Ella Abraca Jobim (20 bit mastering) [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Ella Fitzgerald | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 21, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 1980
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Pablo
• ASIN: B0000DIJQ7
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #147,856 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The courage to be different, January 27, 2004

By 

Thomas L. Bennett (Indented Head, Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ella Abraca Jobim (20 bit mastering) (Audio CD)

.
I hear the criticisms of this very courageous set and accept that they are, to a certain extent, valid.

True, this album is not quite classic Ella nor is it the Jobim we are conditioned to hear.

But surely that is the nature of the genre.

Jazz constantly re-interprets and re-invents itself.

It is about improvisation and its art is to breathe a new life and give new meaning into an existing musical work.

And that?s exactly what happens on "Ella Abraca Jobim".

The problem is, and the critics have hit the nail right on the head, is that what we foresee is not what we get.

Those soft samba undercurrents that ripple through the entire set are not the Bossa Nova rhythms of old.

However, they are every bit as complex, subtle and romantic as any of their great Latin predecessors.

And Ella, whilst not at the peak of her art, still articulates the ideas contained within the songs like few others can.

She brings class, dignity, meaning and great romance to the project.

As for Toots, - he's never sounded better.

Ultimately this is a wonderful collection of very beautiful songs presented in a brilliant, if somewhat unexpected, manner.

FIVE STARS to all involved in this courageous project that dares to take beauty to a new level.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Grows on you, April 22, 2004

By 

David G. Smith (Fairfax, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ella Abraca Jobim (20 bit mastering) (Audio CD)

Ok, so this is obviously an older Ella, combined with early 80's sensibilities(electric piano for one), and at first, I sort of doubted I would enjoy it.
I have to say that I really like it, when realizing that originally I desired 40's Ella singing 1959 Jobim. The truth is, at face value it is actually quite fun. Ella has fun, the playing of the soloists is , if not Blue Train Coltrane inspired,fairly upbeat and interesting. The translations are fun as well.
I read a review that said that this album came 20 years too late. Yeah, sad but true. But to embrace the joys of the fact that it exists at all. Ella, the classic old house with worn out pipes, finding her way through a spirited set.Jobim's beautiful music coming through dated orchestrations(why is it that 40's and 50's orchestrations don't seem dated to me, but 80"s orchestrations do). For me, the world of even the lightest jazz rings true these days.
I for one, though dubious, am glad that Ella Abracad Jobim.(I am assuming Abraca is portuguese for sings)

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 3-1/2 stars - early '80s Ella., December 14, 2003

By 

DJ Joe Sixpack (...in Middle America) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Ella Abraca Jobim (20 bit mastering) (Audio CD)

A soft-fusion jazz take on the works of pioneering Brazilian bossa nova composer Antonio Carlos Jobim... Originally issued as a double LP, this set is vintage early-80s Fitzgerald, with Ella throwing herself into the songs wholeheartedly, despite the somewhat cloying and cluttered, too-smooth performances of the band. Jazz cats Alex Acuna, Oscar Castro Neves, Paulinho Da Costa, Clark Terry and Toots Thielemans are among the heavy-hitters who back her up... The album as a whole is a bit busy, but the English translations are kinda nice, as are Ella's game attempts at singing in Portuguese (she does alright, though her accent is irrevocably tempered by learning Spanish first...) Both Ella and Jobim have had better days, but this still has some nice moments, and even a few surprises.