18. Sarah Vaughan — Live at Mister Kelly’s (1958)

Amazing cover art

1. I’m wary of jumping in by proclaiming this the “healthy alternative to heroin-addled Billie Holiday” but here we are. Sarah Vaughan, man. What a lovely voice backed by a perfect three piece filling this little time machine of an album. Close your eyes, and this record simulates the specific experience of listening to jazz in a smoky nightclub in 1958 better than any virtual reality headset ever could. One scotch rocks, please.
2. Vaughan doesn’t have a distinctive voice in the same way Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald or Nina Simone did, but instead she’s got perfect execution. Her range, tone, and movement are all on point. She knows how to phrase any melody, how to build a tune, how to end a song leaving you wanting more. She’s great.
3. The bookends of this album are also incredible fun — we start with an introduction of the microphones recording the set, and a note that Sarah will be using lyric sheets. We end with “How High The Moon,” in which — no joke — she sings the following to open:
   
   “How high the ocean / how high the moon / how high the ocean / how high the moon / I don’t know the words to this song / But i’mma gonna sing ’em anyway / I hope you enjoy it / Hope you enjoy it / Ella Fitzgerald sings this song / Real real real crazy / Shabba dabba dabba doobie doo / That’s the way she sings it / So I’m gonna try to sing it that way for you / So here goes / So here goes / How high the moon”
   
   Are you kidding me? That’s so much fun. That’s incredible. I love that.
4. There’s a very cool organization in San Francisco called SFNeon; they specialize in restoring historic neon signs around town, such as Li Po Lounge and Tradr Sam’s. I love this, so naturally it tracks that I adore the cover of this record. Check out those neon signs for Mister Kelly’s! Who wouldn’t want to hang their hat there?
   
   Mister Kelly’s opened in 1953 and played host to a ridiculous number of singers and comedians including 14 live recordings, some (Mort Sahl, Muddy Waters) more auspicious than others (Woody Allen, Bill Cosby). It closed in 1975, a shame. Check out the wikipedia entry on it.
5. Hearkening back to #4 on the 1001 list, Vaughan recorded a very different cover of “Just a Gigolo” here than the one Louis Prima had made just two years prior. I believe this marks the first time a song has re-appeared on multiple albums. I’m sure it won’t be the last.

One Essential Song:

Listen on Spotify: