Sassy: The Life of Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan possessed the most spectacular voice in jazz history. In Sassy, Leslie Gourse, the acclaimed biographer of Nat King Cole and Joe Williams, defines and celebrates Vaughan’s vital musical legacy and offers a detailed portrait of the woman as well as the singer. Revealed here is ”The Divine One” as only her closest friends and musical associates knew her. By her early twenties Sarah Vaughan was singining with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Billy Eckstine, helping them invent...
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"Sarah Vaughan possessed the most spectacular voice in jazz history. In Sassy, Leslie Gourse, the acclaimed biographer of Nat King Cole and Joe Williams, defines and celebrates Vaughan’s vital musical" Publishers Weekly As a teenager Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990) sang in the churches and nightclubs of Newark, N.J. At 19, she was signed by Earl ``Fatha'' Hines to sing with his band, amazing such performers as Billy Ekstine and Carmen McCrae with her easy mastery of complex vocalizations. ``I drink booze, I smoke cigarettes, I stay high, I stay up all night, I hang out,'' Vaughan once explained smartly. Music critic Gourse ( Unforgettable: The Life and Mystique of Nat King Cole ) offers no greater insight into Sassy's singular talent, but nonetheless provides an amicable, informative and fact-filled first biography of this unparalleled performer. Gourse relies on interviews with family and associates, newspaper and magazine articles and even album notes to describe her subject's 40-year career, from her discovery at Harlem's Apollo Theatre through her managers, lovers and husbands, her travels, recording sessions and critics' comments. A comprehensive (although not complete) discography is included. Photos not seen by PW. ( Jan.)
\ Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly\ As a teenager Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990) sang in the churches and nightclubs of Newark, N.J. At 19, she was signed by Earl ``Fatha'' Hines to sing with his band, amazing such performers as Billy Ekstine and Carmen McCrae with her easy mastery of complex vocalizations. ``I drink booze, I smoke cigarettes, I stay high, I stay up all night, I hang out,'' Vaughan once explained smartly. Music critic Gourse ( Unforgettable: The Life and Mystique of Nat King Cole ) offers no greater insight into Sassy's singular talent, but nonetheless provides an amicable, informative and fact-filled first biography of this unparalleled performer. Gourse relies on interviews with family and associates, newspaper and magazine articles and even album notes to describe her subject's 40-year career, from her discovery at Harlem's Apollo Theatre through her managers, lovers and husbands, her travels, recording sessions and critics' comments. A comprehensive (although not complete) discography is included. Photos not seen by PW. ( Jan.)\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalSarah ``Sassy'' Vaughan, famous for her rich, versatile voice and her interpretations of ``Misty,'' ``Send in the Clowns,'' and the Gershwin songbook, won Emmy and Grammy Awards and, before her death in 1990, rivaled Ella Fitzgerald. Stitching together newspaper reviews and interviews with Vaughan's peers, Gourse traces her career, from her start with Earl Hines's and Billy Eckstine's bands, through her European tours, to her entertainment of presidents. Gourse contrasts Vaughan's brilliant career with her series of rough marriages. Because she relies heavily on other writers' reviews, Gourse seems distanced from her subject and doesn't offer much original analysis of Vaughan's place in music. Sassy is the first book-length biography of this important jazz figure. Others, perhaps better, may follow. For large jazz collections.-- Paul Baker, CUNA Inc., Madison, Wis.\ \
