Customer Reviews

Roulette Years

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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!!

Vaughan's somewhat ignored Roulette years (1960-1964) were among her best. Her voice was reaching full maturity while still retaining an appealing girlish quality that would be lost in later years. She never sang better. This 24 track, 73-minute compilation draws from 10 of her 12 Roulette albums, and she is flawless in both sparse and orchestral settings. Mosaic has released her complete works for Roulette, but this single CD is a much less expensive alternative.