Ella Fitzgerald
★★★★★ Ella At The Hollywood Bowl: The Irving Berlin Songbook VERVE/UME. CD/DL/LP.
One 20th century musical giant covers the songs of another.
Choosing ‘the greatest’ in any endeavour is hard, given that taste is subjective by definition, but it would be hard to argue that there’s a more perfect vocalist in American popular music than Ella Fitzgerald. Her pitch, tonal clarity, breath control and phrasing are all flawless – the woman never missed a note. Likewise, the prodigious composer Irving Berlin contributed much of the Great American Songbook. This 1958 Hollywood Bowl concert put the two together and the until now unreleased results are as classic as expected. Ella was a jazz singer and she stamps each tune with her trademark hard swing, so much so that after a particularly raucous Top Hat, White Tie And Tails, she laughs: “Boy, if Irving Berlin could hear that!” Knocking out one Berlin gem after another, Ella is relentlessly magnificent.