Sarah Vaughan – Crazy and Mixed Up

One voice, four partners

On March 1 and 2, 1982, Sarah Vaughan recorded at Group IV Studios in Los Angeles. Joining her were Roland Hanna on piano, Joe Pass on guitar, Andy Simpkins on bass and Harold Jones on drums. “Crazy and Mixed Up” appeared on Pablo that same year. Its small ensemble establishes a clearly defined circle of musical voices around the singer, without the scale of an orchestral arrangement.

Piano and guitar are both present. For a vocalist, that opens several possibilities: chordal accompaniment can pass between instruments, while individual lines can answer a sung phrase. Hanna and Pass each bring their own experience as soloists. Here they work together with bass and drums across a programme of eight songs, allowing the listener to follow different relationships within the same compact group.

From Rodgers and Hart to Brazil

“I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” opens the record, while “You Are Too Beautiful” closes it. Both were written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. “That’s All”, “Autumn Leaves” and “In Love in Vain” also appear. Familiar titles provide a point of reference for Vaughan’s treatment of melody, words and rhythmic placement, without requiring the programme to stay within a single songwriting tradition.

Two selections lead to Ivan Lins and Vitor Martins: “Love Dance” and “The Island”, performed here with English lyrics. Vaughan’s connection with Brazilian music had already taken album form on “I Love Brazil!” in 1977. On “Crazy and Mixed Up”, these songs sit directly alongside American standards. Roland Hanna contributes “Seasons”, adding a composition by one of the musicians actually playing on the session.

Follow the accompaniment

One rewarding route through the album is to concentrate on the two chordal instruments. In “Seasons”, listen to how Hanna accompanies Vaughan within his own composition. Then follow Joe Pass: when does the guitar provide a chord, and when does it offer a short melodic response? Identifying every note is unnecessary. Simply moving your attention between voice, piano and guitar can bring individual musical decisions into focus.

The sequence provides another useful guide. “Love Dance” closes the first side and “The Island” opens the second, placing the two Brazilian compositions on either side of the original LP’s turning point. Hanna’s “Seasons” follows, before two standards bring the programme to a close. Across a relatively short running time, the record connects these different sources through a consistent ensemble and a carefully contained selection of songs.

About this edition

Analogue Productions presents “Crazy and Mixed Up”, AAPJ 191, as a stereo single LP at 33⅓ RPM on 180-gram vinyl. Matthew Lutthans mastered it at The Mastering Lab. The publisher specifies the original analogue master tapes as the source and describes the mastering as analogue. Pressing is by Quality Record Pressings, with a Stoughton tip-on single-pocket jacket. The eight original selections are included, four per side. Alternate performances subsequently issued on CD are not part of this edition.

Michael 45 keeps the record in Germany and sends it from Hilden, so European customers need neither organise a private US import nor wait for customs clearance.

More by Sarah Vaughan: How Long Has This Been Going On? · Send In The Clowns

Customer question: Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe

Series: Pablo – all 30 records, musicians and the session book

Musicians

Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.