Vol. 18 of the Verve Jazz Masters series features Sarah Vaughan for the most part singing bop and swinging pretty hard. Though not known at all as a Verve artist (only At Mister Kelly's), these tracks were mined from her dates in the '50s and '60s for Mercury/EmArcy and Roulette. Of the 16 selections, there's a good mix of small-group sessions with such notables as trumpeter Clifford Brown and saxophonist Cannonball Adderley and big bands led by Quincy Jones or members of the Count Basie Orchestra. Nary a string section is heard until the closer, "Misty." You get pure swing, not the sappy Sassy, during "Cherokee," "Shulie a Bop," "Lullaby of Birdland," "Just One of Those Things" (from the At Mister Kelly's date), and "Sassy's Blues," among others. This is a very good compilation to find and keep. ~ Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide