McRae Salutes Legacy of Sarah Vaughan : **** CARMEN McRAE “Sarah--Dedicated to You”(Novus/RCA)
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Finding a follow-up to last year’s stellar “McRae Sings Monk” collection was not easy, but this homage from one great singer to the memory of another strikes just the right note.
Sarah Vaughan, a superb stylist with extraordinary vocal command, came to national attention with the big bands of Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine in the ‘40s. Vaughan, who died last year, went as a solo artist to even greater acclaim in jazz and enjoyed a few pop hits in the ‘50s, including “Broken-Hearted Melody.”
From the opening a cappella verse of “Poor Butterfly” to the closing “Sarah”--a posthumous tribute written by Carroll Coates--McRae salutes the legacy of Vaughan, not by echoing the late singer’s style or phrasing, but simply by applying her own ingratiating touch to such material as “Misty,” “Tenderly” and “It’s Magic.”
Singer-pianist Shirley Horn--McRae’s surprising choice as the album’s pianist--is an ideal accompanist. McRae, in her liner notes, says that she asked Horn to sing on the album, but Horn declined. Can we now hope to hear McRae play piano on Horn’s next album?
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