Pure gold. Jazz/Pop vocals at their best!

Nearly a decade after she took over the late Chick Webb's orchestra, Ella was a full-fledged powerhouse, solid and professional in the postwar years, but not quite as formal and stately as she would become in the '50s. This disc is part of the outstanding chronologically-arranged releases on the French Classics label -- and it's all first-class material. Lots of examples of Ella fronting poppily-arranged group vocals, with Pied Piper-ish backup singers toot-toot-tootling along. She also gets funky and scats a bit, although this is mostly pretty restrained material, more pretty pop than sly jazz vocals. Plus, it's Ella -- which is to say, it's great! Notable tracks include her first scat version of "How High The Moon," which became a concert staple, heard later on her fab "Live In Berlin" album. Then there's "My Baby Likes To Bebop," which makes the postwar jazz revolution sound as if it were just a dance craze like the jitterbug -- silly novelty material, which Ella transcends by an effortless, and incredibly complex scat solo at the end. Great CD -- highly recommended!