Customer Reviews

At Newport

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was thrilled when I made this purchase recently, so close to Ella's birthday on April 25th, and the more I listen to it, the more developed becomes my love/hate relationship with this 1957 Newport Jazz Festival recording. Three jazz giants (Sarah Vaughan's performance is not included here, but it has just been re-released as "Linger Awhile: Live at Newport and More," available from amazon.com)perform well-known standards. We begin with Ella Fitzgerald, who comes out with the bouncy and swinging "This Can't Be Love," standard fare at many of her live concerts. The atmosphere on this recording is so real, that the feedback from the microphone on the first number makes you feel as though you are really present. Equally interesting is the patter of Fitzgerald and her musicians between sets. Ella scats to the highest degree on "Air Mail Special," incorporating, as she does so well, the lyrics to many other pop songs: "That's Amore," the theme from Davy Crocket, and even gives a nod to the Boswell Sisters with "The Music Goes Round and Round"--as well as to others. She croons a couple of nice mellow tunes, namely Gershwin's "I've Got a Crush on You." Ella is the best, and you get a real sense of her talents on this recording.

Then comes Billie Holiday, who, after this jazz festival, will be dead in two years' time. The voice is almost gone and so is the spirit. It's only words--words that seem attached to no human being, to no spirit, to no soul--filling the air. The highlight of the Holiday set is her being presented and announced by Johnny Mercer (who also gives a nod, from the bandstand, to Gerry Mulligan). Holiday's "Willow Weep for Me" is adequate, as is her "What a Little Moonlight Can Do." But brace yourself; Holiday's voice is almost heartbreaking--gritty and very real, very seasoned, and that's what some people like about LadyDay--me, not so much.

And finally, there's Carmen McRae who sounds a little harsh, a little brash, but her voice in 1957 sure could release your ear wax. McRae sounds as though she had swallowed the microphone wholesale, and even on the quiet numbers, the ballads, she doesn't know what "a little goes a long way" means. I think she was too busy trying to imitate the Sarah Vaughan of 1957 at this point in her career; McRae mellowed so sweetly as she aged. But here, even on "Midnight Sun" McRae is too loud, but the loudness and jazz cacophony work very well on "Skyliner" and on "Perdido," on which she gets a request to accompany herself on the piano.

Overall, this is a must own for jazz fans, but these recordings do not represent the best work of each of these giant jazz voices.

Good listening!

--dan

Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Carmen McRae live at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival, a jazz lovers dreaam come true... Fitzgerald is in top form costantly improvising, Holiday sounds mature and knowing, McRae sounds energized and even plays some piano. This is wonderful, all three sigers are in trio settings which is nice for a change, since on thier LP's they are usually backed by string sections and orchestras. Now all we really need from Verve are Anita O'Day's classic performances from the Newport Jazz Festival, wouldn't that be nice.

What should have been a great recording of a historical concert given by Ella, Billie and Carmen on successive nights is in reality a mixed bag, mostly due to the uneven performances. Billie's appearance with her 6 songs is the real culprit. When she starts to sing her first of six numbers, she is obviously "not there" in spirit. She sounds tired, slow, and just out of it. Her first two numbers just drag. Strangely and amazingly, by her third number she actually sounds in tune and singing with more energy. "My Man" "Lover Come Back to Me" and "What Moonlight Can Do" sounds almost like the Billie of her golden years---in sync with the beat and band. Unfortunately her "Lady Sings the Blues" can be taken literally, she sounds as though the blues have gotten the best of her. It's sad listening to her here and comparing her to Ella, her colleague and rival, who sounds upbeat, energized and in great voice. This was really during Ella's peak period in performance so it's quite sad seeing the stark constrast between the two. Carmen sounds like a young girl singer, still finding her wings and not yet quite formed in her style. She tackles the songs and audience to the best of her abilities. Rarely has she come across as being so strident in her interpretive powers. Perhaps this was a big occasion for her; she was still lacking in performing concerts. Get the disc if you're strictly an Ella Fitzgerald fan because Billie's portion will leave you mostly disappointed.

The reviewer D.Davis (see reviews below) really did an excellent job on his/her review of this recording, in fact, he pretty much nailed it. Folks, I love all three of these legends and I was so excited to hear this CD after I made the purchase. Having said that, it has to be one of the most disappointing albums in my entire jazz collection. Billie's performance (or lack thereof) really was just plain awful and depressing. It is almost painful to listen to at times and you can really tell that she was not only dying physically due to the drugs, alcohol, etc... but also emotionally and spiritually as well. Ella does an admirable job and is by far the highlight of this album. For the most part, she will not disappoint most of her fans. The very young Carmen McCrae not only (as the above referenced reviewer pointed out) sounds a bit too 'loud' on most of her songs, she also sounds to me like she was a bit overwhelmed, almost as if she was trying to hard. She just doesn't quite have it yet, and of all of the great many recordings she has done in her life, this one is by far the least memorable in my opinion.

As I stated before, I really thought that I was going to go gaga over this live recording at Newport. Unfortunately, I can not recommend this, knowing that there are countless recordings by these three legends that are so much better. I usually don't like to write negative reviews (especially when it's regarding favorite performers of mine) but this CD really does disappoint. Is it horrible? Not by a long shot. However, it's just not the Billie and Carmen that we are so accustomed to hearing and loving.

After languishing in the vaults for a few years, Verve Records finally released a CD version of this album, with the usual bonus tracks (absent from the original album is a set by Carmen McRae). For fans of Ella's live performances, this is a terific album to have. Her rendition of "Body and Soul" is worth the price of the CD alone. Having been recorded in 1957, the sound quality leaves a bit to be desired (which explains my rating of only four out of five stars).

Fitzgerald's performance is strong throughout the recording, and is typical of the excellent work she did in that period. Billie Holiday's set, on the otherhand, is not this singer's best work, but gives the listener a good idea of how she sounded near the end of her career. McCrae also turns in a fine set that is a good document of he rvoice at this relatively early stage of her career.

While this may not be the best of Ella's live performances (Ella in Berlin and Ella in Rome are better), all in all, this is a great CD to have.

I am always moved by this oustanding performance by one of America's greatest singers and entertainers. Just listen to Ella on Body and Soul and you'll be hooked. How does anyone listen to Beyonce or any modern manufactured stars and not feel cheated.

The 5 stars are for Ella's contribution to this album. Here she is folks -the one and only singin' and swingin' and havin' a ball - and you will too! Right from the getgo with This Can't Be Love, Ella gets you in the mood to feel you're right there at Newport 50 years ago...50 years...amazing! Ella caps off a great set that includes Too Close For Comfort, Lullaby of Birdland and Body and Soul, with a fantastic interpretation of Airmail Special, a true tour-de-force of incredible timing, perfect pitch and brilliant inventiveness. Others have had a stab at this number, but this is the original - and the best!

I'm afraid, Billie and Carmen had to take a backseat to Ella at this concert. Billie sounds tired, and almost comes to a near stop during What a Little Moonlight Will Do, and the usually polished Carmen McRae just sounds distracted and under rehearsed.

No, this is Ella's album - a brilliant, blazing, and joyous performance from the best jazz singer in the world.

It was the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival and promoter George Wein programmed on successive nights arguably the four greatest jazz divas of all time--two in their prime, one clearly past it, and the fourth not as yet there. Ella and Sarah, performing on July 4 and 7, were the "book-ends," both clearly at the top of their games (I'm not one of those listeners who prefers the later Sassy). Lady Day, sounding as shaky as ever and slurring both her speech and lyrics, appeared after Ella, and an exuberant, overachieving Carmen McRae served as a set-up for the culminating concert by The Divine One.

The performances are far from consistent, and not one of the four is stellar enough to merit its recommendation to someone new to any of these singers. But as a teenager I had the original Verve LP, limited to most of Ella's concert on one side, and Billie's on the other. As much as Ella's scat singing impressed me ("Air Mail Special"), it was Billie's performance that made the lasting impact (perhaps akin to the effect Judy Garland's latter-day recorded concerts have on some listeners). Never before had I absorbed the dramatic lessons of a song's lyrics as completely as when Billie started her program with "Nice Work If You Can Get It." Far from seeming like she was on auto-pilot, she utterly seduced me, leading to my discovery not just of "Lady in Satin" but of all the early Columbia and Commodore recordings as well.

Carmen's performance had been omitted until now, and it's an eye-opener. Far from seeming gushy and hyper, as some critics have charged, she reveals the powerful and lovely soprano register that was once hers and, above all, her gift of elocution--every syllable, consonant, vowel, and diphthong gets full value when she sings, a respect for diction that would be her trademark throughout her career. Compare Carmen's reading of "Body and Soul" with Ella's on the same disk. Carmen changes the awful construction, "My life a wreck you're making," to something far more palatable before she projects it with her customary, unmistakable clarity.

Sarah Vaughan was under contract with Mercury records, so her performance has been made available for the first time, more than 45 years later, on a separate Pablo release, "Linger Awhile." She almost equals her consummate singing on another recording made at about the same time: "Live at Mr. Kelly's." About her performance at this Newport event there's one recorded moment that always grabs me: she sings way out of tune for one of the phrases at the end of the first chorus of "Sometimes I'm Happy." Intentionally? To get the listener's attention? (She succeeded.)

Finally, the listener of this CD will have an opportunity to compare not merely the first three singers but 4 different rhythm sections (since Carmen's own trio was late to arrive, she employed two different trios during the course of her set).

Sometimes you can get as much if not more from performances that fall short of perfection. With 3 divas and 24 songs, this recording no doubt represents one of the best values available on a single CD. Add the second CD with Sarah's performance and head for a desert island.

When you get 3 divas on stage at Newport each singing great material that should be a cause for celebration.

Ella sounded pretty good,Billie close to death, and Carmen elated but overbearing missing her band that did not make it there for the most part.the backing bands rather loose presenatation makes this CD a package of musical curiousity.

Not exactly a performance that will rank as a milestone from all the other great recorded gems that came out of Newport,but one of these kinks of a CD that offers you a glimpse of realsm into 3 singers that are important in Jazz history.

Enjoyable and playful with added time,remastering and colorful packaging,yes, wondering what went wrong also yes, essential for the collector also yes...crucial,no.