We consider the problem of recovering sparse vectors from underdetermined linear measurements via $\ell_p$-constrained basis pursuit. Previous analyses of this problem based on generalized restricted isometry properties have suggested that two phenomena occur if $p\neq 2$. First, one may need substantially more than $s \log(en/s)$ measurements (optimal for $p=2$) for uniform recovery of all $s$-sparse vectors. Second, the matrix that achieves recovery with the optimal number of measurements may not be Gaussian (as for $p=2$). We present a new, direct analysis which shows that in fact neither of these phenomena occur. Via a suitable version of the null space property we show that a standard Gaussian matrix provides $\ell_q/\ell_1$-recovery guarantees for $\ell_p$-constrained basis pursuit in the optimal measurement regime. Our result extends to several heavier-tailed measurement matrices. As an application, we show that one can obtain a consistent reconstruction from uniform scalar quantized measurements in the optimal measurement regime.