Sarah Vaughan › The Best of Sarah Vaughan [Pablo]

Personnel: Sarah Vaughan (vocals); Frank Wess (tenor saxophone); Jimmy Rowles, Mike Wofford, George Gaffney, Oscar Peterson (piano); Helio Delmiro, Bucky Pizzarelli, Joe Pass (guitar); Ray Brown (bass); Grady Tate, Louis Bellson (drums); Wilson Das Neves (percussion).

Count Basie Orchestra: Kenny Hing, Eric Dixon, Bobby Plater, Danny Turner, Johnny Williams (saxophone); Sonny Cohn, Frank Szabo, Willie Cook, Bob Summers, Dale Carley (trumpet); Mitchell "Booty" Wood, Bill Hughes Dennis Wilson, Grover Mitchell (trombone); George Gaffney (piano); Freddie Green (guitar); Andy Simkins (bass); Harold Jones (drums).

Recorded in Group IV Studios, Hollywood; RCA Studios, New York; and Rio De Janiero, Brazil, 1978-1981. Includes liner notes by Norman Granz and Philip Elwood.

Digitally remastered by Phil De Lancie (1990, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California).

In her last years, Sarah Vaughan's recordings for Norman Granz and the Pablo label were well done and well-received overall, her albums of Brazilian music and the LP Crazy and Mixed Up topping the list. This collection features mostly ballads, sung pristinely, a little samba or bossa nova, two blues, a whole lot of the Count Basie Orchestra loaded with great soloists, and the hard swinging "From This Moment On," all on Vaughan's typical high emotional peaks. These period pieces from 1978-1979 are admittedly a small slice, but a good representation of Vaughan, leaving us on a high level. ~ Michael G. Nastos

Genre:

• Vocals

Music Categories:

• Pop Vocal: Classic