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The Best of the Songbooks
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JazzDigger Home > F - Jazz Artists > Ella Fitzgerald > Item 168
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The Best of the Songbooks
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by Ella Fitzgerald
Sales Rank: 267488
Price:$5.00
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Album Details
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1. Something's Gotta Give
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2. Love Is Here to Stay
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3. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
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4. I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
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5. Lady Is a Tramp
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6. I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good
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7. Miss Otis Regrets
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8. 'S Wonderful
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9. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
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10. Love for Sale
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11. They Can't Take That Away from Me
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12. Midnight Sun
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13. Hooray for Love
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14. Why Was I Born?
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15. Cotton Tail
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16. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
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Listener Reviews & Comments
Ella. Billie. Sassy. They helped define jazz singing; all modern jazz vocalists are indebted to them. Ella is the least blues-infused, but most accessible of the three. Her ability to swing; her tremendous vocal range, impeccable phrasing and scatting; and her silky smooth voice are one-of-a-kind. It's the audio equivalent of a spirited yet mellow Scotch whisky. As others have noted, it's difficult to pick the "best" of her output, but I think, with very few exceptions, this is a tremendous CD for those who don't want to buy the 3-CD or 16-CD (!) box sets. Of course it helps that, for example, the composers are other one-name wonders: Mercer, the Gershwins, Rodgers, Hart, Berlin, Arlen, Ellington, Porter, and Kern, and that she's backed by the Ellington, Billy May, and Nelson Riddle orchestras. (Buddy Bregman's orchestra is heard on three songs, most notably on "The Lady is a Tramp, and Paul Weston's on one.) Song sequencing is excellent, generally alternating between uptempo orchestral pieces and ballads. She really swings on "Something's Gotta Give" (with an excellent sax solo by Willie Smith) and, especially, "The Lady is a Tramp." The latter song is given the full big band treatment; it's one of the best versions I've heard. Contrast this with the ballad "I Got it Bad (and That Ain't Good)," a heartfelt rendition with an excellent Johnny Hodges solo. "Hooray for Love" (with the Billy May orchestra) is a bit disappointing compared to the high spirits of "The Lady is a Tramp." We're treated (finally) to Ella's scatting on the Duke Ellington backed "Cottontail," with Ben Webster sounding absolutely tremendous on his long solo. With the wonderful scat and solos, this is one of the best cuts on the album! Finally, "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" which, according to the liner notes "means Ella Fitzgerald to many fans, especially in Great Britain," is another example of Ella's magnificence (though I didn't particularly like the orchestration). If you're a confirmed Ella fan, you should go for one of the boxed sets, but you can't ask for much more in a single disk. (Liner notes include soloists, and brief comment on each song.)
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The Best of the Songbooks
by Ella Fitzgerald
Price:$5.00
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