ELLA FITZGERALD - Rhythm is My Business
Essential Jazz Classics EJC55672
Tracks 1 to 13
Ella Fitzgerald ( vocals )
Orchestra arranged & conducted by Bill Doggett
With Ernie Royal, Taft Jordan, Ray Copeland & Joe Wilder ( tpt ) Melba Liston, Kai Winding & Britt Woodman ( tmb ) Phil Woods & Jerry Dodgion ( alto ) Carl Davis, Wilmer Shake snider & les Taylor ( tnr ) Bill Doggett ( organ ) Hank Jones ( pno ) Mundell Lowe ( gtr ) Lucille Dixon ( bass ) Osie Johnson ( drs )
Recorded New York, January 1962
Bonus tracks 14 to 23
Ella Fitzgerald ( vocals ) Don Abney ( pno ) Wendell Marshall ( bass ) Jo Jones ( drs )
Recorded live at the Newport Jazz Festival, 4th July 1957
On this album we have examples of both sides of Ella Fitzgerald, on the first thirteen tracks we have Ella in the studio with the orchestra arranged and conducted by organist Bill Doggett with an all star line up of musicians. On the final ten tracks we have Ella in a live situation at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival.
The studio Ella is generally more considered with her using her vocal talents to bring out the best in her material, whilst in a live situation she is very much the crowd pleaser which is not to denigrate her performance but to illustrate that she is the mistress of both aspects of her career.
The Bill Doggett tracks are much brassier than we are used to hearing as a background for Ella’s vocals and as a result some of the numbers are taken at a quite brisk tempo
I found the more medium tempo numbers worked better for Ella particularly “I Can’t Face the Music” and “I‘ll Always Be In Love With You“. “Laughing on the Outside” is the only number close to being a ballad and it is graced by a superb Alto solo by Phil Woods who is good at this type of contribution.
It is somewhat of a relief to hear Ella Backed by just a trio on the Newport tracks after all that roring brass. Don Abney on piano is one of Ella’s early accompanist’s and fills that spot with elegance.
All but three of these tracks have been previously issued as one half of the album “Ella Fitzgerald & Billie Holiday at Newport”.
There fine sympathetic ballad readings of Ellington’s “I Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good” and Johnny Green’s “Body and Soul”. The Gershwin’s “I’ve Got a Crush on You” is another delightful ballad interpretation complete with verse.
The two final tracks are Ella’s party pieces firstly “Airmail Special” which is her scat piece complete with lots of quotes from other tunes. Secondly for her final piece “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” complete with her Rose Murphy and Louie Armstrong impression which are fun first time round but don’t always bear further listening, the recording conveys a sense of occasion and the atmosphere of the live event.
This is an album of two halves and if you don’t have the first thirteen tracks with Bill Doggett it does show another side of Ella and may worth the price of the album.
Reviewed by Roy Booth
Essential Jazz Classics EJC55672
Tracks 1 to 13
Ella Fitzgerald ( vocals )
Orchestra arranged & conducted by Bill Doggett
With Ernie Royal, Taft Jordan, Ray Copeland & Joe Wilder ( tpt ) Melba Liston, Kai Winding & Britt Woodman ( tmb ) Phil Woods & Jerry Dodgion ( alto ) Carl Davis, Wilmer Shake snider & les Taylor ( tnr ) Bill Doggett ( organ ) Hank Jones ( pno ) Mundell Lowe ( gtr ) Lucille Dixon ( bass ) Osie Johnson ( drs )
Recorded New York, January 1962
Bonus tracks 14 to 23
Ella Fitzgerald ( vocals ) Don Abney ( pno ) Wendell Marshall ( bass ) Jo Jones ( drs )
Recorded live at the Newport Jazz Festival, 4th July 1957
On this album we have examples of both sides of Ella Fitzgerald, on the first thirteen tracks we have Ella in the studio with the orchestra arranged and conducted by organist Bill Doggett with an all star line up of musicians. On the final ten tracks we have Ella in a live situation at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival.
The studio Ella is generally more considered with her using her vocal talents to bring out the best in her material, whilst in a live situation she is very much the crowd pleaser which is not to denigrate her performance but to illustrate that she is the mistress of both aspects of her career.
The Bill Doggett tracks are much brassier than we are used to hearing as a background for Ella’s vocals and as a result some of the numbers are taken at a quite brisk tempo
I found the more medium tempo numbers worked better for Ella particularly “I Can’t Face the Music” and “I‘ll Always Be In Love With You“. “Laughing on the Outside” is the only number close to being a ballad and it is graced by a superb Alto solo by Phil Woods who is good at this type of contribution.
It is somewhat of a relief to hear Ella Backed by just a trio on the Newport tracks after all that roring brass. Don Abney on piano is one of Ella’s early accompanist’s and fills that spot with elegance.
All but three of these tracks have been previously issued as one half of the album “Ella Fitzgerald & Billie Holiday at Newport”.
There fine sympathetic ballad readings of Ellington’s “I Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good” and Johnny Green’s “Body and Soul”. The Gershwin’s “I’ve Got a Crush on You” is another delightful ballad interpretation complete with verse.
The two final tracks are Ella’s party pieces firstly “Airmail Special” which is her scat piece complete with lots of quotes from other tunes. Secondly for her final piece “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” complete with her Rose Murphy and Louie Armstrong impression which are fun first time round but don’t always bear further listening, the recording conveys a sense of occasion and the atmosphere of the live event.
This is an album of two halves and if you don’t have the first thirteen tracks with Bill Doggett it does show another side of Ella and may worth the price of the album.
Reviewed by Roy Booth
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