ELLA FITZGERALD SINGS COLE PORTER (180g IMPORT LP)

The year 1956 documents a new, great chapter in the history of jazz music: Norman Granz founds his third label, VERVE, manages to win Ella Fitzgerald (who has deserted DECCA) and initiates the Songbook Series which not only attracts a totally new listening public, but also establishes Ella’s reputation as the “First Lady of Song”. The Cole Porter Songbook marks the glorious beginning of a series which finally expanded to seven titles. The recording’s success was practically a foregone conclusion. Porter had written hundreds of wonderful songs from which Granz made an initial choice of 50 songs before Ella and the bandleader and arranger Buddy Bregman finally decided upon what was, for them, the crème de la crème. The result was a list of 32 songs, all of which make easy listening not only thanks to their melodic originality and harmonic genius but particularly to the wonderful amalgamation of the text – which Porter always wrote himself – and the music. Each and every one is a classic in its own right. Bregman’s arrangements never seek to disguise the fact that all these songs originated on Broadway, and Ella proves her greatness by finding something new in such old favourites as Night and Day, I Love Paris and I Get A Kick Out Of You. And as if that wasn’t enough, Bregman’s orchestra sounds absolutely splendid. What a pity, many will say, that all 50 songs weren’t recorded.

  1.    Ace In The Hole 
  2.    All of You All Through The Night 
  3.    Always True To You In My Fashion 
  4.    Anything Goes 
  5.    Begin the Beguine 
  6.    Do I Love You 
  7.    Ev'ry Time We Say Good-bye 
  8.    From This Moment On 
  9.    Get Out Of Town 
  10.    I Am In Love 
  11.    I Get A Kick Out of You 
  12.    I Love Paris 
  13.    It's All Right With Me 
  14.    It's Delovely 
  15.    Just One Of Those Things 
  16.    Let's Do It 
  17.    Love For Sale 
  18.    Night And Day 
  19.    Ridin' High 
  20.    So In Love 
  21.    Too Darn Hot 
  22.    What Is This Thing Called Love 
  23.    Why Can't You Behave 
  24.    You Do Something To Me 
  25.    You're The Top 
  26.    Don't Fence Me In 
  27.    Easy To Love 
  28.    I Concentrate On You 
  29.    In The Still of The Night 
  30.    Miss Otis Regrets