Sarah Vaughan & Lester Young - One Night Stand: The Town Hall Concert 1947

Styles: Vocal and Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:33
Size: 151,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:11)  1. Lester Leaps In
(5:22)  2. Just You, Just Me
(3:50)  3. Jumpin' With Symphony Sid
(6:20)  4. Sunday
(3:47)  5. Don't Blame Me
(1:47)  6. My Kinda Love
(3:36)  7. I Cover The Waterfront
(3:55)  8. A Ghost Of A Chance
(4:53)  9. Lester's Bebop Boogie
(4:56) 10. These Foolish Things
(5:51) 11. Movin' With Lester
(3:33) 12. The Man I Love
(2:52) 13. Time After Time
(2:40) 14. Mean To Me
(4:06) 15. Body And Soul
(3:46) 16. I Cried For You

This 1997 CD has music from a previously unreleased Town Hall concert. The program is split between the Lester Young sextet and Sarah Vaughan with the two principals only coming together on the final song, "I Cried for You." The recording quality is listenable, if not flawless, and it features the two giants at interesting points in their careers. Tenor great Lester Young sounds excellent on his seven features, but his backup group is sometimes a bit shaky, particularly during uncertain moments on "Just You, Just Me" and "Sunday"; bassist Rodney Richardson does not mesh well with the eccentric pianist Sadik Hakim. The young Roy Haynes is fine, although some of his "bombs" are overrecorded, while trumpeter Shorty McConnell comes across as a second-rate Howard McGhee, sincere but streaky. But the reason to acquire this CD is Sarah Vaughan, who at age 23 was already a marvel; what a voice! Very influenced by Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, Vaughan mostly lays way behind the beat during her ballad-oriented performances, swirling between notes like a first altoist and often settling on very unlikely (and boppish) notes. She gives the impression that she could do anything with her voice, and some of her flights (particularly on "Don't Blame Me," "I Cover the Waterfront" and "Mean to Me") border on the miraculous. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/one-night-stand-the-town-hall-concert-1947-mw0000097698

Personnel: Sarah Vaughan (vocals); Lester Young (tenor saxophone); Shorty McConnell (trumpet); Sadik Hakim, Sammy Benskin (piano); Freddie Lacey (guitar); Rodney Richardson (bass); Roy Haynes (drums).

One Night Stand: The Town Hall Concert 1947

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Sammy Benskin - These Foolish Songs

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 60:07
Size: 137.6 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2002
Art: Front

[2:52] 1. I Only Have Eyes For You
[4:24] 2. I Remember You
[4:15] 3. Lullaby Of The Leaves
[3:31] 4. Lush Life
[2:38] 5. Keepin' Out Of Mischief Now
[4:03] 6. Easy Living
[3:04] 7. Ain't Misbehavin'
[4:21] 8. Durango
[3:45] 9. Blue Moon
[3:09] 10. I'm Going To Seat Down
[4:22] 11. Pennies From Heaven
[3:21] 12. Stompin' At The Savoy
[4:09] 13. My Ship
[3:54] 14. What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life
[3:59] 15. Alice's Blues
[4:12] 16. Have You Met Miss Jones

Pianist Sammy Benskin was considered one of the finest of accompanists for vocalists, to the point where he spent parts of his career simply coaching them rather than following them on-stage. By the time Benskin was done with his students, which included singers of the caliber of Diahann Carroll, none could possibly be the subject of a joke such as "How do you know when a singer is at the door?" (Answer: They don't know how to come in.) Benskin made his professional debut at the age of 18, backing up Bardu Ali, a performer whose name sounds something like the title of an Egyptian novel. Through the '40s, the pianist was associated a strong lineup of jazzmen including Bobby Burnet, Stuff Smith, Gene Sedric, Benny Morton, and Don Redman. By the end of the decade and into the early '50s, he began leading his own piano trio as well as appearing as a soloist. Roy Hamilton and Titus Turner became the first of many singers he would accompany during this period, and Benskin also joined a group named the Three Flames in the summer of 1954. The following year he began a stint as part of the "Time of Your Life revue" at City Center in New York, a gig he would bounce in and out of while training with singers as diverse as Carroll and the magnificent Al Hibbler. He followed "Time of Your Life" overseas for performances at the Brussels World Fair and for a brief spell began touring with Dinah Washington as her accompanist. From the '60s onward, he stayed fairly busy as a vocal coach, arranger, and producer. A disc's worth of his solo performances entitled These Foolish Songs was reissued a decade after his death. ~Eugene Chadbourne

These Foolish Songs

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