The very best of the song books [sound recording] / Ella Fitzgerald.
Material type:
MusicPublisher number: B0007423-02 | VervePublication details: New York : Verve, p2006.Description: 2 sound discs : digital ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 pamphletSubject(s): | Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult CD
|
Dr. James Carlson Library | CD | JAZZ Fitzgerald, Ella | Available | 33111004472078 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Considered near the pinnacle of vocal jazz (along with Frank Sinatra's string of Capitol LPs), Ella Fitzgerald's eight Verve songbooks codified the canon of American Popular Song (uppercased) and continued to prove the best venue for learning what that phrase meant even 50 years after its genesis. (It's no wonder that the series even caused no less a figure than Ira Gershwin to amend the Constitution, so to speak, and suggest for Fitzgerald alone a few changes in the lyrics of his classics.) Despite their high pedigree, however, the songbooks are difficult to approach. Few of them shine much brighter than the others, and for a long period of the digital era they were available only in a gigantic box set or in radically altered reissues (the latter minus the remastering). That was rectified -- very gradually -- beginning in the late '90s, but The Very Best of the Song Books earns high marks because of how well it teases out the best material from the original 13 LPs. The Ella Fitzgerald version of these songs did not usually follow along with the standard versions of these fine old warhorses; her "Love for Sale" is surprisingly tender, and countless times she seems to follow a different trajectory with the notes she sings ("Where or When" is a perfect example). Meanwhile, the arrangers Buddy Bregman, Paul Weston, Nelson Riddle, and Billy May were unparalleled in their ability to spin new arrangements out of the occasional tired sheet. There's only one odd characteristic to The Very Best of the Song Books -- its length. It lasts only an hour-and-a-half, although it appears on two discs, which would allow room for more than an hour of additional music. ~ John Bush
Program notes by James Gavin in container.
disc 1. Night and day (Buddy Bregman and orchestra) -- I get a kick out of you (Paul Smith, piano ; Barney Kessel, guitar ; Joe Mondragon, bass ; Alvin Stoller, drums) -- Begin the beguine ; Love for sale ; My funny Valentine ; Lady is a tramp ; Where or when (Buddy Bregman and orchestra) -- Take the "A" Train ; I got it bad (and that ain't good) (Duke Ellington and his orchestra) -- It don't mean a thing (if it ain't got that swing) (Ben Webster, tenor saxophone ; Stuff Smith, violin ; Paul Smith, piano ; Barney Kessel, guitar ; Joe Mondragon, bass ; Alvin Stoller, drums) -- Cheek to cheek (Paul Weston and his orchestra).
disc 2. Blue skies (Paul Weston and his orchestra) -- 'S wonderful ; Embraceable you ; I got rhythm ; Man I love (Nelson Riddle and orchestra) -- Blues in the night (My mama done tol' me) ; Over the rainbow ; That old black magic (Billy May and orchestra) -- All the things you are ; Skylark ; Too marvelous for words (Nelson Riddle and orchestra).
Ella Fitzgerald, vocals ; with various ensembles, as noted.
Recorded 1956-1964 at Capitol Studios and Radio Recorders, Hollywood and Fine Recording, New York.
Compact discs.