Guy Vaughan

Sarah Vaughan recorded extensively for Mercury/EmArcy during the 1950s and 1960s. Through much of that time, Vaughan's operatic voice was matched against overripe orchestrations or arrangements more suitable to a pop icon than one of the most versatile instruments in history.

Whereas on 1993's Feels Like Rain Buddy Guy flirted with pop and R&B material, on Slippin' In, released one year later, he firmly reasserts his bluesness. From the very first track on, Guy lets his incomparable guitar loose. Throughout the album, he even experiments with Hendrix-esque effects on his guitar (perhaps at the prodding of producer/engineer Eddie Kramer), but the results never seem kitschy or gimmicky. Accompanied on half of the tracks by ex-Stevie Ray Vaughan associates Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton, the groove is deep and swinging. It makes you realize how much of Vaughan's signature sound lay in his rhythm section. There are only two original Guy compositions on Slippin' In, but since he has always been better as an interpreter than a writer, this is a non-complaint.

This 1954 studio date, a self-titled album recorded for Emarcy, was later reissued as Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown to denote the involvement of one of the top trumpeters of the day. Vaughan sings nine intimate standards with a band including Brown on trumpet, Herbie Mann on flute, and Paul Quinichette on tenor, each of which have plenty of space for solos (most of the songs are close to the five-minute mark). Vaughan is arguably in the best voice of her career here, pausing and lingering over notes on the standards "April in Paris," "Jim," and "Lullaby of Birdland." As touching as Vaughan is, however, Brown almost equals her with his solos on "Lullaby of Birdland," "Jim," and "September Song," displaying his incredible bop virtuosity in a restrained setting without sacrificing either the simple feeling of his notes or the extraordinary flair of his choices…

This 1954 studio date, a self-titled album recorded for Emarcy, was later reissued as Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown to denote the involvement of one of the top trumpeters of the day. Vaughan sings nine intimate standards with a band including Brown on trumpet, Herbie Mann on flute, and Paul Quinichette on tenor, each of which have plenty of space for solos (most of the songs are close to the five-minute mark). Vaughan is arguably in the best voice of her career here, pausing and lingering over notes on the standards "April in Paris," "Jim," and "Lullaby of Birdland." As touching as Vaughan is, however, Brown almost equals her with his solos on "Lullaby of Birdland," "Jim," and "September Song," displaying his incredible bop virtuosity in a restrained setting without sacrificing either the simple feeling of his notes or the extraordinary flair of his choices…

Possessing one of the finest singing voices of the 20th century, Sarah Vaughan was already an established solo star when she signed with Mercury Records in 1954, and between then and 1958, she recorded pop material on the label's main imprint and jazz material on the subsidiary EmArcy Records, although there was some overlap between the two. This lovingly conceived box set collects all of the jazz sessions Vaughan did under the Mercury umbrella during this stay (she returned to the label for a second run between 1963 and 1967) spread over four discs, including Images, originally released as a 10" and then reissued as a full LP with the addition of five more cuts as Swingin' Easy, the self-titled Sarah Vaughan (with Clifford Brown, Herbie Mann, and Paul Quinichette), In the Land of Hi-Fi (with Cannonball Adderley), a live set, Sarah Vaughan & Her Trio at Mister Kelly's…

From the start of her career, Sarah Vaughan had a wondrous voice. She never declined and her voice remained a miracle throughout her career. She learned about bop phrasing during 1943-1944 when she was with the orchestras of Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine (singing alongside Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker) and, although she would perform many pop tunes throughout her life, she always phrased like a jazz singer and was never shy to change notes and improvise…

Guy Braunstein, who was concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for nearly fifteen years, pursues an international career as soloist, conductor and composer. Inspired by a period of Beatlemania at home with his family, Braunstein wove a dozen songs from the Beatles’ celebrated Abbey Road album into a concerto for violin and orchestra entitled Abbey Road Concerto.