Jazz Icons: Sarah Vaughan Live in '58 & '64

As fortunate as I've been in catching and even meeting many of the giants (Coltrane, Ellington, etc.), I have several major regrets: never seeing Bird or Lady Day, and never seeing Hank Mobley or Sarah Vaughan during the late 50's/early '60s. Sarah was a pyrotechnical phenomenon in the '70s and '80s capable of impressing the most demanding listeners from any field of music, but she was truly both "Sassy" and "The Divine One" during the period captured on this video. She sang with an intimate, vibrant glow that lightened the listener's heart, producing the most indelible and timeless emotions, whether on ballads or up-tempo material.It's surprising to learn that the first concert in the sequence, featuring Sarah in a casual, rather drab dress, actually came after the second concert, in which Sarah's radiant singing seems to match her white, glamorous, feminine attire. The third concert, on the other hand, is almost overly "produced," featuring Sarah in a formal context, a lavish coiffure (wig, I suspect), and taking on ambitious tunes lie Bernstein's "Mariah" to show off her operatic soprano. It also exposes the diva's propensity for perspiring heavily, which I noticed the several times I caught live her after 1970. Since Ella had a similar problem (though somewhat less noticeable), especially after donning a wig, I've got to wonder if that single addition wasn't a strong contributer to becoming "over-heated."Upon a second viewing of the video, I found that the musical upstaged the visual element (as it should), bringing Sarah Vaughan's supremacy into clearer focus than ever, her only challengers for the top spot coming down to Ella and Billie. No one had so rich a sound (especially before the 1970s), so secure a sense of time and pitch, so "musical" an approach to melody, making up her own melodies with the facility and invention of the very best improvisers (which takes her beyond mere "scatting"). And in this early period, she's not so dependent upon "vocal display," making you conscious of that enormous range. Rather than "come at you" with that formidable instrument, she draws you in, cheering and warming that personal, exquisitely private place or realm of desire that each of us carries within us.Although this DVD is scarcely any more costly than a CD, most of us don't play videos enough to establish an intimate partnership or deep connection with them. For that reason, I'd recommend that a listener first pick up and listen to one of her inexhaustible albums ("Live at Mr. Kelly's" would be my first choice). Once Sarah has taken up residence in your psyche, you'll necessarily want to witness the source of the ineffable emotion. At that point, the DVD's value will be all the more apparent.

What a pleasure it is to see these videos from Sarah's early years. I saw her live only twice, and can't believe she died in 1990 at age 66. What a great ride she had. Well worth the price to rent!

I have almost all her Lp's / cd's and now I try to get everything that I can get on DVD. I was excited and thrilled to get this dvd, simply because you cant hardly get anything from Sarah singing during the 50's and 60's on dvd or videotape.This dvd is my favorite...her voice is phenomenal, her musicality is superb...not to mention her talent.Lets make it clear folks, she was the best ever!! All the good musicians and singers admit that!Not any singer nowadays comes close to what Sarah did!She was a still is my hero!Buy this DVD, and enjoy her version of Maria, Baubles Bangles and Beads and songs like Lover Man, I feel Pretty, sometimes I'm happy etc.And for those who never saw Sarah live performing, you HAVE to buy this dvd.It deserves a million stars!!

Great singer, complicated person, stunning life.

Absolutely awesome! Video is great; sound is very good. The best years of Sarah Vaughn’s career. She is completely captivating ! I am so fortunate to get this DVD - I could weep at her lyrical beauty!

Bought this for my mother so she could enjoy the music from her youth as her memory is fading into the past. She reallyenjoys listening to it.

The three concerts shown here range in order from very good, to excellent, to the sublime Sarah Vaughan of 1964. Her backing trios are an asset on all three, with young bassists Richard Davis and Buster Williams the most notable sidemen. This is a must for every Vaughan fan, with her version of "Maria" being the ultimate high point.

I was not alive when these were done and don't really remember seeing much video of Sarah. Very impressive stuff and love the bass player too, and the band's interactions.

商品内容も対応も良かったです。

this is a great concert collection of Sarah Vaughan, the sound and video quality is great also, and a nice little booklet included about Sarah, If Yr looking for a dvd on this artist-this is the One!

サラヴォーンのファンで、色々とCDはたくさん買い集めたけど、このビデオは、本当にすごく良い。後年自由自在に好き勝手に歌う、貫禄溢れるサラも嫌いではないけど、若々しい、姿、歌声、独特な器楽的な歌い回し、全てのバランスがいい。ポピュラーナンバーも多いし、楽しめる。

3 extremely enjoyable sets from a vocalist who had no need of histrionic gestures or elaborate hand-signals to embellish her performances. This black-and-white footage shows an artist true to her craft, respecting, interpreting and delivering the music she is working with. This is best exemplified in the first set of songs (including "Lover Man", "Mean To Me" and "Tenderly"), where Sarah, in a fairly simple dress and in an unadorned studio, is perfectly happy to address the microphone without the need of any other audience beyond it. The second set takes place in a more glamorous "show" setting, but she is still concerned with her material (including "Lover Man" (again), "Cherokee" and "Sometimes I'm Happy") above all else.If all this sounds rather stiff and formal, don't believe it: everything is done with grace and aplomb and, with the aid of a fine trio (piano, bass and drums), swings along at a great pace. This continues into the 3rd. set, recorded 6 years later (with a different trio)in a concert-hall, where Sarah charms the audience with, among other numbers, "Baubles, Bangles and Beads", I Got Rhythm", "Misty" and a diva-like performance of "Maria" before the literally show-stopping "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home".An real delight from an apparently quite shy, but very likeable performer with a magical voice.

In questo DVD vediamo tre concerti (due del '58, uno del '64) registrati dalla Vaughan in Europa (in realtà il primo dei tre è in studio per la TV svedese).Nelle registrazioni TV svedesi del '58 la Vaughan sembra un po' a disagio, a causa forse della mancanza del pubblico e della necessità di presentare da sola i brani, ma conferma le doti mostrate in alcune delle registrazioni da lei effettuate in precedenza in studio nei suoi album ufficiali, anche perché la voce è lo splendore di quegli anni. Il concerto olandese del '58 e quello svedese del '64 la vedono al contrario completamente a suo agio ed in splendida forma, con alcune magnifiche gemme quali "Maria" da West Side Story (una esecuzione superba) e una "Lover man" di incredibile perizia vocale.Registrazioni video splendide, ottimamente curate in video (bianco e nero) e audio (monofonico) dalla Naxos.Un DVD da non perdere per chi ama la grande musica.