![]() ![]() They are considered a cornerstone of 20th century recorded popular music, and as a whole, represent some of the finest interpretations of the greater part of the musical canon known as the Great American Songbook. Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Antonio Carlos Jobim Song Book ( Ella Abraça Jobim) (1981) (Erich Bulling).Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Song Book (1964) (Riddle)Īs stated in the liner notes, Fitzgerald and Norman Granz made one final addition to the series in 1981 on Pablo Records with:.Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Song Book (1963) (Riddle).Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Song Book (1961) ( Billy May).Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book (1959) ( Nelson Riddle).Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book (1958) ( Paul Weston).Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book (1957) ( Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn).Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers & Hart Song Book (1956) (Bregman).Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book (1956) ( Buddy Bregman).The eight albums are as follows, with arrangers in parentheses: The Complete Ella Fitzgerald Song Books were a series of eight studio albums released in irregular intervals between 19, recorded by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, supported by a variety of orchestras, big bands, and small jazz combos. It may have been an old idea thought of again, but it is a brilliant concept, one that the entire record industry has replicated many times since.Įlla Fitzgerald Sings The Rodgers and Hart Songbook can be bought here.The Complete Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong on Verve It was an idea he tried out with Oscar Peterson on Clef records, one of Granz’s labels before he started Verve. But it should not go unmentioned what a clever idea it was by Granz to create this series of recordings with his most prized asset on Verve Records. ![]() It’s Ella’s performances that make these two collections, and the other songbooks she did in the series, so brilliant and, by the same token, so important. Other standouts include “There’s a Small Hotel,” “You Took Advantage of Me,” and the perennial, “My Funny Valentine.” It’s not difficult to hear why many think Ella is the best jazz singer of the 20th century. When she goes into the chorus of “We’ll have Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island too,” she swings it so effortlessly. It includes “Manhattan” which has one of the most sublime moments on any Ella recording. It is a beautiful album, full of standards that everyone knows and loves, but in Ella’s hands these song become even more special. Trumpeter, Maynard Ferguson, Milt Bernhart’s trombone, Herb Geller, and Ted Nash and Bud Shank doubling on clarinets and saxophone, Barney Kessel on guitar, and drummer Alvin Stoller.Įlla Fitzgerald Sings The Rodgers and Hart Songbook did even better than the Cole Porter Songbook on the Billboard album charts, making No.11 on the chart in March 1957. Like its predecessor it features the cream of West Coast session musicians, many of whom graced the fabulous recordings that Frank Sinatra was making around the same time in the same studio. On August 21, 1956, Ella, Granz, and Bregman began work on their next songbook: Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Rodgers and Hart Songbook. 18 on the list of bestsellers for the whole year, one that was dominated by soundtrack albums. By the end of the year, the double LP was No. In September Ella was the headliner on the annual Jazz at the Philharmonic autumn tour of America. 15 on the Billboard Best Sellers list after Verve had taken an extensive advertising campaign in Esquire, The New Yorker, High Fidelity, and a dozen Sunday Newspapers across America. The 32 track Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Songbook came out on May 15, 1956, as a double album and sold for $9.96. ![]()
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