Count Basie & Sarah Vaughan

Sarah Vaughan is accompanied by her regular rhythm section of the early '80s (with pianist George Gaffney, bassist Andy Simpkins, and drummer Harold Jones), guitarist Freddie Green, and the Count Basie horn sections on this enjoyable date. The arrangements by Sammy Nestico and Allyn Ferguson unfortunately do not leave much room for any of the Basie sidemen to solo, but Sassy is in superb form. She is at her best on "I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues," a remake of "If You Could See Me Now," and a rapid "When Your Lover Has Gone," although some listeners may enjoy her overly dramatic rendition of "Send in the Clowns."

Possessing one of the finest singing voices of the 20th century, Sarah Vaughan was already an established solo star when she signed with Mercury Records in 1954, and between then and 1958, she recorded pop material on the label's main imprint and jazz material on the subsidiary EmArcy Records, although there was some overlap between the two. This lovingly conceived box set collects all of the jazz sessions Vaughan did under the Mercury umbrella during this stay (she returned to the label for a second run between 1963 and 1967) spread over four discs, including Images, originally released as a 10" and then reissued as a full LP with the addition of five more cuts as Swingin' Easy, the self-titled Sarah Vaughan (with Clifford Brown, Herbie Mann, and Paul Quinichette), In the Land of Hi-Fi (with Cannonball Adderley), a live set, Sarah Vaughan & Her Trio at Mister Kelly's…

Possessing one of the finest singing voices of the 20th century, Sarah Vaughan was already an established solo star when she signed with Mercury Records in 1954, and between then and 1958, she recorded pop material on the label's main imprint and jazz material on the subsidiary EmArcy Records, although there was some overlap between the two. This lovingly conceived box set collects all of the jazz sessions Vaughan did under the Mercury umbrella during this stay (she returned to the label for a second run between 1963 and 1967) spread over four discs, including Images, originally released as a 10" and then reissued as a full LP with the addition of five more cuts as Swingin' Easy, the self-titled Sarah Vaughan (with Clifford Brown, Herbie Mann, and Paul Quinichette), In the Land of Hi-Fi (with Cannonball Adderley), a live set, Sarah Vaughan & Her Trio at Mister Kelly's…

Vol. 18 of the Verve Jazz Masters series features Sarah Vaughan for the most part singing bop and swinging pretty hard. Though not known at all as a Verve artist (only At Mister Kelly's), these tracks were mined from her dates in the '50s and '60s for Mercury/EmArcy and Roulette. Of the 16 selections, there's a good mix of small-group sessions with such notables as trumpeter Clifford Brown and saxophonist Cannonball Adderley and big bands led by Quincy Jones or members of the Count Basie Orchestra. Nary a string section is heard until the closer, "Misty." You get pure swing, not the sappy Sassy, during "Cherokee," "Shulie a Bop," "Lullaby of Birdland," "Just One of Those Things" (from the At Mister Kelly's date), and "Sassy's Blues," among others. This is a very good compilation to find and keep.

In 1964, Count Basie handed the reins of his band over to composer and arranger Billy Byers, purportedly to modernize his sound to the times. More accurately, Byers energized the band with his bright charts loaded with counterpointed exchanges and interplay, plus a depth and density the Basie band had long since relinquished to other similarly sized groups. With stellar personnel - including Eric Dixon, Frank Foster, Frank Wess, Marshall Royal, Al Aarons, and Don Rader - Byers and Basie stoked the coals of the band with some red hot bop and intricate charts atypical to the laid-back approach that always served the band and its fans well. The upbeat tracks, the roaring "Basie Land," hard charging "Rabble Rouser" and the tumbling melody of "Gymnastics" are particularly noticeable, as the horns jump in and out of unison…