Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Sarah Vaughan
This is a superb introduction to Sarah Vaughan's vocal art, spanning her career from its beginnings in 1944 to 1985 and demonstrating her astonishing combination of gifts, with the luxuriant sound of her voice stretching from warm, evocative ballads to scintillating scat. From the outset of her career, Vaughan was adept at the harmonic subtleties of the newly emerging bop, apparent here in "Interlude," a vocal version ofDizzy Gillespie's "Night in Tunisia" with the composer adding brash trumpet, as well as in "I Love You," a duet withBilly Eckstine. Every track is a career highpoint, with Vaughan's blend of lyric nuance and virtuosity making songs like "Misty," "My Man," and "Send in the Clowns" absolutely her own. Her performances here are consistently complemented by brilliant soloists, including trumpeterClifford Brown, tenor saxophonistZoot Sims, guitaristJoe Pass, and bassist George Duvivier, while her own piano playing enhances the intimacy of "Nearness of You."--Stuart Broomer