Ella Fitzgerald - 1945-1954 [6CD, Classics Records]

×

Ella Fitzgerald - 1945-1954 [6CD, Classics Records]

Close

"The First Lady of Song," Ella Fitzgerald was arguably the finest female jazz singer of all time (although some may vote for Sarah Vaughan or Billie Holiday). Blessed with a beautiful voice and a wide range, Fitzgerald could outswing anyone, was a brilliant scat singer, and had near-perfect elocution; one could always understand the words she sang. The one fault was that, since she always sounded so happy to be singing, Fitzgerald did not always dig below the surface of the lyrics she interpreted and she even made a downbeat song such as "Love for Sale" sound joyous. However, when one evaluates her career on a whole, there is simply no one else in her class.

One could never guess from her singing that Ella Fitzgerald's early days were as grim as Billie Holiday's. Growing up in poverty, Fitzgerald was literally homeless for the year before she got her big break. In 1934, she appeared at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, winning an amateur contest by singing "Judy" in the style of her idol, Connee Boswell. After a short stint with Tiny Bradshaw, Fitzgerald was brought to the attention of Chick Webb by Benny Carter (who was in the audience at the Apollo). Webb, who was not impressed by the 17-year-old's appearance, was reluctantly persuaded to let her sing with his orchestra on a one-nighter. She went over well and soon the drummer recognized her commercial potential. Starting in 1935, Fitzgerald began recording with Webb's Orchestra, and by 1937 over half of the band's selections featured her voice. "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" became a huge hit in 1938 and "Undecided" soon followed. During this era, Fitzgerald was essentially a pop/swing singer who was best on ballads while her medium-tempo performances were generally juvenile novelties. She already had a beautiful voice but did not improvise or scat much; that would develop later.

On June 16, 1939, Chick Webb died. It was decided that Fitzgerald would front the orchestra even though she had little to do with the repertoire or hiring or firing the musicians. She retained her popularity and when she broke up the band in 1941 and went solo; it was not long before her Decca recordings contained more than their share of hits. She was teamed with the Ink Spots, Louis Jordan, and the Delta Rhythm Boys for some best-sellers, and in 1946 began working regularly for Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic. Granz became her manager although it would be nearly a decade before he could get her on his label. A major change occurred in Fitzgerald's singing around this period. She toured with Dizzy Gillespie's big band, adopted bop as part of her style, and started including exciting scat-filled romps in her set. Her recordings of "Lady Be Good," "How High the Moon," and "Flying Home" during 1945-1947 became popular and her stature as a major jazz singer rose as a result. For a time (December 10, 1947-August 28, 1953) she was married to bassist Ray Brown and used his trio as a backup group. Fitzgerald's series of duets with pianist Ellis Larkins in 1950 (a 1954 encore with Larkins was a successful follow-up) found her interpreting George Gershwin songs, predating her upcoming Songbooks series.

After appearing in the film Pete Kelly's Blues in 1955, Fitzgerald signed with Norman Granz's Verve label and over the next few years she would record extensive Songbooks of the music of Cole Porter, the Gershwins, Rodgers & Hart, Duke Ellington, Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern, and Johnny Mercer. Although (with the exception of the Ellington sets) those were not her most jazz-oriented projects (Fitzgerald stuck mostly to the melody and was generally accompanied by string orchestras), the prestigious projects did a great deal to uplift her stature. At the peak of her powers around 1960, Fitzgerald's hilarious live version of "Mack the Knife" (in which she forgot the words and made up her own) from Ella in Berlin is a classic and virtually all of her Verve recordings are worth getting.

Fitzgerald's Capitol and Reprise recordings of 1967-1970 are not on the same level as she attempted to "update" her singing by including pop songs such as "Sunny" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," sounding quite silly in the process. But Fitzgerald's later years were saved by Norman Granz's decision to form a new label, Pablo. Starting with a Santa Monica Civic concert in 1972 that is climaxed by Fitzgerald's incredible version of "C Jam Blues" (in which she trades off with and "battles" five classic jazzmen), Fitzgerald was showcased in jazz settings throughout the 1970s with the likes of Count Basie, Oscar Peterson, and Joe Pass, among others. Her voice began to fade during this era and by the 1980s her decline due to age was quite noticeable. Troubles with her eyes and heart knocked her out of action for periods of time, although her increasingly rare appearances found Fitzgerald still retaining her sense of swing and joyful style. By 1994, Ella Fitzgerald was in retirement and she passed away two years later, but she remains a household name and scores of her recordings are easily available on CD.

by Scott Yanow, AMG

×

Ella Fitzgerald - 1945-1954 [6CD, Classics Records]

Close

Welcome to a richly rewarding segment of the all too often overlooked plateau that lies between Ella Fitzgerald's recordings with Chick Webb's orchestra during the second half of the 1930s and her triumphant reign as one of the world's most popular jazz singers during the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. The recordings she made between February 26, 1945, and March 1, 1947, illustrate this woman's amazing versatility as she teamed up with an extraordinarily variegated range of vocalists and instrumentalists. Her pleasant collaborations with the Ink Spots and the Delta Rhythm Boys and a few titles with big-band accompaniment serve as appetizers for "Stone Cold Dead in the Market (He Had It Coming)," a disturbingly funny calypso number featuring Louis Jordan & His Tympany 5. Here Ella and Louis put across a performance even more outrageous than Sarah Vaughan's eccentric West Indian suicide song "De Gas Pipe She's Leaking, Joe." While Jordan's band grinds out spicy Caribbean dance music, Ella proudly explains how, fed up with being physically abused, she beat her husband to death with various kitchen utensils. Jordan, who calmly states that he's singing his portion of the duet while stretched out inanimate in the shopping district, admits that he was an abusive drunkard who often beat his wife. This incredibly humorous sendup of the horribly tragic and all too common specter of domestic violence leading to homicide is sustained largely by the female vocalist, who repeatedly describes her husband-killing technique, defiantly exclaims "he had it coming," and even communes with the spirit of Bessie Smith by insisting that she'd do it again even "if I was to die in the electric chair." This interesting compilation also contains a pair of duets with Louis Armstrong, some pleasant performances backed by bands led by pianists Billy Kyle and Eddie Heywood, and some really wild V-Disc collaborations with drummer and scat singer Buddy Rich. Never a dull moment!

by arwulf arwulf, AMG

×

Ella Fitzgerald - 1945-1954 [6CD, Classics Records]

Close

This segment of the Classics Ella Fitzgerald chronology focuses upon the recordings she made for the Decca label between March 1947 and November 1948. Most of these sides include polished group background vocals, generating a certain campy slickness that some listeners might find overly affected. This kind of ensemble singing rose to prominence with Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller and manifested itself throughout the late '40s and early '50s, even popping up in the form of the Dave Lambert Singers behind Charlie Parker. Bop scatting at times like a Roman candle, Ella sounds fully in command, a seasoned improviser well on the way to stylistic maturity. Nothing interferes with her honeyed, seamless delivery, not even the Andy Love Quintet, the Song Spinners, or the Day Dreamers. The collective instrumental personnel includes bassists Bob Haggart and Ray Brown, trumpeter Idrees Sulieman, saxophonists Illinois Jacquet and Ernie Caceres, organist Sir Charles Thompson, pianist Hank Jones, and drummer J.C. Heard. Ella imitates a Slam Stewart bass solo on "Oh, Lady Be Good" and tears up "How High the Moon" in a manner that would serve her well for the rest of her illustrious career. A fascinating chunk of history is here to be savored. Just don't be surprised if a mixed choir begins hooting and harmonizing behind Ella Fitzgerald.

by arwulf arwulf, AMG

×

Ella Fitzgerald - 1945-1954 [6CD, Classics Records]

Close

Few vocalists have managed to succeed so well in both jazz and pop music as did Ella Fitzgerald. The 11th installment in her complete Classics chronology presents 24 Decca recordings made between February 2 and December 20, 1950. On eight of these she is backed by Sy Oliver & His Orchestra, sometimes singing duets with Oliver himself. Fitzgerald seems to have been able to make sense out of any routine and had the ability to put a song across in virtually any company. During this period she collaborated with two vocal groups: the aggressively wholesome Four Hits & a Miss and the Ink Spots, with whom she'd made records back in 1944. She also rendered up a suite of eight Gershwin tunes with Ellis Larkins at the piano, sat in with Louis Jordan & His Tympany 5, cut a pair of delightful duets with Louis Armstrong, and rattled off a couple of idiotic novelty tunes, accompanied by a giggling, unidentified vocal group composed of either children or foolish adults. "Molasses, Molasses" was also recorded by Spike Jones & His City Slickers with a falsetto group vocal led by squeaky-voiced George Rock, a capable trumpeter who had an annoying habit of impersonating little boys. Ella Fitzgerald's version is better, if that means anything. For a much hipper and funnier song about molasses, see Bob Howard (1937-1947, Classics 1055).

by arwulf arwulf, AMG

×

Ella Fitzgerald - 1945-1954 [6CD, Classics Records]

Close

Most of Ella Fitzgerald's recordings from 1951 (all of which are on this CD) are obscure and have rarely been reissued. "The First Lady of the American Song" turned 34 that year and was in peak form, as she would be throughout the decade. The music ranges from novelties ("Two Little Men In A Flying Saucer," and a cover of "Come On-A My House,") to worthy versions of "Love You Madly," "Smooth Sailing," and "Baby Doll." The settings range from tunes with Sy Oliver's Orchestra and occasional background singers, to a date with Hank Jones, and four lesser-known but delightful duets with Louis Armstrong: "Necessary Evil," "Oops," "Would You Like To Take A Walk," and "Who Walks In When I Walk Out."

by Scott Yanow, AMG

×

Ella Fitzgerald - 1945-1954 [6CD, Classics Records]

Close

The 13th installment in the Classics Ella Fitzgerald chronology documents her recording activity during a period extending from early January to late November 1952. The two opening tracks constitute a veritable scat fest with accompaniment by the Ray Charles Singers and a small band anchored by organist Bill Doggett and pianist Hank Jones. The next nine titles document Fitzgerald's continuing collaborations with bandleader Sy Oliver. Matt Dennis' ballad "Angel Eyes" is rendered beautifully, even if it is nestled among silly titles like "Goody Goody," "A Guy Is a Guy," and "Ding-Dong Boogie," a rowdy novelty better suited for Teresa Brewer; it benefits greatly from a gutbucket sax solo by Sam "The Man" Taylor. Accompanied by Bobby Orton's Teen-Aces, Ella makes her own stunning "Contribution to the Blues," revives Una Mae Carlisle's magnum opus "Walking by the River," and presents "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" as a West Indian dance number bristling with bongos and conga drums. This was not Ella's first venture into Caribbean territory; her infamous calypso outing "Stone Cold Dead in the Market," recorded with Louis Jordan & His Tympany 5 during the mid-'40s, is still a force with which to be reckoned (see 1945-1947, Classics 998). Throughout her tenure as a Decca recording artist, Fitzgerald demonstrated an uncanny ability to sing anything; she would convert weak material into good stuff or transform great songs into masterpieces. It is now known that during the early '50s producer Norman Granz "harshly criticized" the A&R management at Decca Records for consistently handing Ella Fitzgerald patently inferior material and sometimes teaming her up with musicians who were either not in her league or were incapable of tuning in to her wavelength. Until this vocalist's Decca contract expired, Granz could only include her in his touring Jazz at the Philharmonic package (those concert performances were assiduously recorded in their entirety for later release) while making plans for their eventual studio collaborations, which would include the multiple great American composer Song Book projects.

by arwulf arwulf, AMG

×

Ella Fitzgerald - 1945-1954 [6CD, Classics Records]

Close

The 14th installment in the Classics Ella Fitzgerald chronology examines a trail of Decca recordings made between February 13, 1953, and March 30, 1954. Aside from a pair of sentimental numbers sweetened by the Ray Charles Singers, Fitzgerald spent most of the year 1953 making records with Sy Oliver's orchestra. "Somebody Bad Stole de Wedding Bell" is yet another chapter in Fitzgerald's ongoing involvement with West Indian or calypso-styled repertoire; earlier Caribbean manifestations were "Stone Cold Dead in the Market" and "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean." Ella closed out the year by recording with a string-laden orchestra led by John Scott Trotter, then famous for his work with Bing Crosby. Her next three studio sessions occurred toward the end of March 1954. The first of these involved the dreaded Gordon Jenkins string orchestra and chorus. Although few singers could have withstood the avalanche of refined white sugar represented by Jenkins and his soporific ensemble, Fitzgerald stood her ground and sounded great. At the beginning of the following week she made her second collaborative series of recordings with pianist Ellis Larkins; their first studio duets had taken place in September of 1950 (see Classics 1195). These beautiful performances benefit from the sort of professional autonomy and artistic integrity that Ella Fitzgerald would soon enjoy after ditching Decca and signing on with Norman Granz.

by arwulf arwulf, AMG