Ella In Hollywood [Digipak]

Performer: Ella Fitzgerald
Producer: Norman Granz
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Ella Fitzgerald (vocals); Herb Ellis (guitar); Lou Levy (piano); Wilfred Middlebrooks (bass instrument); Gus Johnson (drums). Originally released on Verve Records in 1961, ELLA IN HOLLYWOOD is a straightforward collection of 12 familiar standards mostly given very simple, pop-oriented arrangements. Songs tend to run well under four minutes (a gently swinging "Just In Time" clocks in just under two), with only a minimum of room for Fitzgerald to break into her legendary scatting. The main exception is the centerpiece track, a nine-minute take on the Duke Ellington standard "Take the A Train," that gives Fitzgerald ample room to stretch out vocally. Although fans of her scat work might be somewhat disappointed by this mainstream set, ELLA IN HOLLYWOOD serves to remind just how gifted a stylist Fitzgerald was in the pop genre as well.

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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