Q&A with Vocalist Deelee Dubé

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Q&A with Vocalist Deelee Dubé

One of the things I’ve enjoyed most since finishing Queen of Bebop and introducing it to the world is people contacting me to tell me what Sarah Vaughan has meant to them. They’ve shared their memories of the first time they heard Sarah’s voice and how it changed their worldview. They’ve told me about their favorite recordings, attending her concerts, and meeting her. Musicians have explained how she influenced their artistic paths, and some have shared their tribute albums to Sarah. Each of these stories has deepened my understanding of the Divine One and her legacy.

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Happy Birthday Sassy!

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Happy Birthday Sassy!

Today Sarah Vaughan, who was born on March 27, 1924, would have been 90 years old. Of course, Sarah didn’t make it to 90 and passed away far too soon, almost 24 years ago at the age of 66. But it feels as if this vibrant artist is still very much alive and well. That her voice, legacy, and, in many respects, her soul live on.

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A Jazz Horn Wins the Sarah Vaughan Vocal Competiton

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A Jazz Horn Wins the Sarah Vaughan Vocal Competiton

It seems only fitting that a singer named Jazzmeia Horn would take home top honors at the second annual Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. Horn, along with four other finalists, performed last night at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, Vaughan’s hometown, with the goal of becoming the next Divine One.

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A modest tribute to Eydie Gormé (1928-2013)

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A modest tribute to Eydie Gormé (1928-2013)

It always saddens me to learn that an artist I enjoy and admire passed away, and the death of Eydie Gormé last weekend was no exception. She was a wonderful vocalist – a true embodiment of American pop music during the 1950s and 1960s. With her passing a little bit of history has been lost.

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I’m Irresistible You Fool. Give In. Part 3: We LOVE YOU Sarah!

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I’m Irresistible You Fool. Give In. Part 3: We LOVE YOU Sarah!

I love fan art. It gives the amateurs amongst us a chance to put our own creative spin on an existing work while paying tribute to an artist that we admire. It’s interactive. It’s a form of homage. It helps Vaughan’s legacy live on. And Vaughan’s cover of “Whatever Lola Wants” has spawned a lot of fan art. Some of it is a lot of fun. Some less so. Some, quite, frankly, a little weird.

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I’m Irresistible You Fool. Give In. Part 2: Buy This!

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I’m Irresistible You Fool. Give In. Part 2: Buy This!

Last time I talked about Sarah Vaughan’s still popular cover of “Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets” and the power of music to enact real cultural and social change. This post I’d like to discuss another form of cultural work done by music: selling stuff! In particular, how “Whatever Lola Wants” has been used in advertising.

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I’m Irresistible You Fool. Give in.

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I’m Irresistible You Fool. Give in.

One of my very favorite Sarah Vaughan songs is “Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets” (1955). She nails her role as the seductive temptress and performs a Lola that is hip and sexy with a dash of humor. It’s as if Vaughan is winking at the listener, saying: come here, this is serious business, but not really. And her voice is stunning: full, rich, and sensuous, yet agile as she effortlessly infuses the lyric with her trademark bends and turns.

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Are They "Just Friends"? Rumors of Romance: Joe Louis & Sarah Vaughan

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Are They "Just Friends"? Rumors of Romance: Joe Louis & Sarah Vaughan

Last month Armin Büttner posted this previously unpublished 1950’s photo of Sarah Vaughan on his blog celebrating the Crown Propeller Lounge in Chicago. (For more about photo’s back story, see Doug Ramsey’s Rifftides post here.) Vaughan is enjoying a night out with friends, including boxing champion Joe Louis and trumpeter King Kolax. I love the nostalgia of these kinds of photos. They provide a glimpse into Vaughan’s life offstage, when she wasn’t performing. They’re candid and almost private, but not quite – Vaughan is clearly posing for the camera.

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"Sometimes, it’s difficult to say how you do something, you just do it."

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"Sometimes, it’s difficult to say how you do something, you just do it."

Today’s interview is with New York-based composer, arranger, and vocalist Sarah Elizabeth Charles. The S.E. Charles Quartet, with Jesse Elder on piano, Burniss Earl Travis on bass, and John Davis on drums, will perform at the Triple Door on Sunday, April 28, the final night of the Seattle Women in Jazz Festival. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the set begins at 7:30 p.m. This is Sarah’s first time singing in Seattle, so don’t miss out!

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From Jazz Manhood to Jazz Personhood

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From Jazz Manhood to Jazz Personhood

There has been a lot of talk online recently about jazz, gender, and sexuality. Musicologist Guthrie Ramsey, for example, gave us a historian’s take on what he calls “jazz manhood” in bebop and the career of pianist Bud Powell, and how this contributed to his own embarrassment as a boy playing the piano, which he loved, rather than the more masculine saxophone. Drummer Allison Miller wrote a moving essay on the challenges of being not only a woman, but also a lesbian, in the jazz world. Crooner Spencer Day discussed coming out, homophobia, the absence of gay voices in jazz, and how all of this has influenced his career, both creatively and commercially. And singer Michelle Shocked, long believed to be a lesbian herself, lashed out with an unfortunate, if predictable, homophobic rant during her recent appearance at Yoshi’s Jazz Club in San Francisco.

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