Ella Fitzgerald with Oscar Peterson - Ella and Oscar (20 Bit Mastering)

Japanese only paper sleeve SHM pressing. SHM-CDs (Super High Material CD) can be played on any audio player and deliver unbelievably high-quality sound. You won't believe it's the same CD! Universal. Album Description

Ella and Oscar: Two of A Kind ... Legendary Jazz Icons

"The best way to start any musical evening is with this girl. It doesn't get better than this." ~ Frank Sinatra ~

Ella Fitzgerald was in her late fifties, not at the apex of her long and fruitful musical career when she recorded this album, "Ella and Oscar" and yet she still sings with such grace and precision she was always well-known for. And I really admire her for that. She still exudes enthusiasm and warmth in all her renditions albeit a slight difference on her vocal cords. She was still the undisputed "First Lady of Song."

As always, the virtuoso of jazz piano is at his best as he backs Ella's voice with his sublime and distinctive style on the ivories. The listeners will be treated to nine of the most definitive songs from the Great American Songbook. Joining them on the last half of this presentation is Oscar Peterson's long-time partner and one of the best bass players whom Ella fell in love with and married, Ray Brown.

One of the standouts from this collection is a Gershwin classic, "How Long Has This Been Going On?" where she projects her wide-ranging vocals to Peterson's engaging accompaniment. She's at her most emotional side singing "More Than You Know" with heartfelt sentiment while Peterson is mellowing it down for the most part.

For my choicest cut, it has to be an all-time favorite of mine, "Midnight Sun," a beautiful song co-written by Johnny Burke, Lionel Hampton and Johnny Mercer. Whenever I hear this song, it reminds me of an interesting anecdote on how Mercer discovered this tune that eventually led him to pen the lyrics out of his love-at-first-listen with the melody.

"I can't explain the silver rain that found me
Or was that a moonlit veil?
The music of the universe around me
Or was that a nightingale?"

For fans of Ella and Oscar, this is a welcome addition to your collection. With my heartfelt recommendation. May 2, 2008

step right up, it's Ella and Oscar

As of this writing, the most recent review is around 3 years old, so I want to let you know as of early 2008, this 1975 session is still a 5 star classic. The dumb, knee-jerk idea that Ella Fitzgerald's 1975 voice on this session can somehow be critiqued or criticized as 'past her prime' or anything along those lines is so moronic and ridiculous. This is a beautiful recording by two (three) masters! To me, to me, listening to it is like stepping in a time machine and visiting a GREAT, gorgeous, intimate session ... not a session plagued by problems or something! All these players are now gone. But I feel a session like this lets you hear their 'work' (play) really well.
January 2, 2008

confused

This is confusing, I own this on LP and think it's an incredible album. When I went to order it on cd I found that even though it has the same cover art, not one single song from the LP is on the CD. In case anyone cares the original recording song list is as follows:
Mean to me
How long has this been going on?
When your lover has gone
More than you ever know
There's a lull in my life
Midnight sun
I hear music
Street of Dreams
April in Paris

While I'm sure this disc is good, the LP is an incredible laid back affair. If you can find it, pick it up. January 31, 2005

A Very Good CD

This cd is not as good as her pairings with Joe Pass, but still this is a very good cd, Oscar's playing is great, Ella is in very good voice, yeah a little wobble here and there, but i hear some emotional vulnerability in her singing, and she does some things with certain notes that you don't hear on any other of her Pablo recordings. July 5, 2004

So what?

Ella was nigh 60 when she recorded this album, and was suffering from various health problems. Given that, her voice isn't *that* bad on this CD... sure, it's a little rougher, and her vibrato gets a little wobbly in a few places, but she retains most of her range and intonation. In any case, the tunes are excellent, and I personally think Oscar Peterson did a fine job accompanying Ella. Ella's personality and enthusiam more than make up for the decline of her once unmatchable instrument. She could still outsing Britney or J-Lo any day of the week.
;-) March 26, 2004

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