Sarah Vaughan - The Complete Sarah Vaughan On Mercury Vol. 1 (Great Jazz Years; 1954-1956) (1986/2019)

Sarah Vaughan's years on Mercury (and its subsidiary EmArcy) feature inspired jazz performances, commercial recordings with string orchestras, and big-band sides that fall in between jazz and middle-of-the-road pop music. All of her recordings for Mercury are on four impressive box sets that add up to 23 CDs. The first set (six CDs) is the best overall of the four for it has a full set with her trio, the famous session with trumpeter Clifford Brown, a date with the Ernie Wilkins orchestra (featuring altoist Cannonball Adderley), and a variety of orchestral sides. As with all of these sets, there are many previously unissued performances included too. More selective fans may want to get some of Sassy's individual packages instead (particularly the Clifford Brown date), but completists and true Sarah Vaughan fanatics will consider these four perfectly done sets to be essential.