Ella Fitzgerald; Louis Armstrong - Ella and Louis

Information

1. Kay Swift, Paul James - Can't We Be Friends?
2. Karl Suessdorf, John M. Blackburn - Moonlight In Vermont
3. Irving Berlin - Cheek To Cheek
4. Walter Gross, Jack Lawrence - Tenderly
5. Hoagy Carmichael, Ned Washington - The Nearness Of You
6. Mitchell Parish, Frank S. Perkins - Stars Fell On Alabama
7. Yip Harburg, Vernon Duke - April In Paris
8. Irving Berlin - Isn't This A Lovely Day?
9. George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin - A Foggy Day
10. Al Neiburg, Marty Symes, Jerry Livingston - Under A Blanket Of Blue
11. George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin - They Can't Take That Away From Me

Ella Fitzgerald, vocals

Louis Armstrong, vocals

Oscar Peterson, piano

Herb Ellis, guitar

Ray Brown, bass

Buddy Rich, drums

Date: 1956

Label: Verve

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Review

The wonderful thing about this record is that you don’t have to be a jazz enthusiast to enjoy it. Similarly, it is a delight for jazz folks who enjoy flawless performances of good standard songs with just the occasional burst of scat singing or trumpet improvisation.

Ella Fitzgerald had a gorgeous voice which took to jazz like a duck to water, and her scat singing often got her out of trouble: like the times she forgot the lyrics of a song – something that Louis could sympathise with as it happened to him 20 years before this musical meeting. These two blend perfectly. Singing duets, singing alone and on the occasions when Louis provides tasty trumpet decoration behind her, it all comes together.

Although the focus throughout is rightly on the two principals, this would have been a much lesser recital were it not for the tasteful, ultra smooth and swinging backing of the rhythm section. Oscar Peterson’s trio with Buddy Rich on drums are never in the spotlight but you know they are there throughout. For a near perfect example of gentle, mid-tempo swing with relaxed vocals from Louis and Ella just try A Foggy Day. For good measure, you also get a flowing trumpet solo from Armstrong.

Variations on the above are on every track. In a five-star review in Downbeat in 1957 Nat Hentoff described this album as one of the very few issued that year “that is sure to endure for decades”. He wasn’t wrong. This reissue comes in an attractive picture-disc format and on 180-gram vinyl. It’s not to be missed – in the unlikely event you have never heard it.

— Derek Ansell

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Ella Fitzgerald (25 April 1917 – 15 June 1996) was an American jazz singer. Rising to prominence after winning an amateur contest at the Apollo Theatre, she gained early success with the Chick Webb Orchestra and later achieved international acclaim as a solo artist. Under the management of Norman Granz, Fitzgerald's career flourished, notably through her influential "Songbook" recordings. Celebrated for her ballads and pioneering scat singing, she became one of the best-selling jazz vocalists in history, earning numerous honors, including 14 Grammy Awards and multiple lifetime achievement recognitions.

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Louis Armstrong (4 August 1901 – 6 July 1971) was an American trumpeter, singer and bandleader. Rising from poverty in New Orleans, he gained early experience in local bands before achieving national prominence with King Oliver and later through his groundbreaking Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings. Renowned for his virtuoso trumpet technique, distinctive swing and expressive vocal style, Armstrong influenced generations of musicians across genres. Beyond jazz, he achieved widespread popular success through recordings, films and global tours, helping elevate jazz into a respected and enduring art form.

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