Search - Sarah Vaughan :: Roulette Years

The Divine One's best years

Dennis W. Wong | 06/18/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although the late Sarah Vaughn recorded many memorable tracks for Mercury, many seem to forget that she briefly left Mercury to record for Teddy Reig's Roulette label before returning to her former label years later. I think the reason she left was because thru Roulette, she was given even better arrangers than what she had had on the Mercury label. Arrangers such as Benny Carter, Quincy Jones, Ernie Wilkins and Don Costa graced these memorable tracks plus she also re-united with the Basie band sans Basie (Jimmy Jones would be handling the piano chair) in some swing'ng grooves. Also I doubt that Sarah ever recorded a more intimate album than the "After Hours" sessions with guitarist Mundell Lowe and bassist George Duvivier. There are a lot of great tracks on this compilation but none more memorable than her intepretation of Johnny Mercer's "I Remember You" with a great arrangement by Don Costa (Tony Bennett lists this as the best version of this song). Heartily recommend for all Sarah enthusiasts and vocal jazz fans alike!!"