Before he moved on to other things, Quincy Jones’ big band arranging of the late 1950s was seldom surpassed, particularly when it came to producing settings for vocalists. The Peggy Lee sessions stand out, as do his instrumental charts for Dizzy and Basie, but his substantial body of work for Dinah Washington is among the very best and most consistent of his output. His particular genius was to produce orchestrations that breathe, so that they fluctuate between the intimacy of a small band and the power of a big band, while also allowing his star soloists to contribute on equal terms to the singer. So whether it is Barry Galbraith’s guitar effectively providing solo backing to the opening of ‘My Old Flame’, or the horns of Paul Quinichette, Urbie Green, Jimmy Cleveland, or Clark Terry leaping out of the background to take pithy, dramatic solos, the instrumental textures are perfectly matched to Washington’s strong, vibrant, yet sentimental voice. The other significant factor on these tracks, which is so brilliantly achieved that it goes by almost unnoticed, is the choice of tempi. Nothing is rushed, even on the up-tempo tracks from The Swingin’ Miss D, which includes one of the most leisurely versions of ‘Perdido’ ever recorded. The separate albums are available in several versions, from Decca (and other Universal imprints) and from the likes of Phoenix and American Jazz Classics, but this 3CD set is an extremely efficient way to acquire all the Jones/Washington collaborations, plus some tracks by Dinah with Q’s orchestra arranged by Billy Byers, Ernie Wilkins, Nat Pierce and Al Cohn.