I find a certain irony in the fact that eventhough Chinese made audio products receive so much attention (good and bad) from the audio community that the Chinese government blocks posting on Audiogon and access to YouTube. After six days in Shanghai I am now in Osaka, Japan where there are no such restrictions and am catching up on the goings on here.
Interesting discussion and comparison of Ella and Sassy and thanks to all for the great clips. I find ghosthouse’s description of their relative styles and sounds to be excellent and spot on. No way I could proclaim one “superior” to the other since their styles were so different. Clearly a case of personal preference and while I enjoy them both I find Sarah’s singing more interesting and the sound of her voice far more complex as ghosthouse says. I love Ella’s singing also, but as in a comment that I read (I wish I could claim to have said this): “ it’s as if she’s searching for a tube of lipstick in the bottom of her purse at the same time”. As much as I like his playing it’s a little like the feeling I get when I listen to Oscar Peterson play. Great in every respect, but there’s just something that leaves me missing the introspection and character of some other favorite piano players.
Rok, I know you’re a big fan of Ella as am I, and I find your reference to the “Met Opera folks” interesting since it was Sarah that was often thought of as having the skill of a great opera singer. She had a four octave range which was much wider than Ella’s and she also had great intonation and control, but made the stylistic choice of not always landing on notes squarely on pitch. I will concede that there are times (especially in later recordings) when her singing gets a little too ornate for me with a little too much character Anyway, two fantastic singers.
Operatic (almost) Sarah:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4U6xJ0gKT9s
Some favorite Sarah:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-RJ9PNYxr9Q
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fDePdW8aP60
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=prIb53T3IFM
Some favorite Ella:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VqOaQgD_2KA
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P1d4NHsyQgs
Interesting discussion and comparison of Ella and Sassy and thanks to all for the great clips. I find ghosthouse’s description of their relative styles and sounds to be excellent and spot on. No way I could proclaim one “superior” to the other since their styles were so different. Clearly a case of personal preference and while I enjoy them both I find Sarah’s singing more interesting and the sound of her voice far more complex as ghosthouse says. I love Ella’s singing also, but as in a comment that I read (I wish I could claim to have said this): “ it’s as if she’s searching for a tube of lipstick in the bottom of her purse at the same time”. As much as I like his playing it’s a little like the feeling I get when I listen to Oscar Peterson play. Great in every respect, but there’s just something that leaves me missing the introspection and character of some other favorite piano players.
Rok, I know you’re a big fan of Ella as am I, and I find your reference to the “Met Opera folks” interesting since it was Sarah that was often thought of as having the skill of a great opera singer. She had a four octave range which was much wider than Ella’s and she also had great intonation and control, but made the stylistic choice of not always landing on notes squarely on pitch. I will concede that there are times (especially in later recordings) when her singing gets a little too ornate for me with a little too much character Anyway, two fantastic singers.
Operatic (almost) Sarah:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4U6xJ0gKT9s
Some favorite Sarah:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-RJ9PNYxr9Q
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fDePdW8aP60
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=prIb53T3IFM
Some favorite Ella:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VqOaQgD_2KA
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P1d4NHsyQgs