★ 05/29/2017
Drawing on exclusive interviews with Sarah Vaughan’s friends and former colleagues, jazz-historian Hayes (a former editor of Earshot Jazz magazine) has written a lively and moving portrait of the passionate and tenacious jazz singer. Hayes gracefully narrates Vaughan’s life, from her childhood-church-choir days in 1930s Newark, N.J., and her first major performance at age 18 at Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem to her career of singing bebop with Billy Eckstine, Earl Hines, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker. Hayes traces Vaughan’s growth as a successful pop artist—which she dictated on her own terms—as well as her failed marriages and her canny ability to make a range of musical styles her own. Vaughan dealt with shady business managers and unscrupulous producers who wanted to shape her in their image, but she held strong and continued to focus on her singing, which, as Hayes astutely explains, represented for her “autonomy, independence, and an opportunity for self-realization... it was her salvation.” Hayes’s blending of the cultural history of the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s with his lucid critical insights into Vaughan’s recordings and her life makes this book a detailed look at a fearless singer who constantly moved into new musical territories and left a legacy for younger musicians. (July)
Queen of Bebop: The Musical Lives of Sarah Vaughan
Narrated by Allyson Johnson
Elaine M. HayesUnabridged — 13 hours, 1 minutes
Queen of Bebop: The Musical Lives of Sarah Vaughan
Narrated by Allyson Johnson
Elaine M. HayesUnabridged — 13 hours, 1 minutes
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Overview
Queen of Bebop brilliantly chronicles the life of jazz singer Sarah Vaughan, one of the most influential and innovative musicians of the twentieth century*and a pioneer of women's and civil rights.
Sarah Vaughan, a pivotal figure in the formation of bebop, influenced a broad array of singers who followed in her wake, yet the breadth and depth of her impact—not just as an artist, but also as an African-American woman—remain overlooked.**
Drawing from a wealth of sources as well as on exclusive interviews with Vaughan's friends and former colleagues, Queen of Bebop unravels the many myths and misunderstandings that have surrounded Vaughan while offering insights into this notoriously private woman, her creative process, and, ultimately, her genius. Hayes deftly traces the influence that Vaughan's singing had on the perception and appreciation of vocalists—not to mention women—in jazz. She reveals how, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Vaughan helped desegregate American airwaves, opening doors for future African-American artists seeking mainstream success, while also setting the stage for the civil rights activism of the 1960s and 1970s.*She follows Vaughan from her hometown of Newark, New Jersey, and her first performances at the Apollo, to the Waldorf Astoria and on to the world stage, breathing life into a thrilling time in American music nearly lost to us today.
Equal parts biography, criticism, and good old-fashioned American success story, Queen of Bebop is the definitive biography of a hugely influential artist. This absorbing and sensitive treatment of a singular personality updates and corrects the historical record on Vaughan and elevates her status as a jazz great.
Editorial Reviews
The early years of Sarah Vaughan’s career coincided with the waning of the swing era, and this biography shows how the change both fuelled and limited her career.” — The New Yorker
“Queen of Bebop explores the hard choices of many a jazz singer when rock ‘n roll began stealing audience focus, relying on a variety of performers to shed light on Vaughan’s mindset. A welcome and well-researched accounting of Vaughan’s life story. ” — NPR.org
“Necessary and exciting. . . . Queen of Bebop models a way of understanding the lives and artistry of jazz musicians — one that establishes their importance and centrality in creating the best that America has offered the world.” — Washington Post
“Elaine Hayes’ vivid portrait of Sarah Vaughan’s life, times, and indelible musical legacy reveals why she was indeed called The Divine One.” — New York Journal of Books
“As a biographer, Hayes strikes a difficult balance between discussing Vaughan’s art and illuminating the tumultuous relationships of which Vaughan rarely spoke.” — Women’s Review of Books
“A lively and moving portrait of the passionate and tenacious jazz singer. Hayes gracefully narrates Vaughan’s life… a detailed look at a fearless singer who constantly moved into new musical territories and left a legacy for younger musicians.” — Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
“Hayes’ interviews with musicians, meticulous jazz history, incisive coverage of the ridiculous publicity campaigns the performer endured, and frank coverage of Vaughan’s emotionally and financially disastrous marriages and her repeated rising from the ashes cohere in a deeply illuminating and unforgettable biography of a true American master.” — Booklist, Starred Review
“ an informative, meticulously researched biography. . . . a fine homage.” — emissourian.com
“Inspiring. . . . traces Vaughan’s life and its intersection of music with race and gender.” — Library Journal
“You may think you know Sarah Vaughan, but this book reveals how much you don’t. Queen of Bebop is a much-needed addition to music scholarship.” — Tammy Kernodle, author of Soul on Soul: The Life and Music of Mary Lou Williams
“A richly contextualized and beautifully researched listening guide for the career of Sarah Vaughn. In respectfully treating Vaughn’s unflagging artistry, drive, and the social justice stakes involved in working within and against the new kinds of hit-making strategies and technologies, Hayes’ treatment lifts us beyond the bop/pop divide.” — Sherrie Tucker, author of Dance Floor Democracy
“With an eye for detail and an ear for nuance, Elaine M. Hayes takes us on Vaughan’s journey from shy church girl to the sassy, masterful “musician’s singer” she became. This book is a must read for fans and scholars of the ‘Divine One’s’ singular contribution to American music.” — Guthrie P. Ramsey, author of The Amazing Bud Powell: Black Genius, Jazz History and the Challenge of Bebop and African American Music
“Hayes brings to life the story of one of America’s most musically gifted, creative, intelligent, and productive women. An enticing and essential read for anyone drawn to the sounds of the inimitable Sarah Vaughan and what it meant to be strong, talented, beautiful, and black in 20th century America.” — Carol Ann Muller, author of Musical Echoes: South African Women Thinking in Jazz
Elaine Hayes’ vivid portrait of Sarah Vaughan’s life, times, and indelible musical legacy reveals why she was indeed called The Divine One.
The early years of Sarah Vaughan’s career coincided with the waning of the swing era, and this biography shows how the change both fuelled and limited her career.
“Queen of Bebop explores the hard choices of many a jazz singer when rock ‘n roll began stealing audience focus, relying on a variety of performers to shed light on Vaughan’s mindset. A welcome and well-researched accounting of Vaughan’s life story.
As a biographer, Hayes strikes a difficult balance between discussing Vaughan’s art and illuminating the tumultuous relationships of which Vaughan rarely spoke.
You may think you know Sarah Vaughan, but this book reveals how much you don’t. Queen of Bebop is a much-needed addition to music scholarship.
Hayes’ interviews with musicians, meticulous jazz history, incisive coverage of the ridiculous publicity campaigns the performer endured, and frank coverage of Vaughan’s emotionally and financially disastrous marriages and her repeated rising from the ashes cohere in a deeply illuminating and unforgettable biography of a true American master.
Necessary and exciting. . . . Queen of Bebop models a way of understanding the lives and artistry of jazz musicians — one that establishes their importance and centrality in creating the best that America has offered the world.
an informative, meticulously researched biography. . . . a fine homage.
With an eye for detail and an ear for nuance, Elaine M. Hayes takes us on Vaughan’s journey from shy church girl to the sassy, masterful “musician’s singer” she became. This book is a must read for fans and scholars of the ‘Divine One’s’ singular contribution to American music.
Hayes brings to life the story of one of America’s most musically gifted, creative, intelligent, and productive women. An enticing and essential read for anyone drawn to the sounds of the inimitable Sarah Vaughan and what it meant to be strong, talented, beautiful, and black in 20th century America.
A richly contextualized and beautifully researched listening guide for the career of Sarah Vaughn. In respectfully treating Vaughn’s unflagging artistry, drive, and the social justice stakes involved in working within and against the new kinds of hit-making strategies and technologies, Hayes’ treatment lifts us beyond the bop/pop divide.
The early years of Sarah Vaughan’s career coincided with the waning of the swing era, and this biography shows how the change both fuelled and limited her career.
Necessary and exciting. . . . Queen of Bebop models a way of understanding the lives and artistry of jazz musicians — one that establishes their importance and centrality in creating the best that America has offered the world.
As a biographer, Hayes strikes a difficult balance between discussing Vaughan’s art and illuminating the tumultuous relationships of which Vaughan rarely spoke.
05/15/2017
Performer Sarah Vaughan (1924–90), born in Newark, NJ, set the course for modern jazz singing. At 18, she won amateur night at the Apollo singing "Body and Soul," which launched her career. She spent the rest of her life in music, touring early on with musicians such as Earl "Fatha" Hines, Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker, who were on the verge of changing jazz and creating bebop. Throughout her career, she maintained her creativity and fearlessness about venturing into new musical conversations, pushing herself and others to be constantly innovative. This title treads some of the same ground as Leslie Gourse's Sassy: The Life of Sarah Vaughan, but music historian and Vaughan expert Hayes focuses more on the music and looks at the role racism and imposing notions of femininity played. The author combines research and interviews, deftly outlining that by becoming a "crossover" artist, Vaughan helped create spaces for others and shifted perceptions of "how white America heard, understood, and interacted with the black female voice." VERDICT This inspiring book about an artist who disliked being labelled traces Vaughan's life and its intersection of music with race and gender. [See Prepub Alert, 1/23/17.]—Lani Smith, Ohone Coll. Lib., Fremont, CA
In a youthful voice, narrator Allyson Johnson delivers this substantial biography of the great jazz vocalist Sarah Vaughan. As fans know, Vaughan’s speaking voice was high pitched and childish sounding, which is how Johnson realistically presents the many Vaughan interviews. But this is also a scholarly piece of music history, and Johnson’s overall peppy narration seems too lighthearted at times. Nevertheless, it’s a worthwhile listen for any Vaughan fan or student of American jazz, offering insight into Vaughan’s remarkable innate talent and astonishingly poor life choices. As Johnson recounts the early days of Vaughan’s career and her central role in the development of bebop, listeners can envision how her naïve passion for the purity of the music interfered with her ability to make sensible business decisions. N.M.C. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
2017-04-30
A biography of the great jazz singer whose commercial success seldom equaled her enormous gifts.Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990) was generally acknowledged to possess the most magnificent voice in jazz, and her instrument-playing colleagues paid her the ultimate tribute of considering her a fellow musician, not just another "girl singer." Her one-of-the-boys attitude earned her the nickname Sassy, and she was a lone female in the macho world of bebop, present at the creation as a teenager with Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker in Earl Hines' band in 1943. Going solo in 1945, Vaughan made more mainstream records with Musicraft and by 1947 had broken through to an audience beyond the jazz cognoscenti in Chicago, thanks partly to the enthusiastic championing of local DJ Dave Garroway, who dubbed her "the Divine One." Hayes' labored explanation of how Garroway "broke the rules" by describing Vaughan's voice in terms usually reserved for white women is regrettably typical of her tendency to shoehorn academic analysis of race and gender issues into a text supposedly aimed at general readers. Her points are perfectly valid, but the way she makes them is dreary. However, Hayes does a capable job of outlining Vaughan's career, hampered both artistically and financially by her unfortunate predilection for letting the men in her life manage her. If Vaughan had received the kind of sustained support that Ella Fitzgerald got from Norman Granz, Hayes convincingly argues, her legacy on disc would not be so spotty. Instead, she did her best work in performance, and the magic of her concerts is nicely captured in well-chosen quotes from her sidemen. They also capture the prickly personality of a musical perfectionist who could be a harsh taskmaster but also a warm mother figure to her band members. Vaughan continued singing after her diagnosis of terminal lung cancer, giving her final performance less than six months before her death. Informative and well-intentioned but sometimes pedestrian and lacking the elegant effervescence of Vaughan's singing.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940170210336 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Publication date: | 07/04/2017 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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