A Classic Collection From Ella Fitzgerald

Lady Ella was born to sing; there's few that would doubt or argue that statement. From her humble beginnings with Chick Webb and "novelty" songs like "A Tisket A Tasket", which somehow sounded like more than senseless patter when a youthful Ella scatted through it, she never hit a bad note in her life. Years later we would find her working with Sinatra stalwart Nelson Riddle on what this music lover considers some of her finest works, the immensely popular Gershwin songbooks. (See also the Kern songbook, also with Riddle leading the band) But here is an obscure collection finally available that has "Lady Time" teaming up with another Sinatra associate, Gordon "Lefty" Jenkins. (Yes, Jenkins conducted his string laden orchestras "southpaw") While his sentimental string backdrops might hardly seem a likely place for Ella to perform to her usual swinging potential, let's not forget it was equally Ella's forte to ease into a melancholy mood (the "Hello Love" and "Like Someone In Love" packages attest to this, as well as "The Intimate Ella" album) Gordon's arrangements frame the sweet not quite yet mature voice ever so gently here; listen to the hopeful surge of "A Man Wrote A Song" or the heartfelt plea of "Lover's Gold". While the real standout here is "Black Coffee", a pleasant surprise is Ella's excellent reading of "Happy Talk" (performed fervently by some tough dame named Bloody Mary in the immortal Rodgers and Hammerstein classic "South Pacific"). Even the ever-somber Jenkins seems to have fun with the light swinging chart. Until this release, the majority of these songs were available only on an obscure cassette or more recently the 4cd ELLA set from Decca. Here all the tracks from the Jenkins sessions are presented on one great CD. A must have for all Ella collectors.

Approaching the Greatest Years

Alhough not on a par with the records Ella consistently made with Verve (and the likes of Marty Paich and Nelson Riddle), Ella treats us to a group of standards and showtunes here. Gordon Jenkins, the most dour of the big arrangers of his era, cannot affect Ella's ebullience to the extent he dampens several other great singers, such as Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra. The recording provides an opportunity to hear selections we would otherwise miss Ella singing - along with repertoire (the gloomiest "Black Coffee" Ella ever cried into). Amidst some of best selections on Ella's Decca albums, Jenkins' dated tone is uncharacteristic of the infectious and timeless tracks on which Ella collaborated only a couple years later. Here, Ella's flaw (pardon the oxymoron) is that she hadn't quite reached the peak of maturity in her intonation - a point that has no bearing in any other setting. Ironically, during the subsequent 1950's and the early 1960's, Ella more expressed an indomitable spirit, youth and zing. While the record is no match for the ultra-sophisticated and exquisite tracks Ella recorded with Frank DeVol and Stan Getz, the Jenkins teaming is a fun entree to the time in which it was recorded. Jenkins' over-the-top heavy-handedness keeps the listener coming back due to Ella's constantly tasteful and perfect counterpoint.