Sarah Vaughan - With Clifford Brown [Blue Spain Import]

Sarah Vaughan's celebrated session with trumpeter Clifford Brown is one of the great vocal jazz albums, and this Spain import presents it on 180-gram blue vinyl.

Recorded in New York in 1954 and first released in 1955 on EmArcy under the simple title Sarah Vaughan, the album paired the singer known as Sassy with a small, swinging combo. Producer Bob Shad assembled a remarkable lineup, with Brown on trumpet, Herbie Mann on flute, Paul Quinichette on tenor saxophone, Jimmy Jones on piano, Joe Benjamin on bass and Roy Haynes on drums, while Ernie Wilkins arranged and conducted.

"Lullaby of Birdland" is the signature performance, Vaughan scatting with effortless agility alongside Brown's bright, clean lines. "April in Paris" unfolds slowly and luxuriously, her voice gliding through its long phrases, while "Embraceable You" and "September Song" show off her extraordinary range and impeccable control, every phrase shaped with a horn player's sense of time.

The interplay between singer and horns feels like a conversation among equals, and Brown's warm, lyrical playing is a poignant reminder of a career cut tragically short.

For lovers of 1950s jazz, this pairing of two remarkable artists belongs near the front of the shelf, right beside the finest records of the era.