A Delightful Introduction to the Legendary Ella Fitzgerald

The only thing to which I can compare Ella Fitzgerald's voice is a hummingbird: light, playful, sparkling, and darting in every direction one can imagine and quite a few that one can not. And for those who are unfamilar with her work, this "Compact Jazz" anthology offers a wonderful introduction, mixing studio recordings and live cuts that show Fitzgerald's incredible range, control, and sense of pitch--a sense of pitch so perfect that many musicians flatly stated that they tuned their instruments to her tone.

The collection opens with Fitzgerald's version of "Mac the Knife," which she recorded live in Berlin. The addition of this song to her concert was a last minute decision, and a few verses into the selection Fitzgerald experienced every performer's nightmare: she "went up," went completely blank on the lyrics. Incredible as it may seem, Fitzgerald did not collapse into uncertain embarrasment; she improvised lyrics, scat-sang the melody, snatched the audience into the palm of her hand--and the result is one of the most famous recordings in her long and brilliant career.

By way of contrast, the second cut is studio-made, a slick and glossy version of "Desafinado" with Fitzgerald showing full the absolute control for which she was justly famous--an exhibition she repeats in other recordings such as "I Can't Get Started," "Somebody Loves Me," and "The Boy From Ipanema," all of them delightful. But she is at her most astonishing when, as with "Mac the Knife," she simply cuts loose and fools around with sound. Perhaps the single most famous selection in her repetoire was "How High The Moon," and the live version included here runs over eight minutes, opening as if it will be a standard ballad--only to zoom in amazing directions as Fitzgerald improvises with her band firmly behind her every step of the way. My own favorite, however, is "Smooth Sailing," which presents Fitzgerald completely unencumbered by lyrics and popping with pure sound. It is a dazzling performance all the way.

In addition to these selections, the anthology includes such other famous Fitzgerald tunes as "A-Tisket, A-Tasket," "Shiny Stockings," and "Goody Goody." Although the quality of the recording varies a bit from title to title, it never falls below superior, and while Ella experts will note that some of her recordings here were bested by other performances, the only time Ella was second best was in comparison with herself. A truly delightful collection, and strongly recommended.

My favorite Ella Compilation

Ella at her swinging and blues singing best. Good variety of styles and moods showcasing Ella's amazing performance energy und ultra dynamic vocal range. The live cuts are particularly nice, as they reveal her charm and mastery at improvisation and scat singing. Her backing bands on this disc provide just the right chemistry to set this jazz goddess soaring. My only complaint is that I wish this disc would be remastered to take advantage of significant sonic improvements in digital remastering technology since this disc was first released.