SARAH VAUGHAN | LESTER YOUNG - One Night Stand : The Town Hall Concert 1947 (1997) MONO | The Performance Series | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

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
Tracklist :
1    Lester Young Sextet–    Lester Leaps In 3:08
Written-By – Lester Young
2    Lester Young Sextet–    Just You, Just Me 5:17
Written-By – Greer, Klages
3    Lester Young Sextet–    Jumpin' With Symphony Sid 3:50
Written-By – Lester Young
4    Lester Young Sextet–    Sunday 6:18
Written-By – Kreuger, Conn, Styne, Miller
5    Sarah Vaughan–    Don't Blame Me 3:45
Written-By – McHugh-Fields
6    Sarah Vaughan–    My Kinda Love 1:48
Written-By – Trent, Alter
7    Sarah Vaughan–    I Cover The Waterfront 3:35
Written-By – Heyman, Green
8    Sarah Vaughan–    A Ghost Of A Chance 3:53
Written-By – Crosby, Washington, Young
9    Lester Young Sextet–    Lester's Bebop Boogie 4:53
Written-By – Lester Young
10    Lester Young Sextet–    These Foolish Things 4:55
Written-By – Link, Morrell, Strachey
11    Lester Young Sextet–    Movin' With Lester 5:49
Written-By – Lester Young
12    Sarah Vaughan–    The Man I Love 3:31
Written-By – Gershwin-Gershwin
13    Sarah Vaughan–    Time After Time 2:54
Written-By – Styne-Cahn
14    Sarah Vaughan–    Mean To Me 2:40
Written-By – Ahlert, Roy Turk
15    Sarah Vaughan–    Body And Soul 4:05
Written-By – Heyman, Eyton, Green, Sauer
16    Sarah Vaughan With Lester Young–    I Cried For You 3:46
Written-By – Lyman, Freed, Arnheim
Credits :
Bass – Rodney Richardson
Drums – Roy Haynes
Guitar – Fred Lacey
Piano – Sadik Hakim (pistas: 1 to 4, 9 to 11), Sammy Benskin (pistas: 5 to 8, 12 to 16)
Tenor Saxophone – Lester Young (pistas: 1 to 4, 9 to 11, 16)
Trumpet – Shorty McConnell (pistas: 1 to 4, 9 to 11, 16)
Vocals – Sarah Vaughan (pistas: 5 to 8, 12 to 16)