SARAH VAUGHAN

The birth of a nascent voice

Sarah Vaughan was born on March 27, 1924 in New Jersey. From the age of 7, she learned to play the piano with the encouragement of her father. She also sang in the church choir that her mother attended. Driven by a great passion for music in all its forms, Sarah Vaughan soon demonstrated an exceptional natural talent for singing. As a teenager, Sarah Vaughan began singing the popular numbers of the day at local nightclubs, sometimes accompanying herself on the piano.

A Dantean career

Sarah Vaughan's professional debut was a direct success when she formed her own big band after a meeting with Billy Eckstine, which included Charlie Parket and Dizzy Gillespie, two revolutionary young musicians who introduced Sarah Vaughan to the bold rhythms and harmonies of the then emerging bebop. Brimming with new ideas and gifted with an exceptional vocal technique that allowed her to tackle any musical genre, she launched her solo career in 1946. At the age of 22, Sarah Vaughan had her first successes recorded on the Continental and Musicraft labels.

During the 1950s, she recorded a series of albums for Columbia and then Mercury, which brought her wide recognition. Sarah Vaughan's career then took a turn and leaned on several tables: commercial pieces of the popular repertoire, prestigious recordings, more intimate numbers with smaller formations including the top jazzmen of the time like Miles Davis or Clifford Brown. Sarah Vaughan was then recognized as one of the best singers in the history of jazz with Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan sang with Billy Eckstine, Count Basie and Quincy Jones. She never stopped traveling around the world to perform her art. The entire audience is conquered and amazed by her virtuosity, her sophistication and her sincerity.

A departure through the front door

After a hiatus and a determined younger generation, Sarah Vaughan seems to be reborn after a return to the fundamentals of her art, she links up with new artists and a new label and starts touring the world again. Sarah Vaughan began the last decade of her career with a contract with the producer Norman Granz. She recorded no less than 7 albums, bringing her official recognition: A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1985 and 3 years later, an induction into the American Jazz Hall of Fame. 

Sarah Vaughan died on April 3, 1990, at the age of 66 years of cancer.