Ella In Hamburg

Performer: Ella Fitzgerald
Engineer: Val Valentin...
Producer: Harry Weinger (Reissue)...
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: This album captures vocalist Ella Fitzgerald live in Hamburg, and features 12 songs, including "Body and Soul," "Hard Day's Night," and "Boy from Ipanema." Personnel: Tommy Flanagan (piano); Keter Betts (bass guitar); Gus Johnson (drums); Tommy Flanagan Trio. Ella Fitzgerald and the Tommy Flanagan Trio (the pianist is joined by bassist Keter Betts and drummer Gus Johnson) are in top form during this engaging 1965 concert in Hamburg, Germany; after being out of print for decades it finally was reissued on CD in Japan. She's at her best singing classic material such as the uptempo "That Old Black Magic" and a strutting take of "And the Angels Sing" (not a song one typically associates with Ella). She also is very effective on ballads such as "Body and Soul," "Here's That Rainy Day," and "Angel Eyes." Even though liner note writer implies that the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" is a great jazz vehicle, it is actually a resounding dud, as was often the case when the singer ventured into covering rock hits of the 1960s and 1970s. But an occasional misfire should not dissuade anyone from acquiring this CD, as Ella Fitzgerald is in great voice throughout the performance, and Tommy Flanagan's accompaniment is matchless. ~ Ken Dryden

JazzTimes (pp.111-112) - "[S]he opens with 'Walk Right In,' stomping all over the hit version made famous by the folksy Rooftop Singers with her blistering treatment..."

Through unparalleled ability and judicious choice of repertoire, Ella Fitzgerald became the foremost female interpreter of the 20th-century Great American Popular Song Book. With producer Norman Granz she worked on the "songbook" series, placing on record definitive performances of the work of America's leading songwriters. Fitzgerald had a wide vocal range, but her voice retained a youthful, light vibrancy throughout the greater part of her career, bringing a fresh and appealing quality to most of her material, especially her scat singing. While there are still numerous excellent artists whose work has been strongly influenced by Fitzgerald, the social and artistic conditions that helped to create America's First Lady of Song no longer exist, and it seems highly unlikely that we shall ever see or hear her like again.

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