This album is fantastic. Hands down. I love this lady’s voice, and the band backing her up is great, too. Nothing to hate about this album at all. That is, if you’re a fan of vocal jazz, which I am. Not modern vocal jazz. At least, not what I consider to be modern vocal jazz. Really just leaves me cold. Too weak; not enough soul.
One particular track you’re sure to dig is How High The Moon. She forgets the lyrics, so she just scats her way through it. Vocal scatting, you sicko. I know what you were thinking. 😛 Anyway, if you enjoyed the Frank Sinatra albums from a few months ago, you’ll probably dig this. Remember to click the picture to go to my podcast site so you can hear this album in its entirety.
Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about this album:
Wikipedia Says:
At Mister Kelly’s is a 1957 live album by American jazz singer Sarah Vaughan, recorded at Mister Kelly’s jazz club in Chicago.
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [2] |
The Allmusic review by John Bush awarded the album four and a half stars and said that At Mister Kelly’s captures Vaughan at her “best and most relaxed”, stating that “her unerring sense of rhythm carries her through every song on this set, whether the occasion calls for playfulness and wit (“Thou Swell,” “Honeysuckle Rose”) or a world-wise melancholia (“Willow Weep for Me”)”. Bush also praises Jimmy Jones and Roy Haynes[2]
Track listing
- “September in the Rain” (Al Dubin, Harry Warren) – 3:30
- “Willow Weep for Me” (Ann Ronell) – 5:16
- “Just One of Those Things” (Cole Porter) – 3:18
- “Be Anything (But Be Mine)” (Irving Gordon) – 4:50
- “Thou Swell” (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) – 2:44
- “Stairway to the Stars” (Matty Malneck, Mitchell Parish, Frank Signorelli) – 5:06
- “Honeysuckle Rose” (Andy Razaf, Fats Waller) – 3:39
- “Just a Gigolo” (Julius Brammer, Irving Caesar, Leonello Casucci) – 4:10
- “How High the Moon” (Nancy Hamilton, Morgan Lewis) – 4:27
- “Dream” (Johnny Mercer) – 3:38
- “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down (And Write Myself a Letter)” (Fred E. Ahlert, Joe Young) – 2:30
- “It’s Got to Be Love” (Rodgers, Hart) – 5:13
- “Alone” (Nacio Herb Brown, Arthur Freed) – 2:29
- “If This Isn’t Love” (Yip Harburg, Burton Lane) – 2:25
- “Embraceable You” (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 2:47
- “Lucky in Love” (Lew Brown, Buddy DeSylva, Ray Henderson) – 2:10
- “Dancing in the Dark” (Howard Dietz, Arthur Schwartz) – 3:36
- “Poor Butterfly” (John Golden, Raymond Hubbell) – 4:45
- “Sometimes I’m Happy” (Caesar, Vincent Youmans) – 2:00
- “I Cover the Waterfront” (Johnny Green, Edward Heyman) – 4:07
1,001 Albums 