Ella Fitzgerald - Twelve Nights in Hollywood
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Artist: Ella FitzgeraldEdition: Music CD
Format: Box set, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2009-11-10
Music Label: Hip-O Select
Free Music Notes for Twelve Nights in Hollywood
Free Music Review: The First Lady of Song Defends Her Title
Hit: 5 Stars
In the sixties and seventies it was possible to go to a small supper club and for an investment of twenty bucks get a decent dinner, a seat right next to the stage, and entertainment from the likes of Getz and Oscar Peterson, Ahmad and Coltrane, Sarah and Ella. By 1980 the party was over, and I'm not quite sure why the economics had suddenly changed so dramatically from the previous two decades. But the music--and entertainment--has never been the same. All the more reason to take advantage of this opportunity to return to a time that was.
One of the most-played albums in my collection is "Sarah Vaughan at Mr. Kelly's," which now is likely to get some competition from this new Ella set. Even though Ella is slightly more relaxed and informal than the live recordings done in epic-scale venues--the Opera House, the Rome and Berlin (Mack the Knife) concerts, the Hollywood Bowl and Los Angeles Civic Auditorium recordings--the energy level might be described as "without governors." She's swinging harder than ever yet, as usual, is able to bring it down instantly for those mellow, intimate ballads. As for some of the carping about this collection, it's hard to be sympathetic with the complainers after hearing the quality of the music. The audio is good enough to put me in the actual audience's space, right down in front, where Ella's voice, the distinct notes of the walking bass, the zing of the cymbals and chic of the hi-hat are equally clear. True, it's not quite the equal of a "more perfect" studio recording, which would probably tone down the rhythm section and throw away the moments when the mic momentarily distorts or picks up a few unwanted sibilants. But that's live music, folks, and for my money, the music, not to mention the listener's experience, is all the better for it.
My other Ella albums feature celebrated accompanists like Jimmy Jones or monster jazz pianists like Tommy Flanagan and Paul Smith. This one has Lou Levy, who also frequently worked with Peggy Lee and is certainly one of the West Coast's all-time best. There are a few pauses, acknowledgements of celebrities in the audience, moments of indecision about a lyric or the next song--all of which humanize arguably the singer who could live up to the description bestowed upon her by Mel Torme as the "the greatest who ever lived." I'll refrain from the hyperbole but go so far as to pick one of the numbers--"It Had to Be You"--as the best interpretation available on record.
In sum, this one may not be quite up to the "Sinatra-Vegas" box, which includes a DVD with the 4 CD's covering two decades of live performance (few people realize that Sinatra released only two live albums during his lifetime), but it's close to being as indispensable.
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