A Classy Pair

Performer: Ella Fitzgerald
Engineer: Val Valentin
Producer: Norman Granz
Distributor: Fantasy (distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Ella Fitzgerald (vocals); Count Basie (piano); Bobby Plater, Danny Turner, Kenny Hing, Eric Dixon, Charlie Fowlkes (saxophones); Pete Minger, Sonny Cohn, Ray Brown, Nolan Smith (trumpet); Mel Wanzo, Bill Hughes, "Booty" Wood, Dennis Wilson (trombone); John Clayton (bass); Freddie Green (guitar); Butch Miles (drums). Recorded at Group IV Studios, Hollywood, February 15, 1979. Includes original liner notes by Leonard Feather. Digitally remastered by Joe Tarantino (1987, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California). This studio album matches together Ella Fitzgerald and the Count Basie Orchestra 16 years after they first recorded together. Basie's sidemen are unfortunately restricted in the Benny Carter arrangements to backup work but Basie has a few piano solos and Fitzgerald is in good voice and in typically swinging form. Highlights include "Just a Sittin' and a Rockin'," "Teach Me Tonight" and "Honeysuckle Rose." ~ Scott Yanow A CLASSY PAIR is a most apt title for this session, which features Ella Fitzgerald and the final incarnation of the Count Basie Orchestra, perhaps the last major big band to exist under the baton of its namesake. Recorded in February 1979 and produced by the legendary Norman Granz, these nine tracks show Fitzgerald in a somewhat better light than the orchestra. Still in exquisite voice though in her early 60s, Fitzgerald shines throughout, from the opening "Honeysuckle Rose" through to the closing "Sweet Lorraine." Her particular highlight is a swinging, saucy "Ain't Misbehavin'," featuring a breathtaking scat solo. Featuring no particularly outstanding soloists other than Basie himself, who does take several excellent choruses, the Basie Orchestra provides entirely competent but not exactly inspiring backing. Fitzgerald's vocals more than make up for the occasional weaknesses of her settings, however.

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.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.25