Feinstein and Sarah Vaughan; Feinstein interviews

The Divine One Miss Sarah Vaughn now appearing the Venetian room of the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. Welcome. Well thank you it's been such a long time as it was a true that you left your heart and Sam just go you lie so much. Oh I have been here about five and a half years you know in August. 962 you remember that when I first met up with you. I never forget it. And you've come back with it seems to be a completely different sort of show. Oh I think so. That's right. Last time we just we debated whether or not you were a jazz singer and you said you were just a singer. That's why when I think I am. And it seemed to me that the pub even less jazz now and more melodies were balancing your act and then over this time of type of room I think. You could sort of mix it up a little bit. But more more more commercial stuff but really I do what I do my recordings most of my records they record proving that you know Mercury

or the names of those two songs they don't have any words I was calling us says these blues. That's me yes I did. And how do you get the name sassy. Oh it was given to me a long time ago and Earl Hines band but piano player. And ever since then I've been called sassy that's not sexy isn't the girl who is sassy again no sauce no I don't think so I mean I don't know what what you meant but here it is. Here it is. We go way way back. That was way back way back when I was going back to the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Newark and I asked what I contributed to your career. Well I was taking piano lessons then and singing in the choir glee clubs in school I was very musical as a small child pre-professional you know before we jump around a little bit in time I was wondering what exciting things have happened to you in the last five years and you've been to San Francisco been around the world.

Well I've been to Europe three or four times since I fact I just came back in from the middle of this round the first of December. I was over there with a jazz show Miles. For five guitar players and oh it was it was very nice cover a new country and one Finland. Can Think Of What part of Finland think you health it's the only part I mean everybody has said it's kind of close to that Russian. Yes it's scary. Fan as much on American jazz which is saying no we played the same you know they didn't know we were in town. It was a very small crowd. They don't seem to know too much about jazz up there but other the other places like Holland Germany and Paris London Italy fantastic in Stockholm for dog moment and not Copenhagen surprising the fans are ready to be there for their Asiatic I think.

Sorry. Are they living very good. And you get over to Australia too sometimes I haven't been there now for about three years. I say Well Australia Melbourne you do get around I don't know Down Under anything. What happened to that beautiful girl who was here with you always she's in school now having her around I always hold your daughter and she'd be seven in April. She was just a baby of jello. Yeah we can't. Can you take it with you anymore. Well not when she's in school but she has vacations and things like that she's with me out there in the summer. She musical to nice of the night I was here over the misery is ridiculous. She can't keep time to nothing that make you glad or sad. It does. It doesn't matter whatever she's gonna be. She's going to be. That's really a journalist way of ask you with the what you want your daughter to be in show business. I want to be whatever it is that's right for her. Yeah

sure you know. All right she's calling now don't look like she's going to peach Elvis I say you can't even keep us singing at the age of seven is playing the piano I think unless it's the age of seven. I started you know I want to quote just one of the many critics who've been written who have written about Miss Florida. This is John as Wilson who is the music critic for The New York Times. He did miss servo and as a supple voice of unusual range she has what may well be the finest voice ever applied to jazz and she's now using it to drive home the dramatic sense of her song to rather than fight it. Roughly said the critic who said just what Michael said you have the finest voice for singing for expressing songs to Lester and Leonard Feather of Encyclopedia of jazz. Well he was in fact he was on the tour part of the tour with us in New York and I said it had to do with you there. Well I guess he was getting material to write about the tour. I

say he received during a book. Yes well I know it's a book but an article some saw it in the first saying that the Witch of the Apollo Theater in Harlem have to do with the beginnings of your career I was on the following which I have and that's really how my career started. I really want to get to $10 first prize. I ended up in show business. He also got the $10 first prize and $10 in a week at the theater by a couple of weeks I was sailing off of the Heinz who I think now lives in San Francisco. It was and I think you know that's Oakland you know what I'm not sure. Lot of people live in Oakland. Yeah it's reasonable if you work with the best of the musical greats Earl for the Heinz Billy Eckstein and who Wilson who will work with John Kirby for a while and then after that I would have my own group about him just right now you have a new group you know whole just knew.

My bass player has been with me two or three years with the other two new Herbie Herbie McMahon on days. Steve Shaffer on drums and Chick Corea on piano and you prefer this to having say an orchestra like you really have to back you up. Well no just sometimes I just feel like you might you know I can do more. I'm more free to do more tunes. Is that because the big bands can't play everything oh no no I wouldn't say that I just. This is a there's no trouble there's no I know what I'm going to do they know what they're going to do. We're together it was fun. I think you have more artistic control when it's your own group and rather than us you come out of the cold with people you never work but I like using a big band I have. Why yes of course. Like I have an opening right here. Pretty good band. You know NBC Sarah Voyager will let you know at the back it

says Sarah when it happened do you think that that was my thinking to make something work that they better have gotten better and better ever. Doesn't matter. Mr. bases one of my favorites and I'm sure it's still around. Well I hope so. Have you cut comparable records with other distinguished musicians. Oh quite a few. Charlie Parker Dizzy. Class who one of them is this is not you know most of them are good musicians now in the studio band. Clark Terry quite a few but you worked for with mercury. Columbia and now the lead role. But I mean I'm not with anyone and you know I was a murky was the last it is but how many of these you do you reckon you guys I never counted and you know I don't think anyone knows. I've never heard anyone give that answer. I said I'd like to know though. You know John Paul Belmondo the French actor the only

pictures he's made of quantization strives finds out a while. Can you talk a little bit about John Kirby's and Samba was that it be it was at a club in New York where some of the band and here I thought I was upstairs in the lounge and I didn't work with him very very long the first shot while Charlie Shamus was with him then you know it according to plan if Elvis Encyclopedia of jazz you people did wild things together like and each is dance. I agree I didn't you didn't and no sextet from the Lucida line where I guess I was more of the jazz Cousteau in those eyes if you can believe they read the encyclopedia if I didn't do that. I see. Maybe I did now I don't know but I don't think so. You were also worked at a kid at Cafe Society downtown the village where you would sort of place was that I was a swinger they have uptown and downtown and of course the downtown was the middle class or you know I guess what uptown was a

society itself. But they always ended up downtown every night hippie era. Oh yeah. Yes I prefer downtown you know downtown was marvelous I was there for about six months. The song as well as the place this is the view it's pretty wild to have you played in a while you know I have to play down there I played a concert down there tomorrow. It's like a forest not like it used to be. We played a concert as little theater a second after that the worst theater I think I've seen since I've been in show business this is a concert or a better concert I think. You still touring the college do occasionally yes. You find out what groups fun to work for. Oh it's a very well they they really are the record black Irish you know. I find it makes me want to give away. I'm. So I think I think it's other people my colleagues can tell me for instance who was on the drums as some of your recordings to learn and I don't know all

that they know more about than you do. Yes and I didn't guess what I mean but look. Well certainly more than I do. The your range never ceases to amaze me I can listen to you continue forever I've only heard you twice this time which is nearly enough. How many octaves if you go this far. Oh you sing. I say about. Almost three. That's fantastic. There still seems to be getting lower and higher. What's going on. It getting maturing in the. Some singers I think if they go one fourth of an octave that's a whole lot. To quote Mr Gleason he talks about your great flexibility. Orange County timber smouldering warm goo goodness. The inevitable rightness is you if you're a jazz musician or man will bless him. Yes well these people all must be right. They could.

Or it's a conspiracy. Oh it ends tonight and I don't care it sounds good there. Time magazine reported that from time to time your records have sold as many as 3 million a year do you find the record business good now as it was a 5 or 10 years ago. Oh well and for some you know the ideal I would say my face may be continually sell maybe maybe slow but there are days you know you have got to smash all it wants but I just have not had a hit record since broken hearted melody that is your last big what is your last but your last disc I was an album I made Cole says he swings again and its a mans well on record and what sort of songs are on the very well one album some as well so about men like Danny boy. Alfie good for that. Man I love and the other one is all of us winners.

Sassy swings again. Yeah I'm going to get them both. OK. Do you find this is a pleasant vocation. Do you find any records a great Sure by way of preparation work. No you know it's sort of enjoyable. It isn't harder than say give me a show. It's nice getting together with your range and saying how you want it how you going to do it how many pieces you want to use. What do you think would be best for this. Then you find that you have to make compromises in the songs you want to sing that you do sing or the director companies tell you you tell them we're a little bit of both. No I don't think you know I don't have any problem like that. I still to this way can they couldn't tell me that I wouldn't I couldn't. MIKE So I want to fray or Alfie. They ask you Do you have so you have recorded I think today that you feel that some songs are wrong for you sometimes.

Well I've done a lot of wrong ones but you never know this. I say it would you would be probably think this it might be the best thing in the world ends up the other side probably is it's a matter of experiment. Yeah. Or art as an experiment I suppose. What are some of the records that we did with some of the song here with Count Basie. Oh you're turning tables I mean John this is Joe Rice it's the man you had to visit cause you go to my head I could see the deal. No wonder I like the record which he especially Is it difficult to work with a great artist or easier What now. It's not difficult to what they want you to not difficult I mean it's matter there's not a lot of you know you know your songs vary enormously even more than we've suggested because I think you've gone and correct me if I'm wrong from Don't blame me and I cover the waterfront to the Lord's Prayer.

Well my role Well I'm not I don't do that often now but I recorded it oh years ago late 40s or early 50s but I do things like mood yes sometimes. Let's pray I do around Christmas time is that they usually play it a couple times. Yes around that time that time of year I suppose when you start competing with people like Marian Anderson I don't know I don't even think about it like if you compete if you are out of your mind. Well both great. It's not that it was one of my favorites but it's a competition here for the reasons we are going to see more back in this listen to her enjoy so much that she admires you. I also live quietly in time price very much to the Aida things I've never seen it before which I have a sample form in the bedroom voice just magnificent.

Strictly no it's magic at one time with your largest sewing record is that yes when musically when Banquo I went back up their music craft records I said label it was on. You're kidding but I took the time to have that happen. How does anyone go bankrupt would you ask if they have a record like that. Well they were doing too good before I say I magine I mean to get that particular you know the some of the sales of going into astronomy you have number of gold records I don't have any you have none none of in the world is not fair is all I can say because I still working in central No that's right and I think you look better still still carrying on. I bet you get one or two before you throw away. Well I'd like to have one. Sure. You've been very successful on TV in some of the issues we've seen you water and solvent Tonight Show

Have you been. Can you tell us what other TV shows you play with the last few years. Oh oh there's been quite a few like that. How different towns I go to I do shows I just can't think of looking for love she does Carson say the day after Christmas as the last time I did a show I said. He's very charming I don't know my with do you think that's a good girl wig on TV gave you a career for a push on radio but he was do you think he was just happy and she thought he did he did wonders if that's a club that was working him out at that particular time I was getting $250 a week and through him my last couple of weeks my salary went up to 70. But we just fell in. Well you were being underpaid I was quite proud of that. Yes yes it was. Now can you give us a slight idea what a year in the life of Sarah Horn consists of is it always different to the way you work different kinds of concerts traveling

records TV show do you have any sort of patter you know this whatever comes up you know whatever. Whatever comes up snatch and grab and go. That's right. Johnson is the club whatever. I think for all of his life as a matter of opportunity and so would you call your home base for home from New Jersey and you still live their lives there. My goodness I do think you mean I think you're the first person I've ever met in show business who still lived in the same place where he or she was born lived and they are for a while I couldn't stand it no longer. So I came back to soft quiet country life. Newark more civilized than New York. Well I don't know Pat's was so full of it said it's not the hustle and bustle of New York it's a tough town to her and I don't like living here but I find the truth say of any almost any great large city where my parents are very hard

to take to. I don't like pansies like the hustle bustle of people of a mighty I think they like us either. Yes saying that it is reciprocated. I do find that foreign audiences were better educated I just mildly specially my concert I remember when I was in Europe. My favorite aunt was Rotterdam Holland. The ovation was just unbelievable I can't describe it. Where do you perform concert like that and said look I don't recall the goals you know and you sing in what languages were you saying that in my own and I wrote your English. You know that you know that one. Think so just sort of most of them most of them. Yeah right. It was there was a you know they always say you should learn to do a little something in the languages but my records I don't have any find I get all the way they hear me on the record I think would be the best thing to do to what you're doing right you know a story on him the same say the same

Danish or French would hear me like I am making some girl thing is a pretty good Barbra Streisand Sings rich beautiful you know in case star and he was oh oh just leave the horn thing I don't know. I tend to think that she may have at one time anyway you know have your standards changed through the years the other night you sing tenderly the end of this show and this seems to me become it's become like Misty sort of with with you. Yeah and that one and broken hearted melody. These few others you just butterfly. Yes I just must to use the audience because they do say if they don't they ask for it anyway. You know I had a ball and. We got to go in there there's that material that you sing at most you shows at the end the most you know of any was created for you know this song that I have all remember Bobby Hackett. I had a ball.

Well I wish I did remember it when they are from what I see why I stay away from some wild places like that with their hands and hands where the where do you go after you play the mission when you're at the Fairmont. Oh my bad calls for a while and I Michael I have to say yes and that to show you. I see you like to play Vegas. Yes. You find a while. Well it's somewhere no other gambling town I'd say it's a little scary to just direct. I think Caesar's Palace is pretty scary safe. But what hotels have you work happening here I think it's to make fun of me and mix it up a little as you say. Yeah well to quote the one of your songs where the last song tonight come back to me that is I hope it isn't another five years. Oh I hope not before you leave your hearts have to go again why but I've been here in Frisco but networking. Have you been on Broadway at the base and the street is nice close now I think what's going on there. Oh no it's our loss. Yeah it's nice and clean.

I've had the considerable luck and good fortune of speaking to the lovely the talented the Divine Miss Sarah Vaughan. Thank you and good luck. Oh you're welcome. Thank you.