Ella Fitzgerald - The Intimate Ella

Ella sings with unfailing honesty and warmth

Ella Fitzgerald could sing the phone book to you and when she was finished you'd be giving her your own very special standing ovation, begging her for more! Ella's singular talent made her more than a superstar; she was a rare gem and I doubt we'll ever see another quite like her. This CD offers us tracks that allow Ella to expand her jazzy interpretations into more traditional ballads and cabaret songs. Paul Smith does an excellent job of accompanying Ella on the piano.

The CD set starts with "Black Coffee." The piano arrangement glows and Ella sings "Black Coffee" passionately. Ella's excellent diction bolsters her performance of this rather bluesy song; in fact from the very start Ella bats this one straight out of the ballpark! Ella's vocal range and interpretation let her impart just the right feeling of sadness and misery to her audience. Wow!

"I Cried For You" also boasts a thoughtful piano arrangement which serves as the backdrop for Ella's vocals. Ella sings "I Cried For You" passionately straight from the bottom of her heart. I truly believed that Ella was confessing to me her innermost feelings about the recent ups and downs of her love life. "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" features Ella singing at the upper part of her vocal range as she sings the opening verse; and the piano frames her performance nicely. When she gets into the song Ella's voice deepens for dramatic effect. What a masterpiece! She could sing to me this way forever.

"My Melancholy Baby" lets Ella sing yet another classic pop vocal and infuse it with her own touch to make "My Melancholy Baby" her very own. Ella sings this slow and sweet; you'd swear you never heard this song before--she sings it THAT well. "One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)" has that marvelous Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer sound to it; and when Ella sings it the effect is sublime! Ella sings this melancholy ballad to perfection.

"Who's Sorry Now" gets the royal treatment as Ella delivers this soft and slow; and the CD track set ends with "Reach For Tomorrow." Ella sings this optimistic song with passion, style and grace. Her voice is rich, warm and vibrant just as it is throughout this entire CD. The piano arrangement shows good judgment, too.

The liner notes give you the song credits; and Imme Schade van Westrum contributes an excellent essay about Ella and this album.

The Intimate Ella gives us Ella singing to us from the depths of her soul just as if she were confessing her innermost secrets to us and us alone. Paul Smith plays the piano accompaniments beautifully as Ella's voice massages the lyrics to each and every ballad on this CD.

I highly recommend this album for Ella Fitzgerald fans. People who enjoy classic pop vocals will also want to get this CD.
July 9, 2007

Ella's

Oscar Peterson (still performing in his 80s) recalls a "magic moment" on a bus with Ella Fitzgerald 57 years ago - a bus tour with "some of the greatest jazz people that could possibly ever be mustered at any one place and time." This was back when Oscar's future trio bass player Ray Brown was still married to Ella, and was part of the same bus tour for the legendary "Jazz at the Philharmonic."

"I remember Ella asking (trumpet great) Roy Eldridge if he recalled the way that Billie Holiday used to do this or that tune. Upon which, `Lady Fitz' (as I named her soon after we met) launched into a `Lady Day' version of WHAT A LITTLE MOONLIGHT WILL DO." She glanced around at Herbie Ellis, gesturing for him to get his guitar . . . and out of nowhere Roy uncased his horn, put in the mute, and commenced playing a beautiful obligato to her vocal.

"Our bus driver `Bart' had an intuitive sense (about) such musical `moments' -- and he quietly slipped the bus into overdrive, slowed down, and relaxed in his seat to enjoy the music.

"So here was this Greyhound bus rolling down the Kansas highway, on a picture perfect evening. And there sits Ella in her seat, eyes closed, totally engrossed in making each word of the lyric count to its fullest . . . . Lester Young joining Roy Eldridge in playing soft sensitive lines behind her . . . Ray Brown somehow managing to balance himself and his bass in the aisle -- lending support.

"She sang her heart out, song after song, and we all applauded, grinning in excitement and appreciation, for we all knew that we were part of a very special `musical moment.'

I believe Oscar would agree that this CD -- "The Intimate Ella" -- provides just the sort of magical, musical moment he refers to here.

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In 1960 when the "First Lady of Song" was at the pinnacle of her career, Ella flew to Germany to record her legendary live album "Ella in Berlin" (an LP that won TWO Grammys). Ella, like Sinatra, could in a moment, turn weaknesses into strengths: And at this famously recorded live concert, Ella forgot the words to "Mack the Knife" - but without missing a beat, she came up with one of the most beautiful, improvisational `scats' in jazz history.

Later, Ella and her brilliant musical director, pianist Paul T. Smith slipped away to a recording studio in the Netherlands where, alone together, they conjured up these thirteen magical ballads.

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This 1990 CD (my copy from an Amazon.com seller is labeled "Made in Germany") was produced with excellent liner notes, translated from the Dutch by one "Imme Schade van Westrum," who reminds us of the musical giants who considered Ella quite simply "the best-of-the-best."

Ira Gershwin is quoted: "I had never realized just how good our songs really were until I heard them sung by Ella." Bing Crosby concurs: "Man, woman or child, Ella is the greatest." And Duke Ellington ranked her "beyond category."

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Remarkably, this all-Dutch production sat in a vault for 30 years - apart from one, limited release LP comprising the soundtrack to a long-forgotten film, "Let No Man Write My Epitaph," (a tale of "corruption and drug addiction" in which Ella appeared onscreen with Shelley Winters, Jean Seberg and Burl Ives; Ella pretends to accompany herself at the piano).

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In 1960 at this recording Ella was 42; her voice was never more supple or expressively beautiful (or better recorded). And her brilliant pianist, Paul T. Smith reminds us of the distinction between the greatest jazz pianists (like Oscar) and the truly great ACCOMPANISTS - like Andre Previn, or Bill Miller (Sinatra's career-long accompanist, who died last summer ion Montreal, while on tour with Sinatra Jr.)

Incidentally as of 2007, Paul T. Smth is alive and wel, and living in California -- where he was born in 1922: His 50 years experience as an accompanist began with the Tommy Dorsey band in the 1940s. He moved back to L.A. where, as a studio musician he worked with a "Who's Who" of jazz musicians and popular singers. In 1956 - and for the next 22 years - he was Ella's musical director and trusted pianist . (In those days, Paul T. Smith was so appreciated in Europe, the Jazz Dictionary dubbed him "the greatest pianist from America.")

It's hard to imagine better accompaniment for the woman singer generally considered to be Sinatra's equal in interpreting the Great American Songbook. This CD conveys to your ears - perhaps better than any other of Ella's recordings - the shy intimacy suggested by both the album title - and by Oscar Peterson in his recent autobiography "A Jazz Odyssey" (please see reviews for that book).

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Oscar writes: "There were many parts to "Lady Fitz" (as I affectionately named her in 1951) "that I still don't claim to know - although I knew her for over 40 years, and worked with her on-and-off throughout. She was innately shy and insecure, a very private person who remained somewhat enigmatic to even her closest friends."

Oscar Peterson recalls his own, delightful list of "all the little signs and mannerisms that told Ella's accompanists EXACTLY what she was feeling during a performance." His acute memory recalls:

"The first side glance, accompanied by a sort of half-laugh, MEANING: `What was that change or line you just played behind me?'

"The left hand cupped to her ear. MEANING: ` Something's out of tune. Is it me, or the piano?'

"Ella's left hand slapping her hip. (Depending on) the intensity of the slap: If intense, it means Look out! She's getting ready to go for it -- and wants to make sure that you go with her!"

Oscar concludes that "any pianist fortunate enough to have worked with her learned immeasurably -- in terms of timing, and overall musical perception."

To fully appreciate what Oscar had in mind when he wrote those words -- you just listen to this album!

(...) March 21, 2007

Ella Fitzgerald--as cabaret singer?

In this most unusual recording, Ella Fitzgerald could be mistaken for a cabaret singer, not a world-renowned jazz superstar. Here, accompanied only by Paul Smith on piano, she sings melancholy ballads, and it is easy to picture her standing by a piano in a smoky cabaret, late at night, quietly musing about the man who got away--and making you feel her sadness. Recorded in 1960, the same year that Ella recorded her famous jazz concert in Berlin, this recording remained essentially "lost" in a vault after its original release, until it was rediscovered and re-released in 1989. It may be Ella's "prettiest" album--not her typical fare, but absolutely gorgeous, nevertheless.

"Black Coffee," a song which many people believe "belongs" to Peggy Lee, is more tuneful in Ella's hands, sung with a sexy world-weariness that never descends into gloom. "I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby," so often sung in a quick tempo, is slowed way down here, in the thoughtful mood of someone who has nothing to give to the relationship, except love. "Then You've Never Been Blue" and "Reach for Tomorrow," both new songs to me, show the transition from the sadness of a lost love to the age-old hope for tomorrow.

"Who's Sorry Now," forever associated with Connie Francis, could not be more different when sung by Ella--much slower and sung almost in a whisper, as she muses about turnabout and fair play in a relationship, and when she sings "I'm glad that you're sorry now," it's clear that she's not glad at all. Even standards like "Misty," "September Song," and "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You," take on new meanings here. A terrific CD in which Ella Fitzgerald proves, once again, that she can do absolutely anything with a song. n Mary Whipple

January 31, 2007

Not just for fans of jazz

I am not reallly a big jazz fan. Neither am I particularly fond of Ella Fitzgerald's more upbeat recordings, although I find her vocal range and timing impressive, to say the least. However, I love this album. I bought it only recently and now it's among my absolute favourites - never mind that the rest of my collection is more likely to feature Franz Ferdinand, Erykah Badu, U2, Arctic Monkeys, Metallica and Kate Bush than jazz standards.

The overall atmosphere is sentimental and melancholic, yet strangely soothing as Ella's voice intimately caresses each note, accompanied only by a beautiful piano. There is love, pain, loss and joy of a life lived in that voice. It is a mature woman singing, with the yearning and hope of any young girl and the wisdom of an old crone seeping in. But it is not a difficult album to access, neither is it heavy. Just loaded with genuine feeling.

The most amazing thing is that the repetoire here really is jazz standards, and yet they sound poignant and new. I don't find myself comparing the songs in this version to older (or newer) ones while I'm listening, because Ella Fitzgerald manages to make them her own. So I can still enjoy the eerie Tricky/Marina triphop version of 'Black Cofee' because it is two very different songs.

It is not the album to make you go dancing all night. But it is an album that can get you through a night, whether you are feeling sorry, romantic or deeply happy in a quiet way. To me this is music for late nights and for late night thoughts and feelings. May 2, 2006

Classic Ella

What nobody gets is that any review only expresses the opinion of the reviewer. That opinion, as a recommendation for or against an artist's work is valueless and the one I'm about to give is no exception.

Somewhat in the way Brittany Spears and Paris Hilton have become famous for being famous, Frank, Ella, Mel and others' reputations have been grandfathered into the present. There's no reason to believe God broke the mold after them but they have become the standard to which all later singers are compared and conveniently never measure up to. This appears to be the pastime of only a few jazz critics and dilettantes; the great, unwashed populace couldn't care less.

I grew up in the heyday of many of the jazz icons (now knowingly referred to by their first names only) and I had plenty of chances to appreciate them. I bought this CD to give it one last chance.

These are 13 songs all with the same (though exquisite) piano arrangement; all sung in Ella's thin, near-falsetto. Singing in this higher register, it seems to me, washes out the singer's humanness and the true nature of her voice. Surely, that's a blessing in some cases. Her voice becomes the fine musical instrument that was falsely portrayed as capable of breaking glass on the old Memorex commercials. There are a lot of musical instruments and they all become the extension of their master but the unfiltered human voice has something more. That's what's missing here, in my worthless but equally valuable opinion. December 23, 2005

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