Ella Live

Ella Fitzgerald was the supreme jazz singer. Sarah Vaughan may have been more technically complex and Billie Holiday may have been more rawly emotional, but Ella approached the nearest to what a true jazz vocalist can be. Even at the age of 66, when this "Jazz at the Philharmonic" concert was filmed in Tokyo, she was still magnificent. Admittedly her voice had become a little quavery - especially when using vibrato - but her spirit and jazz feeling were undiminished. Time and again during this concert, one marvels at the adroitness of her voice and the inventiveness of her improvisations. She used her voice like a musician playing jazz on an instrument, and thus she epitomised jazz.

Ella Fitzgerald - The Complete Piano Duets (2020) {2CD Set, Verve B0031519-02}
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© 2020 Verve / Universal | B0031519-02
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Standards / Piano

Many of the most beautiful recordings in Ella Fitzgerald's catalog were her duets with pianists. The freedom afforded by this simple configuration resulted in some of her most sensitive, affecting and heartfelt work. This collection assembles every recording Ella made in the piano duo format - for the Decca, Verve and Pablo labels. It includes 1950's Ella Sings Gershwin, 1954's Songs In A Mellow Mood and 1956's Let No Man Write My Epitaph, all in one package for the first time.

During her long career, every once in awhile Ella Fitzgerald would attempt to "get with it" and record contemporary pop tunes. In 1968 for a live concert with a big band and the Tommy Flanagan Trio, the First Lady of the American Song did what she could with such unsuitable material as "Hey Jude," "Sunshine of Your Love," "Watch What Happens" and "A House Is Not a Home." The results (despite her sincerity) sometime borders on the embarassing; there is no way anyone can swing "Hey Jude." A few of the other numbers (particularly "Give Me the Simple Life," "Old Devil Moon" and "Love You Madly") are of a higher quality but when Ella tries to turn "Alright, Okay, You Win" into funk, it is time to switch records.

This 1966 concert at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles features sets by Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald, with the source evidently being a soundboard tape. His star soloists consistently shine, especially tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves in the flag-waver "Soul Call" and the ballad "In a Sentimental Mood" (the latter usually a feature for Johnny Hodges). Cootie Williams' brash trumpet is showcased in "Take the 'A' Train," while high-note specialist Cat Anderson squeals in his "Prowling Cat." The drums are a bit too prominent in the mix, the sound is a bit muddy in places, and the microphone does not always pick up the leader's spoken…