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Ella - Ken Burn's Jazz
To download this recording via iTunes, click here: Ken Burns's Jazz: Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald
To buy this recording from Amazon.com, click here: Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Ella Fitzgerald
______________________________________________________________________
The Definitive Ella Fitzgerald
Ken Burn’s Jazz
Ella Fitzgerald sings on all tracks, accompanied by:
01. A-TISKET, A-TASKET (2:37)
-E. Fitzgerald-V. Alexander-
Chick Webb and His Orchestra:
Mario Bauza, Taft Jordan,
Bobby Stark, trumpet;
George Matthews, Nat Story, Sandy Williams, trombone;
Garvin Bushell, clarinet, alto saxophone;
Louis Jordan, alto saxophone;
Ted McRae, Wayman Carver, tenor saxophone;
Tommy Fulford, piano;
Bobby Johnson, guitar;
Beverly Peer, bass;
Webb, drums;
Van Alexander, arranger
Recorded May 2,1938
Available on CD: Ella Fitzgerald: The Early Years, Part 1 (GRP GRD-2-618)
02. VOTE FOR MR. RHYTHM (2:25)
-L. Robin-R. Rainger-A. Siegel-
Chick Webb and His Orchestra:
Mario Bauza, Taft Jordan, Bobby Stark, trumpet;
Claude Jones, Sandy Williams, trombone;
Pete Clark, clarinet, alto saxophone;
Edgar Sampson, alto saxophone;
Elmer Williams, Wayman Carver, tenor saxophone;
Joe Steele, piano;
John Trueheart, guitar;
John Kirby, bass;
Webb, drums
Recorded October 29, 1936
Available on CD: Ella Fitzgerald: The Early Years, Part 1 (GRP GRD-2-618)
03. BETCHA NICKEL (2:52)
-E. Fitzgerald-
Ella Fitzgerald and Her Famous Orchestra:
Taft Jordan, Bobby Stark, Dick Vance, trumpet;
George Matthews, Nat Story, Sandy Williams, trombone;
Garvin Bushell, Clarinet, soprano saxophone;
Hilton Jefferson, alto saxophone;
Wayman Carver, tenor saxophone, alto saxophone;
Ted McRae, baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone;
Tommy Fulford, piano;
John Truehart, guitar;
Beverly Peer, bass;
Bill Beason, drums
Recorded June 29, 1939
Available on CD: The Early Years, Part 2 (GRP GRD-2-623)
04. FLYING HOME (2:27)
-B. Goodman-L.Hampton-
Vic Schoen and orchestra:
Charles Genduso, Ralph Muzzillo, Louis Ruggiero, trumpet;
William Pritchard, trombone;
Sid Cooper, Bernie Kaufman, alto saxophone;
Harry Feldman, Sid Rubin, tenor saxophone;
Moe Wechsler, piano;
Hy White, guitar;
Felix Giobbe, bass;
Irv Kluger, drums;
Schoen, arranger, conductor
Recorded October 4, 1945
Related music available on CD: The War Years (GRP GRD-2-628)
05. NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT (2:36)
-G. & I. Gershwin-
Ellis Larkins, piano.
Recorded March 30, 1954
Available on CD: Pure Ella (GRP GRD-636)
06. SMOOTH SAILING (3:04)
-A. Cobb-
Bill Doggett and orchestra:
Doggett, organ;
Hank Jones, piano;
Everett Barksdale, guitar;
Arnold Fishkin, bass;
Jimmy Crawford, drums;
the Ray Charles Singers, vocal choir
Recorded June 26, 1951
Available on CD: The Best of Ella Fitzgerald (GRP GRD-659)
07. LULLABY OF BIRDLAND (2:49)
-G. Shearing-G. Weiss-
Sy Oliver and orchestra:
Sam "The Man" Taylor, tenor saxophone;
Bill Doggett, organ;
Hank Jones, piano;
Everett Barksdale, guitar;
Sandy Block, bass;
Jimmy Crawford, drums;
unknown choir, vocal;
Sy Oliver, arranger, conductor
Recorded June 4, 1954
Available on CD: The Last Decca Years (GRP GRD-668)
08. NIGHT AND DAY (3:04)
-C. Porter-
Buddy Bregman and orchestra:
Pete Candoli, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Maynard Ferguson, Conrad Gozzo, trumpet;
Milt Bernhart, Joe Howard, Lloyd Ulyate, trombone;
George Roberts, bass trombone;
Herb Geller, alto saxophone, clarinet;
Bud Shank, alto saxophone, flute;
Bob Cooper, tenor saxophone, clarinet, oboe;
Ted Nash, tenor saxophone, flute, clarinet;
Chuck Gentry, baritone saxophone, bass clarinet;
twelve unknown violins;
two unknown violas;
Edgar Lustgarten, Robert La Marchina, cello;
Corky Hale, harp;
Paul Smith, piano;
Barney Kessel, guitar;
Joe Mondragon, bass;
Alvin Stoller, drums;
Misha Russell, concertmaster;
Bregman, arranger, conductor
Recorded March 27, 1956
Available on CD: Sings the Cole Porter Song Book (Verve 314 537 257-2)
09. LET'S CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF (4:11)
-G. & I. Gershwin-
Louis Armstrong, vocal;
Oscar Peterson, piano;
Herb Ellis, guitar;
Ray Brown, bass;
Louie Bellson, drums
Recorded July 23,1957
Available on CD: Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong: Ella and Louis Again (Verve 825 374-2)
10. SOPHISTICATED LADY (5:19)
-E. Ellington-M. Parish-I. Mills-
Ben Webster, tenor saxophone;
Stuff Smith, violin;
Paul Smith, piano;
Barney Kessel, guitar;
Joe Mondragon, bass;
Alvin Stoller, drums
Recorded September 4, 1956
Available on CD: Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book (Verve 314 559 248-2)
11. OH, LADY, BE GOOD! (4:00)
-G. & I. Gershwin-
Roy Eldridge, trumpet;
J. J. Johnson, trombone,
Sonny Stitt, alto .saxophone;
Stan Getz, Coleman Hawkins, Illinois Jacquet, Flip Phillips, Lester Young, tenor saxophone;
Oscar Peterson, piano;
Herb Ellis, guitar;
Ray Brown, bass;
Connie Kay, drums
Recorded October 9, 1957
Available on CD: Ella Fitzgerald at the Opera House (Verve 831 269-2)
12. BLUE SKIES (3:43)
- I. Berlin -
Paul Weston and orchestra:
John Best, Pete Candoli, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Don Fagerquist, Mannie Klein, trumpet; Edward Kusby, Dick Noel, William Schaefer, trombone;
Juan Tizol, valve trombone;
Chuck Gentry, Matty Matlock, Ted Nash, Babe Russin, Fred Stulce, woodwinds;
Paul Smith, piano;
Barney Kessel, guitar;
Joe Mondragon, bass;
Alvin Stoller, drums;
Weston, arranger, conductor
Recorded March 18, 1958
Available on CD: The Irving Berlin Song Book (Verve 314543830-2)
13. MACK THE KNIFE (4:44)
-K. Weill-B. Brecht-M. Blitzstein-
14. HOW HIGH THE MOON (7:02)
-N. Hamilton-M. Lewis-
Paul Smith, piano;
Jim Hall, guitar;
Wilfred Middlebrooks, bass;
Gus Johnson, drums
Recorded February 13, 1960
Available on CD: Mack the Knife: The Complete Ella in Berlin (Verve 314 519 564-2)
15. BLUES IN THE NIGHT (7:11)
-H. Arlen-J. Mercer-
Billy May and orchestra:
Frank Beach, Don Fagerquist, Conrad Gozzo, Joseph Triscari, trumpet;
Milt Bernhart, Ed Kusby, trombone;
Benny Carter, alto saxophone;
Plas Johnson, tenor saxophone;
Chuck Gentry, baritone saxophone;
Justin Gordon, Wilbur Schwartz, woodwinds;
Lou Levy, piano;
Herb Ellis, guitar;
Joe Mondragon, Wilfred Middlebrooks, bass;
Alvin Stoller, drums;
May, arranger, conductor
Recorded January 14, 1961
Available on CD: The Harold Arlen Song Book, Vol. 1 (Verve 817 527-2)
16. (YOU'LL HAVE TO SWING IT) MR. PAGANINI (4:03)
-S. Coslow-
Lou Levy, piano;
Herb Ellis, guitar;
Wilfred Middlebrooks, bass;
Gus Johnson, drums
Recorded May 12, 1961
Available on CD: Something to Live For (Verve 314 547 800-2)
17. A NIGHT IN TUNISIA (4:07)
-J. Gillespie-F. Paparelli-
Lou Levy, piano;
Herb Ellis, guitar;
Joe Mondragon, bass;
Stan Levey, drums
Recorded June 24, 1961
Available on CD: Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie (Verve 835 646-2)
18. SHINY STOCKINGS (3:32)
-F. Foster-E. Fitzgerald-
Count Basie and His Orchestra:
Al Aarons, Sonny Cohn, Joe Newman, Don Rader, Fip Ricard, trumpet;
Henry Coker, Urbie Green, Grover Mitchell, Benny Powell, trombone;
Eric Dixon, Frank Wess, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone;
Frank Foster, tenor saxophone, arranger;
Marshal Royal, clarinet, alto saxophone;
Charlie Fowlkes, baritone saxophone;
Basie, piano;
Freddie Green, guitar;
Buddy Catlett, bass;
Sonny Payne, drums;
Quincy Jones, arranger, conductor
Recorded July 16, 1963
Available on CD: Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie: Ella and Basie (Verve 314 539 059-2)
Some of these tracks were transferred from disc sources. Surface noise is audible.
______________________________________________________________________
Ella Fitzgerald (1917-96) was, along with Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday, one of the most important vocalists to emerge from the big-band era. Her style is marked by a sunny outlook, a girlish innocence, and a virtuoso command of her voice. Early in her career she
was primarily a so-called rhythm singer, but in the 1940s she began to experiment with extending her range and improvising abilities. Louis Armstrong, the musical ancestor of all jazz vocalists, was an important role model, as was Connee Boswell, a popular singer of the 1930s.
Fitzgerald was born out of wedlock in Newport News, Virginia, to a laundress mother and a father who disappeared when she was three years old. Along with her mother and her mother's new boyfriend, who functioned as a stepfather, she soon moved to Yonkers, New York, where she began her schooling. Around the third grade she started dancing, a pursuit that became almost an obsession. She also sang, but dancing was her first love. Her childhood friends remember her as happy-go-lucky, but also with a determination to become famous. In 1932, when she was fifteen, her mother died suddenly of a heart attack. Her stepfather treated her badly, but an aunt took the teenager to live with her in Harlem. This arrangement did not last long; Fitzgerald ran away in 1934 to live on the streets.
Late that year she won a talent contest at the Apollo Theater; she had entered as a dancer, but nervousness caused her to sing instead. Several months later she joined drummer Chick Webb's big band, where she mostly sang novelties like "Vote for Mr. Rhythm” In 1938 she recorded "A-Tisket, A-Tasket” her own adaptation of a turn-of-the-century nursery rhyme, which took the country by storm and eventually sold a million copies. When Webb died in 1939 the band's management installed Fitzgerald as leader, and a year later she was voted the number one female vocalist in polls conducted by Down Beat and Metronome magazines.
In 1942 the band broke up and Fitzgerald became a single act, touring with various other popular names of the day. She also became interested in scat singing and the newly emerging style known as bebop, and in 1945 she recorded a landmark version of "Flying Home", using Illinois Jacquet's famous tenor saxophone solo on Lionel Hampton's recording of the song as the basis for her scat solo. Several tours with the Dizzy Gillespie band also contributed to her assimilation of the bebop style. There had been scat singers before - in fact, her idol Louis Armstrong was a pioneer of the genre but today Fitzgerald is so closely identified with scat that the word turns up in crossword puzzles as "Fitzgerald forte" - a unique tribute, to say the least.
In the late 1940s Fitzgerald began to tour with the Jazz at the Philharmonic troupe, working with such leading musicians as saxophonist Lester Young, trumpeter Roy Eldridge, pianist Oscar Peterson, and bassist Ray Brown, to whom she was married for four years. JATP impresario Norman Granz became increasingly influential in her career, and in 1953 he became her manager.
Three years after that he became her record producer as well, recording her on his own Verve label. He wasted little time in having Fitzgerald record a double album of Cole Porter songs, including the version of "Night and Day" heard here. She had done a Gershwin album for Decca in 1950, but Granz wanted to apply the composer concept on a more ambitious scale, with large orchestras.
Fitzgerald made many wonderful albums for Verve in the following decade, but the Song Books occupy a special place in her discography. For many music lovers, these albums are supreme examples of great music sung by a great singer. They were instrumental in expanding Fitzgerald's appeal beyond that of a "jazz singer" and creating a demand for her in venues not usually open to jazz artists. Under Granz's aegis she was now performing in the most prestigious nightclubs and concert halls in the US and abroad.
For die-hard jazz fans, though, the well-polished jewels of the Song Book series lack the raw energy of Fitzgerald's live performances. Happily, Granz released several landmark concert albums by her as well. Especially exciting was a 1960 Berlin concert, which featured an electrifying performance of "How High the Moon" (an old standby in her performance repertoire) and an impromptu take on "Mack the Knife;' which became a Top 30 single. Fitzgerald usually performed with a trio or quartet, but there were also appearances with larger groups, such as the Duke Ellington and Count Basie orchestras.
By the 1960s Fitzgerald had become wealthy enough to retire, but the love of performing drove her on - she appeared regularly until just a couple of years before her death in 1996. Sidemen came and went, but except when health problems intervened she performed as much as humanly possible, sometimes singing concerts in two different cities in one day. In the summer of 1978 there was a two-day stint when she went from Provence (France) to Newcastle (England) to WolfTrap (Virginia)!
In the early 1990s, when failing health confined her to occasional appearances under a doctor's supervision, her fellow jazz singer Betty Carter commented, "It's unreal how she's working so hard, being as ill as she is. You wouldn't be working in a wheelchair if you're not working for people. The woman's doing that now. So what's on her mind? It's not glamour. She just wants to do what she loves; she wants to hear the applause. It's her life, her reason for living.”
Phil Bailey
MAY 2000
Phil Bailey hosts a jazz program on radio station WFPK in Louisville, Kentucky.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Compilation Produced by Richard Seidel and Ben Young
A&R: Steve Berkowitz, Sarah Botstein, Michael Brooks, Ken Burns, Michael Cuscuna, Peter Miller, Seth Rothstein, Lynn Novick, Richard Seidel, and Ben Young
Mastered by Kevin "Natural Organic 7000" Reeves at Universal Mastering-East
Discographical information: Didier Deutsch, Carlos Kase, and Ben Young
Liner notes edited by Peter Keepnews
Photo credits: William P. Gottlieb from the Library of Congress Collection: p. 6; Paul J. Hoeffler: front cover of booklet, inside tray card; Herman Leonard: back cover of booklet, outside tray card, p.8
To buy this recording from Amazon.com, click here: Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Ella Fitzgerald
______________________________________________________________________The Definitive Ella Fitzgerald
Ken Burn’s Jazz
Ella Fitzgerald sings on all tracks, accompanied by:
01. A-TISKET, A-TASKET (2:37)
-E. Fitzgerald-V. Alexander-
Chick Webb and His Orchestra:
Mario Bauza, Taft Jordan,
Bobby Stark, trumpet;
George Matthews, Nat Story, Sandy Williams, trombone;
Garvin Bushell, clarinet, alto saxophone;
Louis Jordan, alto saxophone;
Ted McRae, Wayman Carver, tenor saxophone;
Tommy Fulford, piano;
Bobby Johnson, guitar;
Beverly Peer, bass;
Webb, drums;
Van Alexander, arranger
Recorded May 2,1938
Available on CD: Ella Fitzgerald: The Early Years, Part 1 (GRP GRD-2-618)
02. VOTE FOR MR. RHYTHM (2:25)
-L. Robin-R. Rainger-A. Siegel-
Chick Webb and His Orchestra:
Mario Bauza, Taft Jordan, Bobby Stark, trumpet;
Claude Jones, Sandy Williams, trombone;
Pete Clark, clarinet, alto saxophone;
Edgar Sampson, alto saxophone;
Elmer Williams, Wayman Carver, tenor saxophone;
Joe Steele, piano;
John Trueheart, guitar;
John Kirby, bass;
Webb, drums
Recorded October 29, 1936
Available on CD: Ella Fitzgerald: The Early Years, Part 1 (GRP GRD-2-618)
03. BETCHA NICKEL (2:52)
-E. Fitzgerald-
Ella Fitzgerald and Her Famous Orchestra:
Taft Jordan, Bobby Stark, Dick Vance, trumpet;
George Matthews, Nat Story, Sandy Williams, trombone;
Garvin Bushell, Clarinet, soprano saxophone;
Hilton Jefferson, alto saxophone;
Wayman Carver, tenor saxophone, alto saxophone;
Ted McRae, baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone;
Tommy Fulford, piano;
John Truehart, guitar;
Beverly Peer, bass;
Bill Beason, drums
Recorded June 29, 1939
Available on CD: The Early Years, Part 2 (GRP GRD-2-623)
04. FLYING HOME (2:27)
-B. Goodman-L.Hampton-
Vic Schoen and orchestra:
Charles Genduso, Ralph Muzzillo, Louis Ruggiero, trumpet;
William Pritchard, trombone;
Sid Cooper, Bernie Kaufman, alto saxophone;
Harry Feldman, Sid Rubin, tenor saxophone;
Moe Wechsler, piano;
Hy White, guitar;
Felix Giobbe, bass;
Irv Kluger, drums;
Schoen, arranger, conductor
Recorded October 4, 1945
Related music available on CD: The War Years (GRP GRD-2-628)
05. NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT (2:36)
-G. & I. Gershwin-
Ellis Larkins, piano.
Recorded March 30, 1954
Available on CD: Pure Ella (GRP GRD-636)
06. SMOOTH SAILING (3:04)
-A. Cobb-
Bill Doggett and orchestra:
Doggett, organ;
Hank Jones, piano;
Everett Barksdale, guitar;
Arnold Fishkin, bass;
Jimmy Crawford, drums;
the Ray Charles Singers, vocal choir
Recorded June 26, 1951
Available on CD: The Best of Ella Fitzgerald (GRP GRD-659)
07. LULLABY OF BIRDLAND (2:49)
-G. Shearing-G. Weiss-
Sy Oliver and orchestra:
Sam "The Man" Taylor, tenor saxophone;
Bill Doggett, organ;
Hank Jones, piano;
Everett Barksdale, guitar;
Sandy Block, bass;
Jimmy Crawford, drums;
unknown choir, vocal;
Sy Oliver, arranger, conductor
Recorded June 4, 1954
Available on CD: The Last Decca Years (GRP GRD-668)
08. NIGHT AND DAY (3:04)
-C. Porter-
Buddy Bregman and orchestra:
Pete Candoli, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Maynard Ferguson, Conrad Gozzo, trumpet;
Milt Bernhart, Joe Howard, Lloyd Ulyate, trombone;
George Roberts, bass trombone;
Herb Geller, alto saxophone, clarinet;
Bud Shank, alto saxophone, flute;
Bob Cooper, tenor saxophone, clarinet, oboe;
Ted Nash, tenor saxophone, flute, clarinet;
Chuck Gentry, baritone saxophone, bass clarinet;
twelve unknown violins;
two unknown violas;
Edgar Lustgarten, Robert La Marchina, cello;
Corky Hale, harp;
Paul Smith, piano;
Barney Kessel, guitar;
Joe Mondragon, bass;
Alvin Stoller, drums;
Misha Russell, concertmaster;
Bregman, arranger, conductor
Recorded March 27, 1956
Available on CD: Sings the Cole Porter Song Book (Verve 314 537 257-2)
09. LET'S CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF (4:11)
-G. & I. Gershwin-
Louis Armstrong, vocal;
Oscar Peterson, piano;
Herb Ellis, guitar;
Ray Brown, bass;
Louie Bellson, drums
Recorded July 23,1957
Available on CD: Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong: Ella and Louis Again (Verve 825 374-2)
10. SOPHISTICATED LADY (5:19)
-E. Ellington-M. Parish-I. Mills-
Ben Webster, tenor saxophone;
Stuff Smith, violin;
Paul Smith, piano;
Barney Kessel, guitar;
Joe Mondragon, bass;
Alvin Stoller, drums
Recorded September 4, 1956
Available on CD: Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book (Verve 314 559 248-2)
11. OH, LADY, BE GOOD! (4:00)
-G. & I. Gershwin-
Roy Eldridge, trumpet;
J. J. Johnson, trombone,
Sonny Stitt, alto .saxophone;
Stan Getz, Coleman Hawkins, Illinois Jacquet, Flip Phillips, Lester Young, tenor saxophone;
Oscar Peterson, piano;
Herb Ellis, guitar;
Ray Brown, bass;
Connie Kay, drums
Recorded October 9, 1957
Available on CD: Ella Fitzgerald at the Opera House (Verve 831 269-2)
12. BLUE SKIES (3:43)
- I. Berlin -
Paul Weston and orchestra:
John Best, Pete Candoli, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Don Fagerquist, Mannie Klein, trumpet; Edward Kusby, Dick Noel, William Schaefer, trombone;
Juan Tizol, valve trombone;
Chuck Gentry, Matty Matlock, Ted Nash, Babe Russin, Fred Stulce, woodwinds;
Paul Smith, piano;
Barney Kessel, guitar;
Joe Mondragon, bass;
Alvin Stoller, drums;
Weston, arranger, conductor
Recorded March 18, 1958
Available on CD: The Irving Berlin Song Book (Verve 314543830-2)
13. MACK THE KNIFE (4:44)
-K. Weill-B. Brecht-M. Blitzstein-
14. HOW HIGH THE MOON (7:02)
-N. Hamilton-M. Lewis-
Paul Smith, piano;
Jim Hall, guitar;
Wilfred Middlebrooks, bass;
Gus Johnson, drums
Recorded February 13, 1960
Available on CD: Mack the Knife: The Complete Ella in Berlin (Verve 314 519 564-2)
15. BLUES IN THE NIGHT (7:11)
-H. Arlen-J. Mercer-
Billy May and orchestra:
Frank Beach, Don Fagerquist, Conrad Gozzo, Joseph Triscari, trumpet;
Milt Bernhart, Ed Kusby, trombone;
Benny Carter, alto saxophone;
Plas Johnson, tenor saxophone;
Chuck Gentry, baritone saxophone;
Justin Gordon, Wilbur Schwartz, woodwinds;
Lou Levy, piano;
Herb Ellis, guitar;
Joe Mondragon, Wilfred Middlebrooks, bass;
Alvin Stoller, drums;
May, arranger, conductor
Recorded January 14, 1961
Available on CD: The Harold Arlen Song Book, Vol. 1 (Verve 817 527-2)
16. (YOU'LL HAVE TO SWING IT) MR. PAGANINI (4:03)
-S. Coslow-
Lou Levy, piano;
Herb Ellis, guitar;
Wilfred Middlebrooks, bass;
Gus Johnson, drums
Recorded May 12, 1961
Available on CD: Something to Live For (Verve 314 547 800-2)
17. A NIGHT IN TUNISIA (4:07)
-J. Gillespie-F. Paparelli-
Lou Levy, piano;
Herb Ellis, guitar;
Joe Mondragon, bass;
Stan Levey, drums
Recorded June 24, 1961
Available on CD: Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie (Verve 835 646-2)
18. SHINY STOCKINGS (3:32)
-F. Foster-E. Fitzgerald-
Count Basie and His Orchestra:
Al Aarons, Sonny Cohn, Joe Newman, Don Rader, Fip Ricard, trumpet;
Henry Coker, Urbie Green, Grover Mitchell, Benny Powell, trombone;
Eric Dixon, Frank Wess, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone;
Frank Foster, tenor saxophone, arranger;
Marshal Royal, clarinet, alto saxophone;
Charlie Fowlkes, baritone saxophone;
Basie, piano;
Freddie Green, guitar;
Buddy Catlett, bass;
Sonny Payne, drums;
Quincy Jones, arranger, conductor
Recorded July 16, 1963
Available on CD: Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie: Ella and Basie (Verve 314 539 059-2)
Some of these tracks were transferred from disc sources. Surface noise is audible.
______________________________________________________________________
Ella Fitzgerald (1917-96) was, along with Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday, one of the most important vocalists to emerge from the big-band era. Her style is marked by a sunny outlook, a girlish innocence, and a virtuoso command of her voice. Early in her career she
was primarily a so-called rhythm singer, but in the 1940s she began to experiment with extending her range and improvising abilities. Louis Armstrong, the musical ancestor of all jazz vocalists, was an important role model, as was Connee Boswell, a popular singer of the 1930s.
Fitzgerald was born out of wedlock in Newport News, Virginia, to a laundress mother and a father who disappeared when she was three years old. Along with her mother and her mother's new boyfriend, who functioned as a stepfather, she soon moved to Yonkers, New York, where she began her schooling. Around the third grade she started dancing, a pursuit that became almost an obsession. She also sang, but dancing was her first love. Her childhood friends remember her as happy-go-lucky, but also with a determination to become famous. In 1932, when she was fifteen, her mother died suddenly of a heart attack. Her stepfather treated her badly, but an aunt took the teenager to live with her in Harlem. This arrangement did not last long; Fitzgerald ran away in 1934 to live on the streets.
Late that year she won a talent contest at the Apollo Theater; she had entered as a dancer, but nervousness caused her to sing instead. Several months later she joined drummer Chick Webb's big band, where she mostly sang novelties like "Vote for Mr. Rhythm” In 1938 she recorded "A-Tisket, A-Tasket” her own adaptation of a turn-of-the-century nursery rhyme, which took the country by storm and eventually sold a million copies. When Webb died in 1939 the band's management installed Fitzgerald as leader, and a year later she was voted the number one female vocalist in polls conducted by Down Beat and Metronome magazines.
In 1942 the band broke up and Fitzgerald became a single act, touring with various other popular names of the day. She also became interested in scat singing and the newly emerging style known as bebop, and in 1945 she recorded a landmark version of "Flying Home", using Illinois Jacquet's famous tenor saxophone solo on Lionel Hampton's recording of the song as the basis for her scat solo. Several tours with the Dizzy Gillespie band also contributed to her assimilation of the bebop style. There had been scat singers before - in fact, her idol Louis Armstrong was a pioneer of the genre but today Fitzgerald is so closely identified with scat that the word turns up in crossword puzzles as "Fitzgerald forte" - a unique tribute, to say the least.
In the late 1940s Fitzgerald began to tour with the Jazz at the Philharmonic troupe, working with such leading musicians as saxophonist Lester Young, trumpeter Roy Eldridge, pianist Oscar Peterson, and bassist Ray Brown, to whom she was married for four years. JATP impresario Norman Granz became increasingly influential in her career, and in 1953 he became her manager.
Three years after that he became her record producer as well, recording her on his own Verve label. He wasted little time in having Fitzgerald record a double album of Cole Porter songs, including the version of "Night and Day" heard here. She had done a Gershwin album for Decca in 1950, but Granz wanted to apply the composer concept on a more ambitious scale, with large orchestras.
Fitzgerald made many wonderful albums for Verve in the following decade, but the Song Books occupy a special place in her discography. For many music lovers, these albums are supreme examples of great music sung by a great singer. They were instrumental in expanding Fitzgerald's appeal beyond that of a "jazz singer" and creating a demand for her in venues not usually open to jazz artists. Under Granz's aegis she was now performing in the most prestigious nightclubs and concert halls in the US and abroad.
For die-hard jazz fans, though, the well-polished jewels of the Song Book series lack the raw energy of Fitzgerald's live performances. Happily, Granz released several landmark concert albums by her as well. Especially exciting was a 1960 Berlin concert, which featured an electrifying performance of "How High the Moon" (an old standby in her performance repertoire) and an impromptu take on "Mack the Knife;' which became a Top 30 single. Fitzgerald usually performed with a trio or quartet, but there were also appearances with larger groups, such as the Duke Ellington and Count Basie orchestras.
By the 1960s Fitzgerald had become wealthy enough to retire, but the love of performing drove her on - she appeared regularly until just a couple of years before her death in 1996. Sidemen came and went, but except when health problems intervened she performed as much as humanly possible, sometimes singing concerts in two different cities in one day. In the summer of 1978 there was a two-day stint when she went from Provence (France) to Newcastle (England) to WolfTrap (Virginia)!
In the early 1990s, when failing health confined her to occasional appearances under a doctor's supervision, her fellow jazz singer Betty Carter commented, "It's unreal how she's working so hard, being as ill as she is. You wouldn't be working in a wheelchair if you're not working for people. The woman's doing that now. So what's on her mind? It's not glamour. She just wants to do what she loves; she wants to hear the applause. It's her life, her reason for living.”
Phil Bailey
MAY 2000
Phil Bailey hosts a jazz program on radio station WFPK in Louisville, Kentucky.
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Compilation Produced by Richard Seidel and Ben Young
A&R: Steve Berkowitz, Sarah Botstein, Michael Brooks, Ken Burns, Michael Cuscuna, Peter Miller, Seth Rothstein, Lynn Novick, Richard Seidel, and Ben Young
Mastered by Kevin "Natural Organic 7000" Reeves at Universal Mastering-East
Discographical information: Didier Deutsch, Carlos Kase, and Ben Young
Liner notes edited by Peter Keepnews
Photo credits: William P. Gottlieb from the Library of Congress Collection: p. 6; Paul J. Hoeffler: front cover of booklet, inside tray card; Herman Leonard: back cover of booklet, outside tray card, p.8
