A Perfect Match

Performer: Ella Fitzgerald
Engineer: Dave Richards
Producer: Norman Granz
Distributor: Fantasy (distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Ella Fitzgerald (vocals), Count Basie (piano), Charlie Fowlkes, Eric Dixon, Bobby Plater, Danny Turner, Kenny Hing (saxophones), Pete Minger, Sonny Cohn, Paul Cohen, Ray Brown (trumpets), Mitchell "Booty" Wood, Bill Hughes, Mel Wanzo, Dennis Wilson (trombones), Paul Smith (piano), Freddie Green (guitar), Keter Betts (bass), Mickey Roker (drums). Recorded at Mountain Studios, Montreaux, Switzerland, on July 12, 1979. Digitally remastered by Joe Tarantino (1987, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California). Although Count Basie gets cobilling with Ella Fitzgerald on this concert recording from the 1979 Montreux Jazz Festival, the veteran pianist is only on the final of the 11 songs. His big band, along with pianist Paul Smith, backs the veteran singer for a set of standards and, although Fitzgerald was beginning to fade, she could still hint strongly at her former greatness. Highlights include "Sweet Georgia Brown," "'Round Midnight" and "Honeysuckle Rose." ~ Scott Yanow

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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