Sarah Vaughan at Mister Kelly’s

*Beautiful voice and a great live recording
*Not my favorite style of jazz or I would given this a 5

Perfect accompaniment to my rainy train ride home

A beautiful voice over instrumentals which are nothing special

Oh my, what a voice. Its insane that this is recorded live. This is fantastic.

I’m at a 5.

Not too much to say on that really; just a totally intimate nightclub performance of some wonderfully sung standards. A slight bit of PTSD for those who experienced the full 3-hour version of the Ella Fitzgerald album, perhaps, but since I listened to an abridged version, I don’t think I encountered any of these. Sarah Vaughan has a truly lovely voice, and the chances she gets on this album to show her natural charisma are well-appreciated. It’s obviously got a few little flaws, but I like that they’re kept in; no live performance, no matter how rehearsed, ever goes 100% well, and keeping them in makes it feels much more authentic. The audio quality is great for 1957 too, and while I do wish the band / crowd had just a little more of a presence like some of the other live albums on this list, they still have enough of one that this does still feel like I’m sitting in the crowd for it.

It’s a great live album, simple as that. The floor here is probably a 3 if you’re not big on standards, or a 4 if the mic falling over during “Willow Weep For Me” is a big enough issue for some reason. There’s a few little lull moments here and there on some tracks, but nothing that ever seriously took me out of the immersion. I enjoyed it a lot, and I think it’s a pretty darn good 5.

Maybe prefer the studio stuff.

The Good: We get some SrV!!!
The Bad: It’s a different kind of blues...
The Ugly: It seems that we need a script to hang at Mister Kelly’s

If one is not into jazz, this is not your album.
I am not into jazz…

Having said that, what is refreshing is listening to a set in a jazz bar, by one of the greatest jazz singers of her generation, know that there is no room for autotune et al…

I would have given this album a 4* thanks to the inclusion of “Just a Gigolo”, however, the last track on the album removed that star as I am not ready to listen to freestyle scatting again…

Sorry SrV. 3*

Relaxing and smooth jazz. That is all.

Amazing voice. A gig I'd have liked to have been at, sat at a table with a signed photo of Senator John Kennedy, an Old Fashioned and pack of cigarettes.

A live album of jazz and soul vocalist Sarah Vaughan. What really made this enjoyable was how the singers personality shone through. A tight and brilliant snapshot of the time.

I love fallout music and this is basically that. But I would prefer actual music from fallout like Uranium Fever, I don’t want to set the world on fire, crawl out through the fallout...

I don't hate this but I don't love it.

Tho not exactly overshadowed by Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan does seem to be remembered as the third of that legendary trio of jazz vocalists, perhaps the three greatest of the twentieth century. On this live recording, she musters up so much clarity, so much simplicity, so much swing, so many daring flashes of on-key-then-off-key hilarities, that you'd be hard-pressed not to fall in love on impact. Her characteristic vibrato is actually more controlled in this live context than it often is in the studio, but she's as playful as ever, as jocoserious as Ella is in Berlin, w/ understatements and nonchalances keeping her afloat. She's far more full-bodied than she is merely impressive: a pivotal and enduring vocalist.

I like jazz quite a bit, which is why it's weird to me that I kind of have a hard time writing about it. What I love about the genre is often some nebulous interplay of performances, virtuoso ability, and vibes, so bear with me here. Anyways, I liked At Mister Kelly's a lot. This is a vocal jazz live album by Sarah Vaughan, and the fact that it is live is very important, I'd go as far as to say that this may be in the conversation about all time great live albums. This feels exactly as it should: intimate and warm, with little things like the introduction and crowd noises and recording quirks that really put you in this little jazz club while you listen through this. Firstly, as one might expect, Sarah Vaughan is the star here. She is a fantastically talented vocalist, and her voice is beautiful to boot. She is confident and charismatic on the mic; she has great annunciation and a distinct voice as well. She hits incredible vocal runs, and can express a wide range of emotions too. She even flubs with grace and humor, cushioning the audience with a little humor on How High The Moon and Willow Weep For Me. Her backing band is incredible as well. There is a pianist, a drummer and a stand-up bassist here and they are incredible musicians. The band is always locked in and tastefully improvising, giving Vaughan the space she needs while simultaneously making themselves known through their performances. There is serious talent in this much restraint. The only thing holding this album back is that these are pretty much all jazz standards instead of originals. However, that's not as much of a problem in jazz where interpretation and improvisation are so much of the genre's DNA. Ultimately this is great, it's sweet, and cozy and displays some real ability from everyone.

I don’t care much for vocal jazz. This 73 minutes felt like two and a half hours. She is very talented and it is technically good, but I just get bored.

This started off strong, but fell off a bit around the halfway point. Sarah had a beautiful voice and a lot of talent. This recording was just a bit too long without much variety (especially in the second 30 mins). 3.4/5

Great voice. Not the kind of music that moves me though. 3/5.

Nice recording, great voice. Easy listening. Not something I am super into, but good to have on for some ambiance.

Great voice. Okay songs.

Unfortunately, my experience in jazz is not so good, even with the classics. That's why I always look forward to hearing gems I haven't heard before in this project. I haven't consciously heard anything from Sarah Vaughan yet. She has a very good voice. However, her album is too vocal-heavy for me. I didn't like it that much. 3/5

it really feels like i’m sitting at the bar where this was recorded