The Very Best Of The Rodgers And Hart Song Book

Performer: Ella Fitzgerald
Artist: Maynard Ferguson; Bud Shank; Barney Kessel
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Ella Fitzgerald (trumpet); Barney Kessel (guitar); Corky Hale (harp); Robert LaMarchina, Edgar Lustgarten (cello); Jule Kinzler, Ted Nash (flute); Abe Most (clarinet); Arnold Koblentz (English horn); Willie Schwartz, Maurice Stein, Bud Shank (alto saxophone); Bob Cooper (tenor saxophone); Chuck Gentry (baritone saxophone); Conrad Gozzo, Maynard Ferguson, Pete Candoli, Ray Linn (trumpet); Vincent DeRosa (French horn); Milt Bernhart, Joe Howard, Lloyd Ulyate (trombone); George Roberts (bass trombone); Paul Smith (piano); Milt Holland (glockenspiel); Joe Mondragon (bass instrument); Alvin Stoller (drums); Buddy Bregman (unknown instrument). This best-of features selected highlights of the second of the Song Books that Ella Fitzgerald recorded for the Verve label in the mid 1950s. Her voice, with its uncanny bell-like timbre, is the perfect vehicle for conveying the sheer beauty of classic songs such as "My Funny Valentine," "It Never Entered My Mind," and "I Could Write a Book." The exuberant "The Lady Is a Tramp" beats Frank Sinatra at his own swingin' game, yet retains the ladylike dignity which characterized Fitzgerald even when she was having the most fun.

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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