Características
This 1961 record from Roulette Records' Birdland series, titled "After Hours", was the first album by 'Sassy' to feature exclusively her vocals, accompanied by bass (George Duvivier) and guitar (Mundell Lowe) with a program consisting mainly of ballads. Sarah Vaughan's vocals are soft, in a rarely used style, her voice at its best on these intimate, relaxed, almost spontaneous recordings. A true jazz classic of considerable beauty, George and Mundell perfectly complement 'the divine Sarah' as she runs through a program of popular, carefully selected (but unrehearsed) tunes, all songs you could have heard her sing in a smoky club, long "after hours."
Here is one wonderful track after another. On "Wonder Why," Vaughan plumbs the depths of her vocal range; "Easy To Love" has a line reminiscent of a walking bass - the three are so upbeat that Sarah snaps her fingers. Her superb articulation and glissando are especially notable on a serene cover of Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady." The most energetic song on this disc, "Great Day," once again illuminates George's amazing skill on the bass. Unfortunately only a fragment, it fades away far too quickly. On an impressive "Sentimental Mood," Sassy makes use of major, minor and quarter tones, as well as some that may never have been heard before. The facade of aloofness that hides a broken heart on "Vanity" makes for a melancholy but relatable closing track.
- Annie Van Auken
Sarah Vaughan (voc); Mundell Lowe (g); George Duvivier (b)
Side A
1. My Favorite THings
2. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
3. Wonder Why / Easy To Love
4. Sophisticated Lady
Side B
1. Great Day / Ill Wind
2. If Love Is Good To me
3. In A Sentimental Mood
4. Vanity