BLACK NIGHTINGALES

LADY DAY, ELLA, SASSY

IN JAZZ, WOMEN HAVE LONG BEEN ACCEPTED AS VOCALISTS, BUT FEW
HAVE ENJOYED NOTABLE CAREERS AS JAZZ INSTRUMENTALISTS,
ARRANGERS, OR CONDUCTORS. INDEED, EXCEPT FOR THE PARISIAN
RED HEADS IN THE 1930s, THE INTERNATIONAL SWEETHEARTS OF
RHYTHM IN THE 1940s, AND A SCATTERED FEW FAMOUS NAMES LIKE
PIANISTS LIL HARDIN, MARY LOU WILLIAMS, AND MARIAN
MCPARTLAND, AND A FEW NEWCOMERS TO THE SCENE SUCH AS
EASTMAN SCHOOL ALUMA MARIA SCHNEIDER, VIRTUALLY ALL
RENOWNED WOMEN IN JAZZ ARE VOCALISTS.
20TH AND 21ST CENTURY AUDIENCES FOR AMERICAN POPULAR MUSIC
HAVE ENJOYED THE REMARKABLE TALENTS OF A HOST OF BLUES AND
JAZZ SINGERS: MA RAINEY, BESSIE SMITH, ALBERTA HUNTER; IVIE
ANDERSON, JOSEPHINE BAKER, ETTA JAMES; HELEN WARD, ETHEL
WATERS, CARMEN MCRAE; PEGGY LEE, LENA HORNE, NINA SIMONE TO
NAME A FEW. BUT TONIGHT I WANT TO FOCUS ON THREE SINGERS
WHO, ARGUABLY, COMPRISE A TRIO OF THE GREATEST FEMALE JAZZ
SINGERS OF ALL TIME: BILLIE HOLIDAY (OR LADY DAY), ELLA
FITZGERALD, AND SARAH VAUGHAN ( OR SASSY).
BILLIE HOLIDAY (1915-1959)
LADY DAY, SHE WAS CALLED; A NAME BESTOWED ON HER BY TENOR
SAXOPHONE GREAT LESTER YOUNG. BUT SHE WAS BORN ELEANORA
FAGAN IN BALTIMORE IN 1915. SHE HAD A HOST OF FORMAL AS WELL
AS NICK NAMES DURING HER EARLY LIFE, DEPENDING ON THE
MARITAL CIRCUMSTANCES OR RELATIONSHIP HABITS OF HER
MOTHER. HER FATHER CLARENCE HOLIDAY, A BIG-BAND BANJO

PLAYER AND GUITARIST WHO ABANDONED THE FAMILY CALLED HER

SIMPLY BILL.
HER LIFE OF 43 YEARS WAS MARKED BY FAMILY INSTABILITY,
PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL ABUSE, HUNGER, HOMELESSNESS, HORRID
RELATIONSHIPS, AND TRAGICALLY, ALCOHOLISM AND
UNCONQUERABLE HEROIN ABUSE THAT FINALLY DESTROYED HER. AS
A YOUNGSTER, SHE WAS PASSED AROUND AMONG VARIOUS RELATIVES
FOR SHELTER AND EVEN SPENT TIME LOCKED UP IN THE HOUSE OF
THE GOOD SHEPHERD, A DICKENSIAN REFORMATORY RUN BY NUNS.
AT AGE TWELVE, SHE WAS WORKING IN BALTIMORE AS A PROSTITUTE.
IN HER EARLY TEENS, SHE MOVED TO NEW YORK CITY WHERE SHE
GOT BY PLYING HER TRADE AS A PROSTITUE, WHICH LED TO HER
ARREST AND INCARCERATION AND HER CONTINUING DRUG USE
RESULTED IN INCARCERATION AS LATE AS 1947. IT IS EASY TO BECOME
DISTRCTED BY THE STURM UND DRANG OF BILLIE HOLIDAYS CAREER
BECAUSE IT IS, WELL, LURID AND INTERESTING. BUT I PREFER TO
FOCUS INSTEAD ON HER MUSIC.
AS A TEENAGER, BILLY BEGAN SINGING FOR TIPS AT HOUSE PARTIES
AND SMALL CLUBS IN NEW YORK. THEY WERE NON-DESCRIPT PLACES
WHERE SHE BEGAN TO LEARN HOW TO WORK A ROOM.
THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF HER EMERGENCE AS A SINGER IN THESE
EARLY YEARS ARE VAGUE. BILLIE HERSELF TELLS THE FOLLOWING
STORY WHICH CANT BE VERIFIED (SHE WAS GOOD AT MIXING FACT
AND FICTION, AS IN HER AUTOBIOGRAPHY LADY SINGS THE BLUES.)
(HMTTY P. 198.) HER SINGING VOICE BY HER OWN DESCRIPTION WAS
TINYBARELY RANGING AN OCTAVE. AS BILLIE HERSELF SAID: IT
JUST GO UP A LITTLE BIT AND COME DOWN A LITTLE BIT. . .THIS VOICE
OF MINES A MESS; A CAT GOT TO KNOW WHAT HES DOING WHEN HE

PLAYS WITH ME. BILLIE STRUGGLED THROUGHOUT HER LIFE

FEELING INADEQUATE AS A SINGER, TELLING AN INTERVIEWER
TOWARD THE END OF HER LIFE: IT SOUNDS LIKE IM DOING COMEDY.
MY VOICE SOUDNED SO FUNNY AND HIGH. . .I SOUNDED LIKE IM ABOUT
THREE YEARS OLD. BUT I DONT LIKE ANY OF MY RECORDS, TO BE
TRUTHFUL WITH YOU. BECAUSE ITS ALWAYS SOMETHING YOU SHOULD
HAVE DONE. OR YOU SHOULD HAVE WAITED HERE; OR YOU SHOULD
HAVE PHRASED. . .WELL, YOU KNOW HOW IT IS. (KB 207)
IN HER LATE TEENS SHE WAS SINGING IN SMALL CLUBS IN BROOKLYN
AND HARLEM WHEN SHE WAS DISCOVERED BY JOHN HAMMOND.
BEING DISCOVERED BY HAMMOND WAS LIKE WINNING THE LOTTERY.
(DESCRIBE HAMMOND). IN 1935 SHE BEGAN RECORDING REGULARLY
AND HER MUSICAL ASSOCIATIONS EXPANDED TO INCLUDE PLAYING
AND/OR RECORDING WITH SUCH JAZZ GIANTS AS BENNY GOODMAN,
ARTIE SHAW, DUKE ELLINGTON, COUNT BASIE; SAXOPHONISTS LESTER
YOUNG, COLEMAN HAWKINS, BEN WEBSTER; TRUMPETERS LOUIS
ARMSTRONG, ROY ELDRIDGE, HARRY SWEETS EDISON, TO NAME
JUST A FEW.

IN 1935, SHE MADE HER FIRST APPEARANCE ON FILM (OF WHICH IM

AWARE) IN A SOUNDIE (AS THESE WERE CALLED), ENTITLED
SYMPHONY IN BLACK, A DUKE ELLINGTON WORK. THIS PIECE IS
IMPORTANT FOR SEVERAL REASONS: IT GIVES US A VIEW OF BILLIE
HOLIDAY AT AGE 20, BUT IT ALSO DEMONSTRATES DUKE ELLINGTONS
EARLY ATTEMPTS AT COMPOSING IN FORMS LONGER THAN THE
STANDARD 3-MINUTE POP FORMAT; ALL IN AN EFFORT TO ACHIEVE A
LONG SOUGHT-AFTER GOAL (ENCOURAGED VIGOROUSLY BY THE EAST
COAST NEGRO AND WHITE INTELLECTUAL ELITE) OF USING NEGRO
FOLK MATERIAL TO CREATE AMERICAN MUSICAL MONUMENTS OF

LASTING VALUE THAT COULD HOLD THEIR OWN WITH EUROPEAN

MASTERS. SYMPHONY IN BLACK IS IN FOUR PARTS OR MOVEMENTS,
DESIGNED AS DRAMATIC VIGNETTES. THE VISUAL CANTUS FIRMUS
OR CONSTANT IS DUKE HIMSELF, SEEN ALTERNATELY COMPOSING AT
THE PIANO IN HIS ARTISTS GARRET OR LEADING HIS ORCHESTRA
(WHICH IS OUTFITTED IN FORMAL WHITE TIE AND TAILS). WE ARE
GOING TO SEE PART TWO WHICH FEATURES BILLIE HOLIDAY.
ENTITLED A TRIANGLE, IT IS IN THREE SECTIONS: THE FIRST,
DANCE, (FEATURES A COUPLE DANCING IN THEIR APARTMENT,) THE
SECOND, JEALOUSY HAS THE DANCING COUPLE ENCOUNTERING THE
MANS FIRST WOMAN (20-YEAR OLD BILLY HOLIDAY) A SCENE IN
WHICH THE MAN VIOLENTLY HURLS HER TO THE GROUND, AND
FINALLY, THE THIRD SECTION, BLUES IN WHICH HOLIDAY SINGS A
MOURNFUL LOST MY MAN BLUES. HER VOICE IN THIS EXAMPLE IS
SMALL WITH AN INTERVAL RANGE ONLY OF A FIFTH. AS IN HER REAL
LIFE, BILLIE, IN THIS FILM, IS THE VICTIM OF ABUSE AND MISFORTUNE.
(JAZZ LEGENDS, CHAPTER 3, 25:25 MIN)

BILLIE HOLIDAY WAS NEVER REALLY A BLUES SINGER (DESPITE THE

TITLE OF HER HORRIBLY MYTHICAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY, LADY SINGS
THE BLUES WHICH WAS MADE INTO AN EVEN MORE HORRIBLY
MYTHICAL MOVIE OF THE SAME NAME). RATHER, SHE WAS MORE A
SONG SYLIST, CONSIDERED BY MANY CRITICS AS THE FOREMOST
FEMALE SINGER IN JAZZ HISTORY. SHE DIDNT SCAT LIKE ELLA
FITZGERALD AND SHE DIDNT HAVE THE PURE, VELVETY SOUND OF A
SARAH VAUGHANTHE TWO OTHER GREAT FEMALE JAZZ SINGERS ON
THIS EVENINGS BILL. HER SOUND WAS LIGHT, LYRICAL, AND
RHYTHMIC. SHE HAD A REMARKABLE SENSE OF TIMING; IT WAS
RELAXED AND FREE, NUANCED, BALANCED WITH HER

ACCOMPANIMENT. SHE WAS ABLE TO MOLD A SONG TO HER

STANDARDS, MAKING IT HER OWN. ONE OF HER PIANISTS, BOBBY
TUCKER OBSERVED: (HMTTY P. 200.)
BILLIE HOLIDAYS RECORDINGS BETWEEN 1935-1942 WERE
ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR ESTABLISHING THE HOLIDAY SINGING
STYLE AND FOR BRINGING HER TO THE ATTENTION OF A LARGER
AUDIENCE. ONE SONG FROM THAT PERIOD THAT BECAME AN INSTANT
CLASSIC WHEN IT WAS RELEASED IN 1939 AND REMAINS FIRMLY (AND
ONLY) ASSOCIATED WITH HER WAS STRANGE FRUIT, A DISTURBING
ANTI-LYNCHING SONG THAT ADDED A CERTAIN POLITICAL DIMENSION
TO HER PUBLIC IMAGE. THE SONG WAS GIVEN TO HER ONE EVENING
AT THE CAF SOCIETY NIGHTCLUB IN NYC BY ITS CREATOR, A NYC
HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH TEACHER NAMED ABEL MEEROPOL (KNOWN
CERTAINLY FOR COMPOSING THIS SONG, BUT ALSO FOR ADOPTING
AND RAISING THE ORPHANED SONS OF JULIUS AND ETHEL
ROSENBERG.) NEITHER TIN PAN ALLEY NOR BLUES NOR JAZZ, THIS
SONG WAS CLOSER TO POLITICAL THEATER. ITS LYRICS ARE
DEVASTATING. MEEROPOL HIMSELF REMARKED, [BILLIE] GAVE A
STARTLING, MOST DRAMATIC, AND EFFECTIVE INTERPRETATION . .
WHICH COULD JOLT AN AUDIENCE OUT OF ITS COMPLACENCY
ANYWHERE. . . .BILLIE HOLIDAYS STYLING OF THE SONG WAS
INCOMPARABLE AND FULFILLED THE BITTERNESS AND SHOCKING
QUALITY I HAD HOPED THE SONG WOULD HAVE. (BLACK
NIGHTINGALES CD # 1)
EVEN CONVENTIONAL AND SOMETIMES TRITE MELODIES OF TIN PAN
ALLEY, SHE RESCULPTED TO ACCOMMODATE HER MUSICAL
INTENTIONS. (HMTTY P. 201.) HER VERSION OF THE SONG, THESE
FOOLISH THINGS PROVIDES A SUPERB EXAMPLE OF THE EASY AND
RELAXED HOLIDAY STYLE. NOTICE THAT HOLIDAYS RENDITION
TAKES GREAT LIBERTIES WITH THE ORIGINAL MELODY. (SING
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ORIGINAL MELODY AS A REFERENCE FOR COMPARISON TO BHS

INTERPRETATION). THIS 1952 RECORDING FEATURES PIANIST OSCAR
PETERSON AND BASSIST RAY BROWN. THE SONG IS IN TRADITIONAL 32BAR AABA FORM. (BLACK NIGHTINGALES CD # 2.)
A cigarette that bears a lipstick's traces
An airline ticket to romantic places
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things remind me of you ETC.

HOLIDAYS PERSONAL LIFE, OVER TIME, GREW INCREASINGLY GRIM.

HER HEROIN HABIT LED TO ARRESTS FOR POSSESSION AND EVEN
PERIODS OF IMPRISONMENT. THE HARD LIVING AND ADVERSITY
AFFECTED HER VOICE. AS ONE JAZZ HISTORIAN PUT IT:
HER VOICE CLEARLY SHOWED THE SIGNS OF STRAIN, OF WEAR. A
DARKER QUALITY NOW PERVADES THE MUSIC; AT TIMES A SENSE OF
DESPAIR INFUSES THE PERFORMANCES. A STREAK OF MELANCHOLY
HAD ALWAYS CHARACTERIZED HOLIDAYS SINGING, BUT BY NOW THE
TOUCHES OF LIGHT WERE ALL BUT EXTINGUISHED. YET A TRADE-OFF
WAS APPARENT. THE DETERIORIATION IN HOLIDAYS VOCAL EQUIPMENT
WAS COMPENSATED FOR BY EVEN MORE NUANCED PERFORMANCES.
HOLIDAYS PHRASING, HER TIMING, HER ABILITY TO ADD CHIAROSCURO
SHADES OF MEANING TO A LYRIC REMAIN UNSURPASSED ON (HER) LATE
VINTAGE RECORDINGS. Gioia--P. 181.
IN 1957, TWO YEARS BEFORE HER DEATH, SHE APPEARED ON TV WITH A
BAND OF ASTONISHING JAZZ GIANTS IN A PERFORMANCE OF THE
BLUES TUNE FINE AND MELLOW. IT IS OFTEN CITED AS THE MOST
MOVING JAZZ MOMENT EVER CAPTURED ON FILM. I BELIEVE THAT.
BEFORE WE VIEW THIS FILM CLIP, LET ME SET IT UP: TEN CHORUSES
OF THIS BLUES WILL FEATURE IN ORDER OF APPEARANCEBILLIE
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HOLIDAY, BEN WEBSTER (TS), LESTER YOUNG, (TS-PREZ), BH,

TROMBONE ?, GERRY MULLIGAN (BS), BH, COLEMAN HAWKINS BEAN,
HAWKONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SOLOISTS IN THE HISTORY
OF JAZZ, ROY ELDRIDGE (TRP, SCREECH), BH. (LADIES SING THE
BLUES DVD # 5.) **know these names
BY 1959, PHYSICAL DISSIPATION FINALLY TOOK ITS TOLL. HER BODY,
RAVAGED BY YEARS OF DRUG USE, EXHAUSTED FROM THE RIGORS OF
TOURING AND PERFORMING AND BESET BY HEART, LIVER, AND
FINALLY A KIDNEY INFECTION PROBLEMS, SHE SUCCUMBED ON JULY
17. AT THE TIME OF DEATH, HER BANK ACCOUNT SHOWED A BALANCE
OF 70 CENTS AND HOSPITAL WORKERS ENTRUSTED WITH THE BODY
DISCOVERED $750.00 TAPED TO ONE OF HER LEGSAN INSTINCTIVE
GESTURE OF SELF-PRESERVATION PERHAPS, BY SOMEONE WHO HAD
COME TO TRUST ONLY HERSELF.

ELLA FITZGERALD (1917-1996)

ELLATHE FIRST NAME ALONE IDENTIFIES HER. SHES BEEN CALLED
THE QUEEN OF SWING AND THE FIRST LADY OF SONG. SHE WAS
BORN IN 1917 IN VIRGINIA BUT MOVED TO YONKERS, THEN HARLEM.
SHE, LIKE BILLIE HOLIDAY, WAS RAISED IN DIFFICULT
CIRCUMSTANCES; SHE LOST HER MOTHER AT AGE 15, WAS ABUSED BY
HER STEPFATHER, DROPPED OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL, WAS CONSIGNED
TO THE COLORED ORPHAN ASYLUM IN RIVERDALE FROM WHICH SHE
RAN AWAY AND ENDED UP LIVING HOMELESS ON THE STREETS OF
HARLEM, FOR NEARLY TWO YEARS.

HER EARLY AMBITION WAS TO BECOME A DANCER AND SHE DECIDED

TO TRY HER LUCK AT AN APOLLO THEATER AMATEUR NIGHT
(EXPLAIN) IN 1934. WHEN SHE LEARNED THAT TWO WELLESTABLISHED FEMALE DANCERS WERE ON THE BILL, SHE DECIDED, ON
THE SPOT, TO SING INSTEAD. AWKWARD, OVERWEIGHT, SHODDILY
DRESSED SHE TOOK THE STAGE TO THE HOOTS AND HOLLERS OF THE
NOTORIOUS AND ROWDY APOLLO CROWD. BUT HER SINGING
STILLED THEM SO COMPLETELY THAT ONE PERSON WHO WAS THERE
SAID YOU COULD HEAR A RAT PISS ON COTTON. MODELLING HER
VOCAL STYLE AFTER HER FAVORITE SINGER, CONNIE BOSWELL (A
WHITE BALLAD SINGER WHO, WITH HER TWO SISTERS WAS VERY
POPULAR AT THE TIME), ELLA BROUGHT DOWN THE HOUSE AND WON
THE SHOW.
BECAUSE SHE LACKED GLAMOUR AND SEX APPEAL, FINDING WORK AS
A SINGER CONTINUED TO ELUDE HER EVEN ON THE HEELS OF HER
APOLLO SUCCESS, UNTIL AN OPPORTUNITY AROSE LATER THAT SAME
YEAR, 1934, WITH CHICK WEBBS BAND AT THE SAVOY. THE HERO OF
THIS PART OF THE STORY WAS CHARLES LINTON, WEBBS MALE
SINGER. LINTON DISCOVERED ELLA, WHO WAS SINGING FOR TIPS AT
NO-NAME CLUBS, AND HE PRESENTED HER TO WEBB AS THE GIRL
SINGER SOLUTION TO WEBBS COMPETITIVE APPEAL PROBLEM.
OTHER POPULAR BANDS HAD FEMALE SINGERS: BENNIE GOODMAN
HAD HELEN WARD AND ARTIE SHAW HAD HELEN FORREST, FOR
EXAMPLE. BECAUSE OF HER UNGLAMOROUS APPEARANCE, WEBB
BALKED, AND LINTON THREATENED TO WALK. WEBB RELENTED AND
IT WAS THE BEST THING HE EVER DID. WITH ELLA AS HIS SINGER,
CHICK WEBBS BAND MADE THE HIT PARADE FOR THE FIRST TIME AND
SOON SHE WAS A REGULAR FEATURE ON THE RADIO AND ON JUKE
BOXES AROUND THE COUNTRY.

IN 1937, ELLA (ONLY 20 YEARS OLD) WON FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE

YEAR IN THE DOWNBEAT AND METRONOME POLLS. IN 1938 SHE
RECORDED HER SIGNATURE SONG, SWING ANTHEM, AND NURSERY
RHYME FAVORITE, A-TISKET A-TASKET. IT SHOT TO THE TOP OF THE
CHARTS AND REMAINED THERE FOR 17 WEEKS. BLESSED WITH A
FLAWLESS EAR (SHE HAD PERFECT PITCH), A GIRLISH VOICE, A
MIGHTY SENSE OF SWING, AND GOOD NOTICES--ELLA WAS ON HER
WAY. TO BILLIE HOLIDAYS CHAGRIN, IT SEEMS: ONE ANECDOTE HAS
IT THAT BILLIE ON HEARING ELLA AT THE SAVOY EXCLAIMED, A
GREAT BAND LIKE THAT WITH ELLATHAT BITCH. (MEOW!)
CHICK WEBB, AFFLICTED WITH A CONGENITAL SPINAL DISORDER,
DIED OF SPINAL TUBERCULOSIS IN 1939 AND ELLA TOOK OVER
FRONTING THE BAND FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS. SHE THEN SET
OUT ON A SOLO CAREER WHICH LED TO WORLD FAME. CONSIDERED
THE QUINTESSENTIAL FEMALE JAZZ SINGER, SHE WON PRAISE FROM
BOTH THE JAZZ AND CLASSICAL WORLD.
THOUGH HER VOICE WAS SMALL AND SOMEWHAT GIRLISH ELLA HAD A
VERY WIDE RANGE OF ALMOST THREE OCTAVES AND AN ASTONISHING
ARSENAL OF TIMBRAL EFFECTS AND VOCAL AGILITY AS WELL AS A
GREAT SENSE OF SWING. (LETS LISTEN TO HER PERFORMANCE OF A
TISKET-A-TASKET A SMALL SILLY SONGIN 32-BAR SONG FORM
RECORDED IN 1938 THAT JETTED HER TO FAME. (BLACK
NIGHTINGALES # 3)
ELLA WAS POPULAR ON STAGE, SCREEN, AND TELEVISION. THE
FOLLOWING THREE SHORT CLIPS FROM 1960s TV APPEARANCES
DEMONSTRATE HER VERSATILITY: 1. THE DINAH SHORE VARIETY
SHOW FEATURES ELLA WITH DINAH SHORE AND JOAN SUTHERLAND
(THE GREAT DIVA OF THE METROPOLITAN OPERA) IN A HUMOROUS

RENDITION OF THREE LITTLE MAIDS ARE WE. 2. THAT SEGUES

IMMEDIATELY INTO A DUET OF THE SONG, LADY BE GOOD, WITH THE
GREAT JAZZ SINGER MEL TORME, BOTH OF WHOM WERE JUSTIFIABLY
FAMOUS FOR THEIR SCAT SINGING ABILITY. 3. FINALLY, WE SEE ELLA
WITH THE LATE JIMMY DURANTE IN A COMEDIC DUET OF THE SONG
BILL BAILEY. (ELLA CD CHAP 4 @ 46:00.)
ELLAS VOICE MATURES AS SHE AGES, GROWING MORE BRONZED AND
TEXTURED AND EXPRESSIVE. LISTEN TO HOW SHE HANDLES GEORGE
GERSHWINS SUMMERTIME IN A 1968 PERFORMANCE IN GERMANY.
HEAR HOW SHE CARESSES, MOLDS, INTERPRETS THE WORDS; HOW
SHE EXCLAIMS THE LINE ONE OF THESE MORNINGS IN A
STENTORIAN BLAST AND IMMEDIATELY LOWERS THE HEAT TO A
SIMMER. NOTICE HER TIMING; HOW SHE EXTENDS A PITCH
SEEMINGLY ENDLESSLY BUT FOR PRECISELY THE RIGHT LENGTH OF
TIME. (ELLA CD CHAP 4 @ 48:40REMEMBER TO SLIDE FAST-FORWARD
USING BALL.)
FINALLY, ELLAS VOCAL AGILITY MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR HER TO
COMPETE, AS IT WERE, INSTRUMENTALLY. HER VOCAL TIMBRE GAVE
HER VOICE A HORN-LIKE QUALITY THAT WHEN COMBINED WITH HER
SCATTING TECHNIQUE MADE HER A THIRD BRASS INSTRUMENT AFTER
THE TRUMPET AND TROMBONE. SHE MADE A SPECIALTY NOT ONLY OF
IMITATING INSTRUMENTS, BUT EVEN PARTICULAR SOLOISTS. LETS
LISTEN TO THIS EXCHANGE WITH COUNT BASIES TROMBONIST BOOTY
WOOD IN A BLUES TUNE AT THE MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL. HER
VOICE MATCHES THE TROMBONE IN AN EERILY COMPLEMENTARY AND
BRASSY WAY. (ELLA CD CHAP 5 @ 1:09:30.)
ON JUNE 15, 1996, ELLA FITZGERALD DIED FROM COMPLICATIONS
ASSOCIATED WITH DIABETES.

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SARAH VAUGHAN (1924-1990)

NICKNAMED SASSY AND THE DIVINE ONE, SARAH VAUGHAN WAS
BORN IN 1924 IN NEWARK NJ WHERE HER EARLY MUSICAL EDUCATION
WAS AS ORGANIST AT HER CHURCH. LIKE ELLA FITZGERALD, SHE
WON AN AMATEUR CONTEST AT THE APOLLO THEATER IN HARLEM IN
1942. BILLIE ECKSTINE, THEN SINGING WITH THE EARL HINES (pianist
from Hot 5) ORCHESTRA, HEARD THE YOUNG SARAH AND PERSUADED
HINES TO HIRE HER AS SECOND PIANIST. LIKE ELLA, SARAH SUFFERED
INDIGNITIES BECAUSE OF HER UNGLAMOROUS APPEARANCE. IN AN
ERA OF DOROTHY DANDRIDGE AND LENA HORNE WHO SET THE
COMMERCIAL, GLAMOR STANDARD FOR BLACK BEAUTY, SARAH (AND
ELLA) WERE THOUGHT TO BE TOO PLAIN AND TOO DARK FOR SHOW
BUSINESS. EARL HINES SAID SARAH LOOKED LIKE HOME-MADE SIN.
SIMILAR TO WHAT HAPPENED TO ELLA, OTHER MUSICIANS CAME TO
APPRECIATE HER FLAWLESS EAR (SHE TOO HAD PERFECT PITCH), HER
SENSE OF RHYTHM, AND A VOICE WITH A TREMENDOUS RANGE. SHE
WAS HIGH-SPIRITED AND ADVENTUROUS WHICH EARNED THE
SOBRIQUET, SASSY.
AND SO BEGAN HER ASSOCIATION WITH SOME OF THE BRIGHTEST
MUSICAL LIGHTS IN JAZZ, INCLUDING ESPECIALLY PIONEERS OF
BEBOP SUCH AS TRUMPETERS DIZZY GILLESPIE AND FATS NAVARRO,
SAXOPHONISTS CHARLIE PARKER, DEXTER GORDON AND SONNY
STITT, BASSIST OSCAR PETTIFORD AND DRUMMER ART BLAKEY.
THESE ASSOCIATIONS, TOGETHER WITH HER UNIQUE VOCAL SOUND
AND TECHNIQUE, ESTABLISHED HER REPUTATION AS A JAZZ SINGER.

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LETS LISTEN TO HER 1952 RECORDING OF SHULIE A BOP, A BLUES

INSPIRED BE-BOP TUNE. COMPARED TO EARLIER MUSICAL STYLES,
THIS MUSIC IS FASTER, WITH A MORE URGENT TEMPO, GREATER
RHYTHMIC COMPLEXITY (ESPECIALLY THE BASSWHICH
ESTABLISHES THE RHYTHMIC PULSE AND DRUMS/CYMBALS, WHICH
PROVIDE RHYTHMIC ELABORATION WITH PERCUSSIVE ON- AND OFFBEAT PUNCTUATIONS.) IT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE INSISTENT 4-BEATS
TO THE BAR ASSOCIATED WITH SWING RHYTHM. SASSY SCATS THREE
CHORUSES. LISTEN TO HER VOCAL AGILITY, WIDE LEAPS, RHYTHYMIC
SUBTLETIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS. NOTICE HER INSERTION IN THE
SECOND CHORUS OF A MELODIC FRAGMENT FROM THE BIZETS
CARMEN. HER MELODIC IMPROVISATION DEPARTS FROM THE
TRADITIONAL NOTION OF MELODY AND SAILS ABOVE THE CHORDS.
THEN SHE INTRODUCES THE MEMBERS OF THE TRIO: JOHN MALACHI
ON PIANO), CRAZY JOE BENJAMIN ON BASS, ROY HAYNES ON DRUMS;
AND EACH TAKES A CHORUS. THEN SARAH RETURNS TO SCAT A
COUPLE MORE CHORUSES BEFORE IT ENDS. (BLACK NIGHTINGALES #
4)
HER ABILITY WITH THE BLUES WAS OUTSTANDING. LETS LISTEN TO
HER SASSYS BLUES, AN ENTIRELY SCATTED BLUES WHICH SHE
RECORDED IN 1963 WITH THE KIRK STUART TRIO IN DENMARK:
(STUART-PIANO, CHARLES WILLIAMS-BASS, GEORGE HUGHES-DRUMS).
LISTEN TO HER ASTONISHING LOW RANGE, AND HER ENDURANCE IN
ONE VERSE DURING WHICH SHE HOLDS A PITCH FOR THE ENTIRE 12
BAR CHORUS, HER ABILITY TO SING WITH BELL-LIKE CLARITY TO A
BLUESY GROWL. AMAZING! (BLACK NIGHTINGALES CD # 5.)
SARAHS RICH CONTRALTO RANGE MADE HER VOICE IDEAL FOR
BALLADS AS WELL; AND SHE IS PERHAPS MOST WIDELY REMEMBERED
FOR HER SOME OF HER MORE COMMERCIAL WORK. SHE WAS NOT

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PARTICULARLY FOND OF SINGING THE COMMERCIAL MATERIAL AND,

IN FACT, SHE HAD TWO CONTRACTS WITH HER RECORDING COMPANY
(MERCURY LABEL)ONE FOR THE COMMERCIAL MUSIC, THE OTHER
FOR JAZZ. BUT HER COMMERCIAL MATERIAL WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL
AND CONTINUES TO SELL: HITS SUCH AS BROKEN-HEARTED
MELODY, TENDERLY, AND ERROL GARNERS MISTY ARE
EXAMPLES. MISTY, FIRST RECORDED IN 1958, HAS THAT HEAVY
PRODUCTION NUMBER SOUND, WITH ITS RICH ORCHESTRAL STRING
ORCHESTRA BACKGROUND THAT WAS FAVORED IN THE 1950s.
(BLACK NIGHTINGALES CD # 6)
FINALLY, LETS SEE AND HEAR SARAH VAUGHAN IN A 1981 CARNEGIE
HALL CONCERT WITH THE COUNT BASIE ORCHESTRA, SINGING HER
SIGNATURE SONG SEND IN THE CLOWNS. HER NUANCED VOCAL
GESTURES ARE SUBLIME, ALMOST MIRACULOUS. (COUNT BASIE AT
CARNEGIE HALL CD, CHAPTER 19.)
ALL THREE OF THE NIGHTINGALES ARE NOW GONE.

CURIOUSLY (BUT

THANKFULLY), WE HAVE EVIDENCE THAT THEY WERE HERE. AND

EVEN THOUGH IT IS ONLY THE DISEMBODIED RESIDUE OF THEIR
ARTISTIC EFFORTS, OF THEIR MUSICAL GREATNESS, MIRACULOUSLY
SOMEHOW, THAT EVIDENCE, TO MY EARS, COMES TO LIFE TO
ENTERTAIN, DISTURB, COMFORT, MOVE ME. SUCH IS THE LEGACY OF
GREATNESS AND IMMORTALITY. I TRUST THAT YOU THINK SO TOO.
********************

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