A Woman to Know: Sarah Vaughan
When I sing, trouble can sit right on my shoulder and I don't even notice. — Sarah
(image via Wikimedia Commons)
They called her "Sassy." Or "The Divine One." They said things like, "Her voice had wings."
But in the history of Dizzie Gillespie and Charlie Parker and the creators of bebop, Sarah's name is often remembered as "just" the singer. Just a voice.
But in her multi-decade career, Sarah's voice spanned multiple genres, from jazz to opera to even, at the end of her life, Brazilian fusion music. She was the master of the comeback — every decade, she would reinvent her sound for new audiences, new festivals and new productions.
"There's a category for me," she said. "But I like to be referred to as a 'good singer.' Of good songs, and of good taste."
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Add to your library list:
Sassy: The Life of Sarah Vaughan (Leslie Gorse)
Shaping Jazz (Damon J. Phillips)
The Birth of Bebop: A Social and Musical History (Scott DeVeaux)
Read more:
Sarah Vaughan, "Divine One" of jazz, dies at 66 (The New York Times)
Sarah Vaughan: A New Box Set Revels in Glorious Imperfections (NPR)
Sarah Vaughan with Dizzy Gillespie (Paste Magazine)
"Jazz Singers" exhibit: Sarah Vaughan (Library of Congress)
A trove of rarities in the "Jazz Singers" exhibit (The New York Times)
50 Years at Monterey: Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Sarah Vaughan (All About Jazz)
Watch more:
A tribute to Sarah Vaughan (The Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
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