Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong - Ella and Louis

What we have here is the mating of honey and molasses. Or is it the sound of melted butter over gravel? Never mind--sweeter, more joyous music has never been recorded (although the follow-up, Ella and Louis Again, may be even better). You can't listen to these two without smiling. It's such an inevitable pairing that you wonder what titanic forces of nature could have kept Ella and Satchmo apart until they made this record together in 1957, accompanied by the Oscar Peterson trio and Buddy Rich on drums. The songs are standards--extraordinary standards, of course, like "Moonlight in Vermont" and "A Foggy Day"--but nirvana is reached on "Cheek to Cheek." Heaven. --Jim Emerson Amazon.com

If there's a fire in my house.....

...this would be one of the 5 CDs I'd take with me out of the 700+ I own. This is standards jazz at its greatest. It not only features two of the best and most iconic jazz vocal interpreters of all time, but also people like Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown and Herb Ellis as the swinging and relaxed musicians, with Armstrong on the trumpet, of course. Jazz takes many forms as it evolves, but this is the sweet, plain vanilla flavor that never goes out of style. The joy that went into making it is palpable and you can see it just on the cover picture. This is great to play in any setting: car, home, dinner. A great introduction to anyone who is interested in learning about jazz.
March 31, 2008

am I only allowed 5 stars?

5 stars? 50 stars...500 stars! This is truly as good as it gets. Two masters at their peak with the greatest music ever. and Oscar Peterson and Buddy Rich, too...ridiculously great music. December 31, 2007

Love Verve recordings

Brilliant. Verve are by far the best for authentic jazz recordings - they really retain the original sound. September 11, 2007

Ella Fitzgerald and Louie Armstrong

Marvelous! The two artists together exceeded my expectations. I strongly recommend the CD to anyone who loves music! February 24, 2007

The greatest

Mr. Jazz and the greatest feminine jazz vocalist sing together. Satchmo plays and Ella lilts , and there is such joy and fun in their singing. Both of them gravelly Louie and pure chrystalline Ella give the lyrics of these great songs their full due. One feels them both enjoying what they are doing, and inspired by each other's presence. Perhaps there is even a certain edge of rivalry at some point, the greatest meeting the greatest to see who the greatest really is.
What there is though and Louis also does on his great trumpet solos is the best popular music there is.

January 22, 2007

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