Customer Reviews

Sarah Vaughan With Clifford Brown

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Sarah Vaughan's self-titled album featuring Clifford Brown has always been a landmark of her recording career; her warm, lush voice was in absolute top form and the musical backing was nothing short of stellar. And whereas most jazz vocalists of the 50's focused mainly on their own singing, this album explains why musicians considered Sarah one of their own; this isn't so much a singer's release as it is a project by a jazz combo that happens to feature a human voice as one of its counterparts. Generous solos are given throughout, and the album has an earthy, jam-session quality. "You're Not the Kind" and "Lullaby of Birdland" show Sarah at the height of her swinging abilities ("Birdland" even boasts what is arguably the best scat of her career) and "I'm Glad There is You," "April in Paris," and "Embraceable You" rank among the most moving and emotional ballads she's ever recorded.

Additionally, this release single-handedly justifies the remastering and reissuing process. This album has been available on CD for years and sounded just fine; the reissue, however, adds a texture to the music (especially noticeable on sax and drums) that is priceless. Amazingly, Sarah's voice sounds even more beautiful and the project as a whole no longer sounds like it was recorded decades ago. For artistic jazz standards of yesteryear and the sound technology of today, you can't find a better release than "Sarah Vaughan."

Subtle Sarah

There's no one like the young Sarah Vaughan; on this album she has a beautifully smooth and supple voice (in addition to her famous "head tones"). She's not quite as operatic or showy (the long tremolos, for example) here as on some of her work. Despite the relative understatement, however, her tonal changes and swoops are dramatic.

She's wonderful on "Lullaby of Birdland," scatting as well as Ella, and she excels on "September Song," almost defining the vocal ballad. The great Clifford Brown has a sweet extended trumpet solo, rapid and soft at the same time. While I'm not a fan of jazz flute, Herbie Mann adds dimension to the album (and is used sparingly), and he stays away from pyrotechnics. "He's My Guy" has almost an R and B sound, with an excellent sax solo, and memorable work by Brown and Jones. But, ouch... there's a high-pitched flute solo that I could have done without. "Guy" is one of the faster songs on this album of ballads.

There's an excellent selection of standards here, from "I'm Glad There is You," to "April in Paris" and "Embraceable You," with subtle comping by Paul Quinichette (ts), Jimmy Jones (p), and Joe Benjamin (b). "I'm Glad There is You" is tender and romantic, and Sarah provides some tremendous vocals, shifting tones in mid-stream and adding tremolos to good effect. Her sentimental "April in Paris" is perhaps the best version I've heard- she elevates its emotional power without saccharine effects. "Embraceable You" is not quite as appealing; Brownie's trumpet would have increased the impact. While I can never get enough of Clifford Brown, there's enough here to satisfy, especially his full-ground, powerful, cuttingly smooth work on "Jim," "He's My Guy," and the aforementioned "September Song."

A slow romantic album to be savored, this 1954 (not 1955) date is indispensable to fans of Ms. Vaughan. It's intimate, largely understated yet very effective, and is worth it just to hear Clifford Brown's accompaniment, let alone Ms. Vaughan.

This is another album ranking in my top-ten personal favorites, and damned if it doesn't feature Clifford Brown too, just like Helen Merrill's classic...he draws your heartstrings and accents these recordings naturally, perfectly. Beautiful songs, beautiful lady, nobody has more gorgeous phrasing or heart-lifting vocals than Sarah. Can you live without this album in regular rotation? I can't.

One of the great recordings of all time. Sarah's voice is perfectly recorded, and she was absolutely hitting her stride. The players include three of the all-time greats: Herbie Mann, Paul Quinichette, and the great Clifford Brown.

Song highlights include the beautiful "I'm Glad There Is You," the serene "April in Paris," and "Jim". "Jim" is particularly notable for Brownie's priceless solo -- one of the best recordings of Brownie at his peak shortly before his tragic death. The segue from Sarah to Brownie is a model of everything vocal jazz is supposed to be. If you don't get the chills, check your pulse.

Some say Sarah was more of an operatic than a jazz singer. This album, with classic tunes played by a who's-who of 1950's jazz, proves them wrong.

If you're going to buy only one Sarah Vaughan album, this should probably be it, followed closely by "Crazy and Mixed Up."

At this stage of her career Vaughan was often put in front of larger bands; here, however, she's working just with Jimmy Jones's trio plus three horns: tenor saxophonist Paul Quinichette, flautist Herbie Mann & the great trumpeter Clifford Brown. The arrangements are by Ernie Wilkins, though the tracks aren't in fact highly "arranged" in feel.

Sarah Vaughan's voice was of course at its freshest & loveliest at this point, & it's truly mesmerizing no matter what the material. Or perhaps I should say "despite the material": there's an odd mix of classic songs like "September Song", "April in Paris" & "Embraceable You" with material that hardly was up to that calibre. "Lullaby of Birdland" is a great tune, but it's an instrumental: the lyrics superadded to Shearing's melody are truly atrocious, & Vaughan's near-operatic voice can't do much with rhymes like "birdland" and "word-land", or phrases like "magic music we make with our lips when we kiss". "Jim"'s lyrics mine the same kind of helpless pathos one associates with some of Billie Holiday's setpieces, & Vaughan's reading has some noticeable Holiday inflections, but it's not exactly a great tune, with a wretchedly clumsy B section lyric (rhyming "call it quits" with "breaking my heart in bits"....ouch!). -- All that said, Vaughan's superb on the material which actually can sustain some interpretive weight. "April in Paris" & "Embraceable You" are both done at dead-slow tempos & are very lovely; "Lullaby of Birdland", despite the rotten lyrics, also has an excellent bit of scatting on it.

The band is rather mixed. Herbie Mann is pretty undistinguished, tooting away rather vaguely & not showing much ability here as an improvisor. Quinichette was one of the most faithful of Lester Young's imitators--he was often dubbed "the Vice-Prez"--& while he doesn't set a foot wrong here, on the other hand does nothing especially distinctive, with a softness & blandness that compare poorly with the wonderful foggy, misterioso inwardness of his role model's playing. The unquestioned star on the disc is Clifford Brown, whose perfectly focussed & poised solos completely outshine the efforts of his companions except, of course, Vaughan herself.

A very good album, despite its imperfections. It's a pity that the relationship between Vaughan & Brown wasn't sustained beyond this one album. Listeners who want to hear more of Brown's work with singers are directed to his work with Helen Merrill.

I first heard this album in 1955, when I came home on leave from the Navy. My friend Nicky had it, and we listened to it together.I was only 18 years old then. It was the first time I had heard Clifford Brown play. Sarah of course, Iwas already hip to. The other musicians, like Jimmy Jones, Herbie Mann, and i beleive Paul Quinichette; I had certainly heard before. Let me just say this: This is one of the greatest Jazz recordings that I have ever heard. Sarah just destroys me altogether! Cliff Brown did some of the finest trumpet playing that i've ever heard in my entire life. Let me tell you this: I've been digging jazz for at least 45 years. Probably besides Miles and Dizzy, Cliff was truely one of the greats. It's really a shame that he died so young. This album should be a collector's item. Jazz fans everywhere: BUY IT!!!

One of Sarah "Sassy" Vaughan's best recordings, this 1955 offering featured Vaughan with a stellar group of musicians, including the ill-fated Clifford Brown (Brown was killed in a car wreck in 1956) on trumpet and Herbie Mann on flute with the spirit of bebop strong throughout. Unlike her final years where her singing, especially in concert, could get a little overdramatic, Vaughan here keeps her embellishments to an minimum and is content to let good songs speak for themselves. Her haunting interpretation of "September Song" is certainly a definitive version, and "April In Paris," a song that has been in the repertoire of instrumentalists and singers for decades is given a deeply moving reading. Mann and drummer Roy Haynes give Vaughan marvelous support on George Shearing's "Lullaby of Birdland," which I think is better than Ella Fitzgerald's classic 1954 version. "Sarah Vaughan With Clifford Brown" is an excellent introduction for anyone wishing to hear one of jazz's greatest singers in her prime.

It is hard to find information about Jazz in today's world, so it is hard to know what is good, what is bad and what is... well, you know. THIS is better than good. This is Sarah Vaughn, one of the best voices in the history of singing, backed by the best band she ever worked with, featuring trumpeter Clifford Brown. I'd pay the purchase price just for "Lullaby of Birdland", but fortunately there are 8 other awesome tracks here. This is one of those albums you can play all the way through over and over again. No jazz record collection should be without it.

I've had this CD over a year now and every time and every time I listen to Sarah, I swear she sounds better each time. This is one hell of a recording. Clifford Brown stands out for all eternity on trumpet. You have to wonder what a star he would have been. Herbie Mann on flute is decent too. This is great CD during a wonderful time in the 50's before music met effects processing and over production!

This 2003 release of Vaughan's December, 1954, album (previously released in 1991 as "Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown") is one of her most brilliant collaborations and a fine memorial to the work of Brown, who died eighteen months after recording this, at age twenty-six. With Brown on trumpet, Paul Quinichette on tenor sax, Jimmy Jones on piano, Roy Haynes on drums, and Herbie Mann on jazz flute, the album is a sophisticated partnership among musicians, all of whom are thinking of the whole sound and the whole effect, rather than their own star turns. The mood varies from light to poignantly tender, the tempo is usually slow, and the volume is kept low, highlighting the creativity of each performer's variations while remaining true to the songs and their meanings.

"Lullaby of Birdland" is lightly swingy in Vaughan's hands, with minimal accompaniment and a restrained mood. Vaughan's voice ranges widely, with a lovely contrast between her lowest range and the flute of Mann, as Brown plays a muted trumpet and remains in the background. "April in Paris" is sweetly tender, with Vaughan hesitating as she asks "What have you done to my heart," her accompanists keeping their solos soft. Both "Embraceable You" and "September Song," slow-tempo songs long associated with Vaughan, allow for much improvisation and highlight Vaughan's enormous range while allowing Brown to soar. The "partial alternative take" of "Lullaby of Birdland" features Vaughan's best scat.

"Jim" and "I'm Glad There Is You" are personal favorites. "Jim," a narrative revealing the intimacy of a relationship in which the woman declares she will continue to love a man who will leave her, begins with a duet, Brown's trumpet so close to the timbre of Vaughan's voice that it sounds like another voice, while his later solo, louder than usual, conveys the passion of the song. "I'm Glad There is You" also features a perfect melding of voice and trumpet as Vaughan hits some of her highest notes in one of the most beautiful combinations of voice and trumpet ever.

Vaughan's range, her emotional feel for the music and sensitivity to her fellow musicians, her clarity of voice, her ability to control tempo (delaying her entrance on some phrases, repeating some lyrics as an echo and then "catching up"), and her recognition that one does not have to shriek to improvise or convey meaning are all highlights of this CD. This elegant album is marked by the restraint of the musicians, all of whom are wildly creative while respecting each other and their songs. Mary Whipple