Jazz icons unite for ‘Sassy Centennial’

Arsht Center kicks off Jazz Roots with tribute to Sarah Vaughan

Stephen Robb, Miami Times Staff Writer

(Source: Miami Times)

The Arsht Center’s Jazz Roots series kicks off on Nov. 1 with a concert celebrating the legacy of singer Sarah Vaughan.

“We’re doing a program that we create that you won’t see anywhere else,” said Shelly Berg, artistic advisor for Jazz Roots. “We write the music, we hire the guest artists, we write the script, we get the multimedia, and we do something really cool and special just for our audience. And I’ll be performing that evening as well. It’s going to be fun.”

So, why Vaughan?

When you think of the Mount Rushmore of jazz singers, you’ve got Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan,” Berg said. “She’s really one of the most important historical figures as a jazz singer, and it’s her centennial this year. We just felt it would be a great opportunity to shine a light on her.”

Berg pointed out how Vaughan’s legacy lends itself to an amazing show. Nicknamed “Sassy” and “The Divine One,” Vaughan won two Grammy awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine Grammys. She was born in 1924 in Newark, New Jersey, and given an NEA Jazz Masters Award in 1989, the year before her death.

“She did so much,” said Berg. “She recorded so much music, everything from jazz to the Great American Songbook to Broadway to pop and rock of her era. It makes it very easy to do a really great show.”

The concert will feature its own star-studded lineup of jazz greats. Grammy nominees and winners Patti Austin, Lisa Fischer, and Randy Brecker join the 2023 Sarah Vaughan Vocal Competition winner Tyreek McDole, all performing with Berg and the Frost School’s Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra.

With the exception of one, Berg has worked with all the headliners.

“You think about a show like this and the material, and then it’s, ‘What combination can you put together to do something really special?’” Berg explained. “With Patty, you get somebody who knew Sarah Vaughan. She grew up around (her) musicians. Quincy Jones, (who produced for Vaughan) was her godfather. So then you have a direct link – even though Patty’s had R&B hits and pop hits – she’s a jazz singer who really represents that era. And with Lisa, you have somebody who’s truly one of the greatest singers in the world today, and very distinctive and very compelling, and just the idea of getting her on stage, getting her and Patty to do duets together, and getting that combination was exciting.”

Berg sees trumpeter Brecker as a modern-day equivalent of the iconic Clifford Brown:

“Sarah Vaughn recorded an album with Clifford Brown, the great jazz trumpeter. So then I think about what trumpeter is the closest to going back to that era – who knew the artists from that era – and that’s Randy Brecker. We can pay homage to this collaboration of Sarah Vaughan and Clifford Brown.”

Meanwhile, McDole’s artistry was seen as a chance to re-introduce the duets Vaughan did with male singers.

“And then it’ll all be with about 75 musicians on stage from the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra,” Berg said. “It’s going to be a show with a beautiful script that the artists will be talking and telling a story in between the songs.”