Ella Live

It is difficult to know where to begin when approaching an artist as wonderful as Ella Fitzgerald, especially when covering a revered recording like Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book from the late '50s. This set includes two CDs with 32 songs chosen from Berlin's collection of nearly 800 songs. These selections are perfectly suited for Fitzgerald's voice and her romantic sensibility; they are happy, occasionally sad, and full of swinging rhythm. A few of these songs - "Cheek to Cheek," "Puttin' on the Ritz," and "Blue Skies" - will be most familiar; others, "Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails," "Russian Lullaby," and "All By Myself" are as memorable but perhaps less known. Choices like "Isn't This a Lovely Day?" feature everything a listener would want in a song: intelligent lyrics, memorable melodies, and a strong emotional center…

CD reissue featuring Ella Fitzgerald's flowing vocals and Marty Paich's Dek-tette band backing her. This was among several hit albums that Fitzgerald enjoyed in the '50s, when she was reaching the mass audience cutting pre-rock standards.

The cartoon drawing of Ella Fitzgerald on the cover of Gold may lead some to equate this with the parade of pitiful compilations foisted on the market by budget labels, but this two-disc set arrives from Verve, the home of Ella's finest recordings. Listeners wanting a brief overview of the most swinging female in history couldn't do much better than this - assuming, of course, that they don't need informed liner notes or full discographical information on these performances. Overwhelmingly from the '50s and early '60s, Gold compiles 39 excellent performances and wisely focuses on her songbook recordings of the era, heavy on Cole Porter, George & Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and Rodgers & Hart. Not every song here comes from a songbook, though. Also included is Ella's stunning, legend-making 1960 performance of "Mack the Knife" at a Berlin concert.