The Best of the Songbooks

The Best of the Songbooks

by Ella Fitzgerald
The Best of the Songbooks

The Best of the Songbooks

by Ella Fitzgerald

CD

$12.99 
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Overview

Simply a grand and eloquent performance put together by Verve records highlighting the best years of Ella Fitzgerald -- that sassy, charming legendary singer in jazz. The Best of the Songbooks features a captivating lineup of some of jazz's greatest composers and arrangers. It is here that Fitzgerald records and sings songs of Cole Porter, Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart, Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin, George & Ira Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern, and Johnny Mercer. Presented first is a rousing and captivating rendition of "Something's Gotta Give," a jazzed up, high stepping tune just right for finger snapping, with "enough brass to propel her across the finish line." Blazing up the tune, Fitzgerald soon melts the engaging listener's heart with the heartwarming ballad "Love is Here to Stay." Perhaps the most challenging and appealing number from the Berlin songbook, "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm," is sung most effectively, racing through with a sense of dignified grace like a master storyteller. After a dreamy ballad, Fitzgerald would usually close the set with the haunting "Miss Otis Regrets" as an encore, remaining one of her most requested songs. No other song brings to light her ability to glide into a song as the opening of "'S Wonderful," on which Fitzgerald adds a Charleston-era slang with great charisma in the verse. Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" is credibly one of her most haunting tunes, featuring a musician's muted trumpets that set the stage for higher-quality adult music with more passionate and sensual substance. Always a crowd favorite, Ella Fitzgerald shines with an enchanting rendition of "They Can't Take That Away From Me." The melody on "Midnight Sun" melts with the gripping sound of session musician Riddle, never taking away the poignancy of this work. Then there's other classics such as "Hooray for Love" and the flashy "Cotton Tail" to tingle and tickle the listener's fancy. This collection brings forth a sparkling blend of both Ella Fitzgerald, the lady and voice, and captures her spirit and ambiance with a perfect balance of up-tempo brass band hits and soft ballads. This songbook series is ensured to be a compelling and gratifying collection foretelling her legacy for some time to come. Originally, more than two hundred songs written by America's greatest 20th century composers were chosen to represent Ella Fitzgerald in a series. The Best of the Songbooks highlights that work. This is highly recommended and is sure to put a smile on the faces of the most novice and discriminating listeners. ~ Shawn Haney

Product Details

Release Date: 09/21/1993
Label: Verve / Polygram
UPC: 0731451980428
Rank: 83562

Tracks

  1. Something's Gotta Give
  2. Love Is Here to Stay
  3. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
  4. I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
  5. The Lady Is a Tramp
  6. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
  7. Miss Otis Regrets
  8. 'S Wonderful
  9. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
  10. Love for Sale
  11. They Can't Take That Away from Me
  12. Midnight Sun
  13. Hooray for Love
  14. Why Was I Born?
  15. Cotton Tail
  16. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Ella Fitzgerald   Primary Artist,Vocals
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra   Guest Artist,Orchestra
Nelson Riddle Orchestra   Guest Artist
Ben Webster   Guest Artist,Sax (Tenor)
Larry Bunker   Vibraphone
Jimmy Woode   Bass
Clark Terry   Trumpet
Don Fagerquist   Trumpet
Frank Flynn   Vibraphone
Buddy Bregman & Orchestra   Featured Artist
Alvin Stoller   Drums
Paul Gonsalves   Sax (Tenor)
Ted Nash   Sax (Alto)
Paul Weston   Conductor
Paul Smith   Piano
Billy May & His Orchestra   Ensemble
Duke Ellington   Piano
Russell Procope   Clarinet,Sax (Alto)
Cat Anderson   Trumpet
Joe Mondragon   Bass
Sam Woodyard   Drums
Jimmy Hamilton   Clarinet,Sax (Tenor)
Nelson Riddle   Conductor
John Sanders   Trombone
Quentin Jackson   Trombone
Ray Nance   Trumpet
Johnny Hodges   Sax (Alto)
Al Hendrickson   Guitar
Britt Woodman   Trombone
Buddy DeFranco   Clarinet
Willie Smith   Sax (Alto)
Paul Weston & His Orchestra   Ensemble,Featured Artist
Bob Cooper   Sax (Tenor)
Barney Kessel   Guitar
Nelson Riddle & His Orchestra   Ensemble,Orchestra
Stuff Smith   Violin
Willie Cook   Trumpet
Buddy Bregman   Conductor
Harry Carney   Sax (Baritone),Clarinet (Bass)
John Collins   Guitar
Geoffrey Mark Fidelman   Sequencing

Technical Credits

Val Valentin   Engineer
Duke Ellington   Composer
Peter Pullman   Editing
Aric Lach Morrison   Assistant Producer
Chris Thompson   Design,Art Direction
Popsy Randolph   Photography
Paul Weston   Arranger
Jerome Kern   Composer
Harold Arlen   Composer
Irving Berlin   Composer
Cole Porter   Composer
George Gershwin   Composer
Ira Gershwin   Composer
Lorenz Hart   Composer
Johnny Mercer   Composer
Nelson Riddle   Arranger
Maurice Sigler   Composer
Phil Schaap   Research,Remastering,Restoration
Mayme Watts   Composer
Michael Lang   Supervisor,Compilation Supervisor
Norman Granz   Producer
Suha Gur   Mastering
Ted Koehler   Composer
Paul Francis Webster   Composer
Sonny Burke   Composer
Mack Gordon   Composer
Oscar Hammerstein II   Composer
Johnny Green   Composer
Richard Rodgers   Composer
Leo Robin   Composer
Lionel Hampton   Composer
Buddy Bregman   Arranger
Harry Revel   Composer
Jon Schapiro   Assistant Producer
Andrew Nicholas   Mastering
Rachel Mintz   Design,Design Coordinator
Geoffrey Mark Fidelman   Selection,Liner Notes
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