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Sarah Vaughan

Sarah Vaughan
Usage Conditions Apply
Artist
Brian Lanker, 31 Aug 1947 - 13 Mar 2011
Sitter
Sarah Vaughan, 27 Mar 1924 - 3 Apr 1990
Date
1988
Type
Photograph
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
Image: 70.8 × 71 cm (27 7/8 × 27 15/16")
Sheet/Mount: 81.2 × 75.4 cm (31 15/16 × 29 11/16")
Mat: 89.8 × 88.9 cm (35 3/8 × 35")
Frame: 92.7 × 91.4 × 4.4 cm (36 1/2 × 36 × 1 3/4")
Topic
Costume\Jewelry\Earring
Interior
Costume\Jewelry\Ring
Sarah Vaughan: Female
Sarah Vaughan: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Pianist
Sarah Vaughan: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Singer\Jazz singer
Sarah Vaughan: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Jazz musician
Sarah Vaughan: Grammy
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; partial gift of Lynda Lanker and a museum purchase made possible with generous support from Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker, Agnes Gund, Kate Kelly and George Schweitzer, Lyndon J. Barrois Sr. and Janine Sherman Barrois, and Mark and Cindy Aron
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© Brian Lanker Archive
Object number
NPG.2021.147
Exhibition Label
Born Newark, New Jersey
“Practice? When I’m on stage, that’s it. When I want to learn a new song, we have rehearsals, but that’s it. It’s different every time.”
— Sarah Vaughan
A consummate vocal artist, Sarah Vaughan moved effortlessly between the worlds of jazz and pop music. Following her debut with Earl Hines’s orchestra in 1943, she joined Billy Eckstine’s groundbreaking band, where she was profoundly influenced by its stellar roster of jazz and bop innovators, including Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Vaughan then worked briefly with John Kirby’s ensemble before launching her highly successful solo career in 1946. The supple contralto and remarkable range showcased on her first hit, “Tenderly” (1947), won her legions of fans.
Peers such as Ella Fitzgerald deemed Vaughan the world’s “greatest singing talent,” and the readers of DownBeat magazine voted her the best female singer for six consecutive years (1947–52). Described by New York Times music critic John S. Wilson as having “what may well be the finest voice ever applied to jazz,” Vaughan’s interpretations of popular music, from the Beatles to Stephen Sondheim, also sparkled.
Nacida en Newark, Nueva Jersey
“¿Practicar? Cuando estoy en escena, nada más. Cuando quiero aprenderme una canción tenemos ensayos, pero eso es todo. Es diferente cada vez.”
—Sarah Vaughan
Cantante consumada, Sarah Vaughan se movía sin esfuerzo entre los mundos del jazz y la música pop. Tras debutar con la orquesta de Earl Hines en 1943, se unió al novedoso grupo de Billy Eckstine, donde recibió grandes influencias de estelares innovadores del jazz y el bop como Charlie Parker y Dizzy Gillespie. Trabajó brevemente con el grupo de John Kirby antes de lanzar su triunfal carrera de solista en 1946. La elástica y extraordinaria tesitura de contralto que desplegó en su primer éxito, “Tenderly” (1947), le ganó una legión de seguidores.
Colegas como Ella Fitzgerald consideraban a Vaughan el “talento vocal más grande” del mundo, y los lectores de la revista DownBeat la eligieron mejor cantante femenina seis años consecutivos (1947–52). John S. Wilson, crítico musical del New York Times, observó que poseía “lo que bien podría considerarse la mejor voz jamás aplicada al jazz”. Sus interpretaciones de música popular, desde los Beatles hasta Stephen Sondheim, también fueron brillantes.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view