- Sarah Vaughan – American singer and pianist
- Select Discography
- Download the best Jazz sheet music and transcriptions from our Library.
- Best of Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan – American singer and pianist
Sarah Vaughan, long considered one of America’s greatest
vocalists, was known for her incredible range, the power
and throaty richness of her voice, and the exceptional
control she had over her instrument. Her performances
and recordings influenced countless singers around the
world, even during her lifetime. In the pantheon of great
jazz singers, Vaughan is in the uppermost firmament
along with Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, according
to many music lovers and critics.
“Her voice had wings: luscious and tensile, disciplined
and nuanced, it was as thick as cognac, yet soared off
the beaten path like an instrumental solo … that her
voice was a four-octave muscle of infinite flexibility
made her disarming shtick all the more ironic,” wrote
music critic Gary Giddins.
Vaughan was born in Newark, New Jersey on March 27, 1924.
Her father was a carpenter and her mother worked
as a laundress. Music permeated their daily lives as both
of her parents were skilled amateur musicians. From an
early age, Vaughan learned how to sing and play piano
and organ. Initially, her prodigious talents were directed
towards sacred worship at Newark’s Mount Zion Baptist
Church, which is still flourishing at 208 Broadway. She is
probably the church’s most famous member, according
to the church website.
But Vaughan was itchy to get out of the church pews and into
the limelight. She got her first taste of stardom when she took
part in an amateur night contest at the famous Apollo
Theater. She won the competition with her version of the song
“Body and Soul” in 1942, instantly marking her for greater
things. Earl Hines, a big band leader, hired her to be a pianist
and singer after her performance. In 1944, she joined the
band of vocalist and bandleader Billy Eckstine.
From there, she began a steady climb in her career as
a soloist, notching performances with some of the greatest
jazz artists in the 20th century. These performers included
Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Benny Carter,
Frank Foster and Quincy Jones. It was her connection
with Parker and Gillespie that gave Vaughan her entrée
into bebop. She adopted the inventive sounds of bebop
and incorporated it into her singing, especially in the
scatting for which she best known.
Vaughan toured widely across the world, showcasing her
irrepressible vocal stylings. She performed in both intimate
cabaret settings and large scale concerts with prestigious
orchestral ensembles such as the Boston Pops, Cleveland
Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic, just to name a
few. Additionally, Vaughan performed at Newport Jazz
Festival several times and worked with festival producer,
George Wein on concerts all over the world.
Vaughan also expanded her audience greatly when she
started singing pop songs. As she grew older, Vaughan’s
voice became deeper and darker, which prompted music
lovers to say her voice was reaching its peak like fine wine.
Vaughan gave her last concert in 1989 at the Blue Note,
a legendary New York City jazz club. The following year,
Vaughan died at 66 years old on April 3rd of lung cancer.
She died at her home in Hidden Hills, just outside of Los
Angeles, California and a world away from her humble
beginnings in Newark.
Her 1990 obituary from the Los Angeles Times stated
that she passed away with her mother Ada and
adopted daughter Paris Deborah at her bedside.
In her obituary, music critic Martin Bernheimer said:
“Sarah Vaughan had a voice of extraordinary sweetness,
flexibility and purity, and she used it with uncanny
insinuation throughout a wide range. She could have
taught many an opera diva lessons in breath control,
in legato phrasing and in expressive communication.
She was a great singer. Period.”
For her funeral, Vaughan’s family held the service at the
same place where people got to hear her talents first:
Mount Zion Baptist Church in Newark.
″A Newark girl comes home, having gone full circle,″ said
the Rev. Granville E. Seward, pastor of Mount Zion Baptist
Church at the time, ″and what a circle that has been.″
“I just sing,” Vaughan once said of herself.
“I sing whatever I can.”
Select Discography
• Send in the Clowns, with Count Basie Orchestra
• Irving Berlin Songbook, with Billy Eckstine
• At the Blue Note
• In a Romantic Mood
• I Cover the Waterfront
• Lover Man, with George Treadwell Orchestra, Richard
Maltby String Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker
• The Divine Sarah Vaughan: the Columbia Years
• Sarah Vaughan in Hi-Fi, with Miles Davis
• Sarah Vaughan, with Clifford Brown
• Sassy Swings the Tivoli
Download the best Jazz sheet music and transcriptions from our Library.
Best of Sarah Vaughan
Browse in the Library:
Artist or Composer / Score name | Cover | List of Contents |
---|---|---|
Waltz – Noce i Dnie OST (Nights and days) | ||
Waltz For Debby Bill Evans (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Waltz For Debby – Bill Evans (Complete) (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Waltz For Debby – Bill Evans (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Waltz From The Balet ‘coppelia’ (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Waltz In A Minor F. Chopin (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Waltz In E Minor Op. 39 No. 4 – Johannes Brahms (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Ward-Jackson’s Gymnastics For The Fingers And Wrist – based On Anatomical Principles (By Edwin Ward-Jackson) 1874 | ||
Watermark (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Watermelon Man (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Waters of Irrawaddy (Hans Zimmer) from the movie Beyond Rangoon | ||
Wave – Vou Te Contar Jobim (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Wayne Shorter – Ana Maria | ||
Wayne Shorter Artist Transcriptions The New Best of | Wayne Shorter Artist Transcriptions The New Best of | |
Wayward Sisters – Nocturnal Animals OST (Abel Korzeniowski) | ||
We are the champions (Queen) | ||
We Are The World Songbook | we are the world | |
We Shall Overcome Essays on a Great American Song (Book) by Victor B.Bobetsky | ||
We Wish You A Merry Christmas | ||
We Wish You A Merry Christmas – Anonymous (Guitar arr. sheet music with TABs) | We Wish You A Merry Christmas – Anonymous (Guitar arr. sheet music with TABs) | |
We Wish You A Merry Christmas – Guitar TABlature | ||
We Wish You A Merry Christmas (piano solo sheet music) | ||
We Wish You A Merry Christmas Trad. English Christmas carol | ||
We Wish You A Merry Christmas Trad. English Christmas carol.mscz | ||
Weather Report – A Remark You Made (Guitar TABS) | Weather Report – A Remark You Made (Guitar TABS) | |
Weather Report – The best of Weather Report (Full score) | Weather Report – The best of Weather Report (Full score) | |
Weather Report Best Of Weather Report Band Score Book | Best Of Weather Report Us Book | |
Weber – Der Freischütz (Ouvertüre) Piano Solo arr | ||
Weber – Der Freischütz (Ouvertüre) Piano Solo arr.mscz | ||
Weber – Der Freischutz Overture piano solo arr. | ||
Weber op 65 Invitation to the Dance (Invitation to the Waltz) | ||
Weber’s Last Thought – C.M. von Weber | ||
Wedding Collection for Piano Solo | Wedding Collection for Piano Solo | |
Wednesday Morning 3 A M – Simon & Garfunkel (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Weight Of The World – Nier Automata Piano Collections (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Weissenberg En Avril A Paris (April In Paris) Charles Trenet | ||
Well Tempered Praise – Mark Hayes piano | Well Tempered Praise – Mark Hayes piano | |
Well Tempered Praise II by Mark Hayes | Well Tempered Praise II by Mark Hayes | |
Well Tempered Praise III – Mark Hayes piano | Well Tempered Praise III – Mark Hayes piano | |
Well Tempered Praise Vol 4 Gospel Classics by Mark Hayes | Well Tempered Praise Vol 4 Gospel Classics by Mark Hayes | |
Well-Known Piano Solos – How To Play Them (By Charles W Wilkinson) (1915) | ||
Wes Montgomery Wine And Roses By Henry Mancini Solo Guitar | ||
Wes Montgomery – Unit 7 Solo Transcription | Wes Montgomery – Unit 7 Solo Transcription | |
Wes Montgomery – Artist Transcriptions for guitar by fred Sokolow | Wes Montgomery – Artist Transcriptions for guitar by fred Sokolow | |
Wes Montgomery – Au Privave transcription | ||
Wes Montgomery – Days of wine and roses transcription | ||
Wes Montgomery – Take The A Train transcription | ||
Wes Montgomery Essential Jazz Lines (Mel Bay) | Wes Montgomery Essential Jazz Lines (Mel Bay) | |
Wes Montgomery Jazz Guitar Artistry arr. by Zafar Soood with TABs | Wes Montgomery Jazz Guitar Artistry arr. by Zafar Soood | |
Wes Montgomery Jazz No Blues Guitar | ||
Wes Montgomery The Early Years (Mel Bay) Jazz Guitar Solos Tablature | Wes Montgomery The Early Years (Mel Bay) Jazz Guitar Solos Tablature | |
Wes Montgomery The End Of A Love Affair Guitar Tabs | ||
West Side Story – Somewhere (Voice and Piano) Leonard Bernstein | West Side Story – Somewhere | |
West Side Story (The Musical) Vocal Score Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim | West Side Story Vocal Score – Leonard Bernstein | |
Westlife – Cant Lose What You Never Had | ||
Westlife – Flying Without Wings | ||
Westlife – If I Let You Go | ||
Westlife – Mandy | ||
Westlife – You Raise Me Up Guitar arr. with TABs | Westlife – You Raise Me Up Guitar arr. with TABs | |
Westlife Unbreakable Greatest Hits | ||
Wet Wet Wet – Love Is All Around | ||
Wexford Carol (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Wham , George Michael And Me By Andrew Ridgeley (Book) | ||
Wham Make It Big Piano Vocal Guitar Chords | Wham Make It Big Piano Vocal Guitar Chords | |
What a Wonderful World – Thiele & Weiss | ||
What a wonderful world – Louis Armstrong.mscz | ||
What A Wonderful World (Lead Sheet With Lyrics ) Musescore File.mscz | ||
What a Wonderful World (lead sheet) – Thiele & Weiss | What a Wonderful World (lead sheet) – Thiele & Weiss | |
What A Wonderful World (Musescore File).mscz | ||
What a wonderfull World (Jazz Standard) Guitar Tablature TABs | What a wonderfull World (Jazz Standard) Guitar Tablature TABs | |
What A Wonderlful World (Lead Sheet) (Musescore File).mscz | ||
What You’re Made Of – Même Si (Lucie Silvas – Grégory Lemarchal | ||
What’s That Sound An Introduction To Rock And Its History By John Covach And Andrew Flory (Book) | ||
When A Man Loves A Woman Calvin Lewis & Andrew Wright | ||
When Almonds Blossomed – Giya Kancheli | When Almonds Blossomed – Giya Kancheli-1 | |
When Almonds Blossomed (Musescore File).mscz | ||
When I Fall In Love – Victor Young (Bill Evans Ver.) (Musescore File).mscz | ||
When I fall in love Bill Evans version | When I fall in love Bill Evans version | |
When I’m Sixty-Four (Beatles) | ||
When Lights Are Low (Benny Carter) As Played By Miles Davis (Musescore File).mscz | ||
When The Saints Go Marchin In – Gospel Traditional Folk song (Piano solo with Lyrics) | When The Saints Go Marchin In – Gospel Traditional Folk song (Piano solo with Lyrics) SAMPLE | |
When The Saints Go Marching In – Fun piano arrangement | When The Saints Go Marching In – Fun piano arrangement | |
When you told me you loved me (Jessica Simpson) | ||
When You Wish Upon A Star (Musescore File).mscz | ||
When You Wish Upon A Star (From The Film Pinocchio) Easy Piano Solo Arr. Sheet Music (Musescore File).mscz | ||
When You Wish Upon A Star (Leigh Harline and Ned Washington) from Pinocchio Jazz Piano Solo arr. sheet music | When You Wish Upon A Star (Leigh Harline and Ned Washington) from Pinocchio Jazz Piano Solo arr. sheet music | |
When You Wish Upon A Star (Solo Piano Arr ) David Dinh | ||
When You’re Gone (Avril Lavigne) | ||
When You’re Smilling (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Where have all the-flowers gone (guitar & voice) | Where-have-all-the-flowers-gone (guitar & voice) | |
While your lips are still red (Nightwish) | ||
Whistling away the dark (Darling Lili OST) Henry Mancini | ||
White Album 2 Ending 3 Sayonara No Koto | ||
White Christmas -Irving Berlin – Piano sheet music | ||
White Christmas Irving Berlin (Musescore File).mscz | ||
White Christmas Medley (Liberace) | ||
White skin like the moon (Jane Eyre 2011 OST) Dario Marianelli | ||
Whitesnake – Here I Go Again | ||
Whitesnake Guitar Collection with TABs | Whitesnake Guitar Collection with TABs | |
Whitesnake Is This Love Piano Vocal Guitar Chords | Whitesnake Is This Love Piano Vocal Guitar Chords | |
Whitney Houston – Jesus Loves Me Sheet Music | ||
Whitney Houston The Best Of | Whitney Houston, The Best Of | |
Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You | ||
Whitney Houston – It’s Easy To Play Whitney Houston | Whitney Houston – It’s Easy To Play Whitney Houston | |
Whitney Houston – Saving All My Love For You | ||
Whitney Houston – The Greatest Hits | Whitney – The Greatest Hits | |
Whitney Houston – The Greatest Love Of All | ||
Whitney Houston I will always love you | Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You | |
Whitney Houston My Love Is Your Love | Whitney Houston My Love Is Your Love | |
Who wants to live forever (Queen) | ||
Whole New World Sheet Music, A – Alan Menken | ||
Why Jazz? A Concise Guide – Kevin Whitehead (book) | ||
Wicked The Musical Sheet Music Full song Book Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz | Wicked the musical contents — Wicked The Musical Sheet Music Full Book | |
Wieck – Piano Studies | ||
Wiklund Adolf Fran Mitt Fonster (From my Window) Piano Solo | ||
Wild – Fantasy On Gershwin’s Porgy And Bess | Wild Fantasy On Gershwin’s Porgy And Bess | |
Wild Gershwin Seven Virtuoso Etudes | Wild Gershwin Seven Virtuoso Etudes | |
Wild, Earl – Gershwin Étude No. 4 based on Embraceable You Piano | Wild, Earl – Gershwin Etude No. 4 based on Embraceable You Piano | |
Wilde Theme (Debbie Wiseman) | ||
Wilhelm Kempff Musik Des Barock Und Rokoko – Nr. 13 Menuett G-Moll G.F. Händel (Musescore File).mscz |