Customer Reviews

Ella Abraca Jobim (20 bit mastering)

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

 

 

.
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.

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)

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.

Ella Fitzgerald was such a gigantic talent with such a wide influence, that it's sometimes hard to believe that she was human like the rest of us. This recording proves that she is not perfect--she makes mistakes. Recorded with long-time producer Norman Granz, this CD features eighteen Brazilian songs by Antonio Carlos Jobim and an all-star cast of supporting players--including Zoot Sims on tenor sax, Joe Pass on solo electric guitar, and legendary Toots Thielemans on harmonica. While they perform flawlessly and seem totally comfortable with their material, Ella, unfortunately, does not.

She sounds tentative and uncomfortable at the beginning of most of her songs, and does not seem to relate to her material until late into several songs when she is able to use her upper register and wail in the familiar Fitzgerald manner, even breaking into scat on several tracks. "The Girl from Ipanema" is terrific with her scatting at the end, and "Triste," which also features a great Joe Pass solo, lets her be the jazz star that she is. Because the first two songs, "Somewhere in the Hills (Favela)" and "Girl from Ipanema" are well done and interesting, I thought I would enjoy this CD, but a few missed notes and the dirge-like beginnings to later songs made this CD an uncomfortable listening experience for me. (If you have the opportunity to test-play this CD, listen to "A Felicidade" before buying it, and then decide.)

The fault is not all hers. Many of the songs begin in a key that is too low for Ella, and, with her lower register nearly gone, at this point in her career, she does not always hit her notes. This is glaringly obvious in "Wave," which even "perfect-pitch Mel" (Torme) found nearly impossible to sing, to the point that he turned it into a running joke with the audience whenever he sang the refrain "The fundamental loneliness goes whenever two can dream a dream--together," deliberately straining at the bottom note for effect. Ella misses the bottom note at the beginning and then does not try to hit it on later repeats. I love and admire Ella Fitzgerald, but this CD reminds me that she was human. n Mary Whipple

I absolutely adore this CD. I still have it in vinyl. This is the very last "Songbook" that Ella recorded - it's a Pablo release, originally recorded back in 1980 and 1981. Produced by the great Norman Granz. The musicians on this recording are the best that could be found - Joe Pass on guitar, Zoot Sims (wait until you hear some of his solos) and Clark Terry. Some fabulous Brazilian percussionists.
Pick a quiet night, a bottle of good wine and this music playing. What heaven.
Trust me, you'll love this

It's amazing to see what the original date is on this recording! Thanks to a more recent remaster this cd sounds like it was just recorded! Wow! Ella sounds just fine! She takes some Brazilian classics and sings most of them in English. The parts where she sings in Portuguese sound very convincing. Her band is tremendous and the studio quality really shines through. Keep in mind that most of these songs are Bossa Nova style or samba style. So Ella does sing a little different than normal yet she is still Ella. I consider this to be a must have jazz cd. By the way the title translates to Ella embraces Jobim. (Jobim being the Bossa Nova legend from 1950s, 60s, 70s Brazil...

A timeless classic from Miss Fitzgerald. Her renditions of these songs is magic. A must have for pop fans.

This was one of the first Ella CD's I bought, and even though I had read mixed reviews on this album, I wanted to hear her interpretations of one of my favorite songwriters. It is obvious that Ella's voice has diminished due to her health condition, but she still managed to deliver a good performance. She sings with passion in most of the songs, but she sounds flat in some songs like Wave, which is one of my favorite songs of all time. Regarding the arrangements in this album, they sound too 80's bossa nova/syntethized that do not work well with Ella's voice at this stage of her career. A gentle bossa nova/jazz arrangement would have been more suitable, like when she recorded her rendition of "Desafinado" in the mid 60's.

ELLA FITZGERALD MADE QUITE A LIVING DOING A SERIES OF ALBUMS THAT FEATURED INDIVIDUAL COMPOSERS, HER "SONGBOOK" RECORDINGS. THIS ONE FEATURES ELLA DOING JOBIM SONGS. RECORDED ON THE PABLO LABEL IN THE 70'S, IT MAY NOT BE HER ALLTIME BEST RECODINGS, AFTER ALL, SHE WAS GETTING UP THERE IN AGE AND HER VOICE WASN'T QUITE WHAT IT HAD BEEN. BUT.......I WOULD STILL RATHER HEAR ELLA SINGING AT 75-80%, THAN A LOT OF OTHER SINGERS AT ALL. A GOOD CD, IF YOU LIKE ELLA THEN YOU WILL ENJOY IT. CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ALBUM INCLUDE ALEX ACUNA, JOE PASS, ZOOT SIMS, CLARK TERRY, TOOTS THIELMANS, AND OTHERS AS WELL.