The advantage of the 50-year limit on recording copyrights in Europe is that it makes available vintage tracks at modest prices; this budget compilation runs nearly 74 minutes and contains 25 selections. But the disadvantages of public-domain material are also apparent here, unfortunately. The Magic of Sarah Vaughan contains few annotations, and some of them are incorrect. Basically, the compilers have transferred, in random order, a bunch of tracks recorded by Sarah Vaughan at the outset of her solo career for Musicraft and Columbia Records. The material consists of standards, and the accompaniment ranges from full orchestras to quartets. Vaughan fans who are puzzled by the notations may wish to know that, for example, the version of "Don't Worry 'Bout Me" said to be performed with Ted Dale and His Orchestra and recorded in 1947 is actually performed with the Teddy Wilson Quartet and was recorded on August 19, 1946. Similarly a version of "What a Difference a Day Made" said to feature Dale and His Orchestra actually features the Jimmy Jones Quartet, and six songs recorded for Columbia on May 18-19, 1950 ("Ain't Misbehavin'," "Goodnight My Love," "It Might as Well Be Spring," "Can't Get Out of This Mood," "Nice Work If You Can Get It," and "Come Rain or Come Shine"), said to have the backing of Jimmy Jones & His Band actually feature George Treadwell and His All-Stars, among them Jones on piano, Miles Davis on trumpet, and Freddie Green on guitar. None of this means the music itself isn't good, but it does indicate that this is a slipshod release thrown together by people who don't know much about what they're doing. That may not bother a Vaughan fan happy to find these early tracks at a cheap price, however, and that's okay, too. ~ William Ruhlmann
