Sarah Vaughan @ Sage Gateshead - The Lost Recordings

The Lost Recordings

(Review by Russell)

Bebop Spoken Here accepted an invitation to attend a private event at Sage Gateshead presented by Devialet and Peter Tyson AV. Paris-based audio technology company Devialet working with the long-established Newcastle-based Peter Tyson AV selected Sage Gateshead as the perfect venue to present a demonstration of high-end hi-fi as guests listened to excerpts from an ongoing project to unearth, restore and make available previously unheard in-concert performances to a discerning audiophile audience.   

Peter Tyson said of the event on line:        

Take an incredibly rare, live recording, restore and remaster the analogue tape to a lacquer, the  ultimate analogue medium,…

adding for the benefit of the local audience:

...and listen to it in beautiful surroundings, in this case, the iconic Sage Gateshead.

Sage Two’s stage took on an unfamiliar stripped-down appearance with an easel and two futuristic-looking speakers. Mounted on the easel a large photographic portrait of Sarah Vaughan, one of the iconic figures in Devialet’s ‘The Lost Recordings’ portfolio. On 9th August 1975 Sassy performed at the Laren Jazz Festival, Holland. The concert was broadcast on radio and television and now, forty two years on, thanks to Devialet’s world-wide search to rescue rare recordings from the shelves of a variety of archival sources, the jazz record collector is able to add their collection.

Following a brief introduction by a representative from Devialet the house lights went down and the aural experience began. The on-stage Devialet speakers (see photo) revealed the fine detail of the audio recording. Sassy’s interaction with the Laren Jazz Festival audience was heard with a clarity that comes from listening via superior audio equipment. The album comprises fourteen tracks. This demonstration event presented four of them with a running time of around twenty five minutes. The listening experience is, of course, dependent upon the listening environment. Sage Gateshead has a global reputation for its acoustics, your home environment is likely to be somewhat different!                  

Devialet’s ‘The Lost Recordings’ catalogue includes Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson.

Sarah Vaughan Vinyl Live at Laren Jazz Festival - 1975 is a hand numbered (limited edition of 900) double gatefold album on 180g vinyl. Devialet’s website indicates that all copies have been sold. If you would like to find out more visit: www.devialet.com and www.petertyson.co.uk   

Russell