Jazz cd on Mercury

Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the '50s". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a wide variety of styles including blues, R&B, and traditional pop music, and gave herself the title of "Queen of the Blues". She was a 1986 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

Sarah Vaughan recorded extensively for Mercury/EmArcy during the 1950s and 1960s. Through much of that time, Vaughan's operatic voice was matched against overripe orchestrations or arrangements more suitable to a pop icon than one of the most versatile instruments in history.

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…

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…

The third of four Sarah Vaughan Mercury box sets (this one has six CDs) traces her career during the last two and a half years of the 1950s. There are several very interesting sessions (expanded greatly by the inclusion of many previously unissued performances) on this box including 21 numbers from a gig at Mister Kelly's in Chicago with her trio (led by pianist Jimmy Jones), a meeting with the Count Basie Orchestra that resulted in the album No Count Sarah, and a live set with a septet (which includes cornetist Thad Jones and the tenor of Frank Wess) at the London House in Chicago. In addition, there are quite a few commercial sides with large orchestras (including some sessions arranged by Quincy Jones), so overall this box lets one hear the many sides of Sarah Vaughan; a special highlight is her first recorded version of "Misty." The reissue (and the other three volumes) is a must for Sarah Vaughan's greatest fans although more general listeners may want to acquire one of the less expensive single CDs instead.

The fourth of four box sets reissuing every recording Sarah Vaughan made for the Mercury and EmArcy labels (including many previously unreleased performances) starts off (after four orchestra tracks) with its strongest selections, no less than 32 songs recorded during a live four-day engagement in Copenhagen during which the singer is accompanied by the Kirk Stuart Trio. Everything else on this six-CD set is somewhat anticlimactic in comparison, for Vaughan is otherwise hindered a bit by string orchestras, a big band and/or a choir. Better to get the live sessions (released as Sassy Swings the Tivoli in addition to a Japanese set by the same name that has extra material) instead although lovers of Vaughan's voice will want to pick up this large reissue anyway.