Ella Fitzgerald – Ella At Zardi’s (1956/2017) [Qobuz FLAC 24bit/192kHz]

A completely unreleased live album by the peerless Ella Fitzgerald, Ella At Zardi’s: Verve Records will close out their year-long celebration of jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald’s centennial with the ultimate present for her 100th birthday. Rescued from the vaults: ‘Ella At Zardi’s’ is the Verve Records’ first live recording, and is being heard for the first time anywhere. The two sets from the evening, in front of a lively crowd, was captured February 2, 1956, a few days before Ella began recording Verve’s first album, ‘Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Song Book’.

True fans of Ella Fitzgerald must be having a hard time trying to find storage space for the live albums of their idol, since there are so many of them. And yet, this one, completely new, is rather special as it proposes a concert offered in Hollywood’s Zardi’s Jazzland on 2nd February, 1956 – a few days before she recorded her first disc for Verve. Originally recorded by Norman Granz to celebrate this signature on his label, these two sets will in the end remain in the archives to the detriment of Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Song Book, a studio disc that would launch her series of albums devoted to the songbooks of the great American authors… In this year 1956, Ella Fitzgerald is almost 40 already and is far from being unknown. But her transition from Decca to Verve would finally propel her into a completely new level of fame. We hear her here full of exuberance, joy and energy. Her voice is astoundingly fluid, and her sense of rhythm is difficult to surpass. And even when she forgets part of the text, the great entertainer that she is takes over and the adoration from the audience doesn’t waiver one bit. As for her repertoire, she makes the masterpieces her own, penned by Duke Ellington (In A Mellow Tone), Cole Porter (My Heart Belongs To Daddy), Jerome Kern (A Fine Romance) and the Gershwin brothers (S’Wonderful, I’ve Got a Crush On You). As for the disciples to this voice, we find the pianist Don Abney, bass player Vernon Alley and drummer Frank Capp – all impeccable bodyguards, even if later, musicians of a completely different level will assist the singer. It’s very touching to hear, in the first seconds of the disc, Norman Granz tell the Californian audience: “For me she’s the greatest there is: Miss Ella Fitzgerald!”

Tracklist:
01 – It All Depends On You
02 – Tenderly
03 – Why Don’t You Do Right
04 – Cry Me A River
05 – In A Mellow Tone
06 – Joe Williams’s Blues
07 – A Fine Romance
08 – How High The Moon
09 – Gone With The Wind
10 – Bernie’s Tune
11 – ‘S Wonderful
12 – Glad To Be Unhappy
13 – Lullaby Of Birdland
14 – The Tender Trap
15 – The Angels Sing
16 – I Can’t Give You Anything But Love
17 – Little Boy
18 – A-Tisket, A-Tasket
19 – My Heart Belongs To Daddy
20 – Airmail Special
21 – I’ve Got A Crush On You