December 9, 2006 - Her music had a life of its own. When she died, so did a piece of all music lovers.

November 3, 2006 - Her voice is so melodic and soothing -- and she is my great, great, great auntie.

September 10, 2006 - Anyone who loves Sarah Vaughan's music should obtain the compilation CD Loverman, which includes all the stellar recordings between 1944 and 1946 for small labels like Continental, Guild, Gotham, Crown and Musicraft. Accompanied by a who's-who of important players of that era, you will hear unbelievable musicality from an impossibly gifted musician in her early 20s. One disc at a fraction of the cost of her Columbia recordings, and better in so many ways.

September 7, 2006 - The Brazilian Romance recording by Sarah Vaughan pales in comparison to the 1954 classic that was made with the great Clifford Brown. To refer to the Brazilian Romance recording as a classic is a travesty.

September 3, 2006 - I purchased Brazilian Romance in 1987 for my future husband. This has become "our music," and has remained the one CD in our library that can bring us closer together even when we listen to it apart. It has served as inspiration for a 15-year marriage between an Afro-American and an Irish-American. Our favorite cut is "It's Simple."

August 31, 2006 - Sarah Vaughan had such a varied career that it may not do her justice to narrow her contributions down to just a few records. But here are a few that musicians and critics return to often, as excellent examples of her work:

Swingin' Easy, 1954

In the Land of Hi-Fi, 1955

Live at Mister Kelly's, 1957

Sassy Swings the Tivoli, 1963

Live in Japan, 1973

Duke Ellington Songbook, 1979

Happy exploring!

August 31, 2006 - I would love to know what the overall consensus is concerning which three albums of Sarah Vaughan are considered "essential." Will that information be available somewhere on npr.org? Thanks!

August 31, 2006 - You could not be more right about Sarah Vaughan and the album Brazilian Romance. I was just listening to this album days ago, and was just taken above the clouds while enduring the snarled traffic on Chicago's Lower Wacker Drive during the morning rush hour.

I think this album also epitomizes the way Sarah's voice matured into a richness unmatched by any of her contemporaries in their autumn years (with the exception of very few). She used that richness and depth of her tone and experience on every single song in this album and made it her own. And as the album title implies, her longstanding love for Brazilian music -- its melodies, its drama and passion, its wonderful spirit -- was indeed a romance of its own.

In addition to the stand-outs you mentioned, "So Many Stars" is so beautiful and personal. She knows how to take her time does so well on this song -- a lesson many of today's artists could well learn from the great Sarah Vaughan.

I bought the album on tape (hadn't quite caught onto the CD frenzy) my first year in college at UC-Santa Cruz and still love to listen to it. Thanks for reminding me of why I've always loved her so much, even to the very end.

August 31, 2006 - I attended a Sarah Vaughan concert in Columbia, Mo., in the early '80s. In 1987, I inched through my Brown dissertation listening to Brazilian Romance in heavy rotation. It's been a love affair with her unique artistry since then. Now, if only her whole catalog was on SACD to supplement my vinyl collection!

August 31, 2006 - Arguably, Sarah Vaughan honed jazz music's most versatile and potent four-octave instrument, and her piano play gave license to turn meter on its ear. In this regard, Brazilian jazz music was the perfect playground for her lyrical interpretation and fanciful exploration. These offerings are treasures waiting to be discovered.

August 30, 2006 - I'm thrilled that you have dubbed Vaughan's Brazilian Romance a classic. I became a fanatic of such music when I first heard Antonio Carlos Jobim, Milton Nascimento and Sergio Mendes back in the early '60s, and I've only become more rabid with the years. Like others who have written in, I found Sarah's great album in the cut-out bin for pennies, but I knew it had to be fantastic, given the wonderful selection of songs drenched in her gorgeous whiskey-warm voice. It remains one of my all-time favorites, and when the world outside gets to be too much, I slip on the headphones and I'm on a Corcovado beach under the stars...

August 30, 2006 - Wow, how funny -- I bought this for about $1 at a big-box discount store back in the early '90s. I was back from Thailand for a wedding, I had little money, and I was desperate for some jazz. Who'da thunk it was a classic?

August 30, 2006 - I have been blessed to have heard her over the years -- in outdoor settings, in grand concerts, and sitting 10 feet away in small clubs. She always gave memorable and different performances, always made you feel the insides of a songwriter's works. This CD, long my favorite by her, helped fuel my passion for Brazil's romantic culture -- so much so that I retired to Salvador, Bahia a little over a year ago. I could not be happier with this after 30 years in NYC. The shame of it is that this CD is often found in the discount bins. What a treasure she was.

August 30, 2006 - Sarah Vaughan's Brazilian Romance is a recording that every jazz aficionado should have in their collection. Her musicianship was absolutely transcendent. Her use of space and timing served as the perfect canvas for Milton Nascimento's music. It is a timeless recording that teases, soothes and tantalizes the senses. Rather than fighting the lyrics, she allows them to ebb and flow in a way that invokes a surreal atmosphere for the listener. You feel the power of love, passion, heartbreak and pain in her voice. More importantly, it is a final testament that marks her illustrious career and body of work.

August 30, 2006 - The incomparable Sarah Vaughan possessed a vocal instrument that was as unique and melodious as her easygoing style. Fortunately, we have her wonderful recordings to cherish in her absence. So we remain close to her, realizing more fully, as the years pass, her mastery of the material she so beautifully shared with us. She remains the divine voice of music.

August 30, 2006 - Sarah Vaughan is everything she is known for, and then some. Her music remains timeless, and continues to cross barriers that some artists today are finding impossible. She could see the aspects of songs that some of her contemporaries could never understand.