vaughan was for me, as a high schooler, the beginning and the end of jazz singing. And it was her "Live at Mr. Kelly's" album that alerted me to her command as a vocalist who went beyond "scat" to re-creating melodies, extemporaneous yet whole, usually beginning with the 2nd chorus, when she improvised like an great jazz instrumentalist. "Ultimate Sarah," selected by Dee Dee Bridgewater, is a representative sampler of the popular and jazz Sarah pre-1970s, and it shows her equally inventive work in either idiom. But it tends to emphasize the excess vibrato that I've discovered "turns off" some of today's listeners. It was actually one of many devices that she used, one that I scarcelessly notice on the "Mr. Kelly's" album and one she would de-emphasize and drop in her recordings during the '70s and '80s (a period not covered in this anthology). I think her early vibrato is traceable to several influences, including: 1. a need to differentiate herself from "First Lady of Song" Ella Fitzgerald;; and 2. her association with "B" (Miles Davis' affectionate designation for bandleader Billy Eckstine), who had one of the biggest vibratos of any pop singer. Tracklist 1 The Sweetest Sounds 2 Misty 3 Shulie A Bop 4 Summertime 5 Corcovado (Quiet Night Of Quiet Stars) 6 I'll Be Seeing You 7 Just One Of Those Things 8 Smoke Gets In Your Eyes 9 Broken-hearted Melody 10 Poor Butterfly 11 Doodlin' 12 Detour Ahead 13 Little Girl Blue 14 Dreamsville 15 My Man's Gone Now 16 No Count Blues Product details Audio CD (April 4, 1997) Number of Discs: 1 Label: Verve ASIN: B0000047FX