Sarah Vaughan, known to jazz lovers as ‘The Divine One’ because of her remarkable vocal dexterity, would have been 100 years old this year. Brought to us by Watford Jazz Junction, arranger and songwriter Alex Webb has put together this special tribute show in her honour to celebrate her immense impact on jazz music and song.
Webb opened the show by listing Sarah Vaughan as one of the Holy Trinity of jazz vocalists, alongside Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, and remarking that of the three she is perhaps the least well known. So this concert was a lovely opportunity to be reminded of some of her greatest hits, as well as be given a guided tour through the personal and musical highlights of her life. I really enjoyed the assured way Webb shared snippets of biography and context between the songs so that we had a chronological insight into her life, the various interesting events that led her to become the superstar she became, and ultimately her sad passing in 1990.
Also known as ‘Sassy’ (few singers have garnered as many affectionate nicknames as she has) because of her redoubtable and confident sense of humour, Vaughn's long career saw her release dozens of albums that embraced all types of music from Latin to Beatles covers, but underneath it all her love for jazz pulsed strongest. That variety in genre and style was beautifully captured by Webb's band, who skilfully shifted through swinging up tempos to sultry ballads and Latin rhythms with ease. The trumpeter in particular shared some mind-blowing solos with dizzying improvisations very much in the Bee-Bop style that Sarah Vaughan herself often favoured.
Our lead singer was Lulu Pierre who looked every each the glamorous chanteuse with her elegant trouser suit and slicked down hair. She never attempted to impersonate Vaughan, instead sharing these well loved songs with her own controlled, careful style. I particularly enjoyed her version of Lullaby of Birdland, which demonstrated her focus on producing clear, crisp melodies.
Pierre was joined by the bass-baritone Marvin Muoneke, who was tasked with bringing Sarah's famous vocal duets with Billy Eckstine, Joe Williams and others to life. His voice was rich and warm as honey. In their duet of I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm, listening to him was like basking in the heat of a homely log fire, much appreciated on this chilly autumn night! Passing Strangers, one of Vaughan's biggest hits, was another highlight, and beautifully demonstrated the contrast between Pierre's restrained vocals and Muoneke's more expansive sound.
The evening was brought to a close with the Ellington classic It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing, which provided ample opportunity for wild improvisation and raucous scat. Although a perfect end to a wonderful night, many of us Vaughan fans were left wondering if they might do an encore of Vaughan's signature tune Misty. Vaughan's audiences came to expect that song to appear in her concerts and she would often play with them, teasing as to whether or not it would feature. I definitely felt its absence. It would have been the cherry on the cake of an utterly delicious evening. But overall, a glorious celebration of a legend of jazz.
No comments:
Post a Comment