Not sufficiently acknowledged these days, Washington was a huge influence in bringing a tinge of gospel into pop and jazz, and this excellent compilation shows, among other things, where Aretha Franklin came from. The albums here were all made when Mercury's new label Emarcy was encouraging its pop stars to show their jazz chops.

For Dinah, that includes some wailing high notes, a dramatic vibrato and an infallible groove, except when singing out-of-tempo, and a fine array of songbook standards. There's a pleasing informality about three of the four sets here, with simple functional arrangements and instrumental solos galore – check the names listed above. Clark Terry is all over these sessions, not soloing on every track by any means but often setting backing riffs and, on the live Dinah Jams, affording a sharp contrast to Brownie and Maynard Ferguson (all of them also signed to Emarcy at the time). The last album (originally titled The Swingin' Miss “D”) has big-band charts by ‘Q’, as well as more soloists, and brings the reissue to a fitting finale.