Customer Reviews

Sophisticated Lady

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Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass often dueted in live venues during the 1970s and 1980s. Whatever the quality of voice Ella might have been in on any given evening, something magical always happened when her trio or band would leave the stage and she and Joe would go it alone. I do not believe any two jazz performers had the sympatico musical understanding of one another as these two had. I was fortunate to have known Joe in his last years, and he himself marvelled at the chemistry between them. My only regret about this CD is that it is not a 2-CD set, as there are literally dozens of such live recordings available for release.

The gem here is "I'm Beginning to See the Light." It was the most often repeated duet they did, yet the studio version (which Joe assured me happened more than once) was never released. Grab yourself a bit of jazz magic and buy this one!

Occasionally a grouping of great musicians creates a transcendent force of communicative music - and all of the Joe Pass and Ella Fitgerald albums manifest that. The way each of them swing together is perfectly complementary. Joe Pass is ever the complimentary musician to Ella, and Ella puts her heart into every song. Some may say that her prime was when she was younger, singing with the big band and her duets with Louis Armstrong. Bear in mind that I find these sessions stunning. But I believe this simpler, more revealing is one of the greatest display of her musicianship, and the perfect display of all of Joe Pass's skills. His ability to play in such small settings such as this set him apart from almost every other jazz guitarist, and the balance between him and Ella is perfect. In short, I would highly recommend any of the Ella and Joe duet albums to anyone. I doubt any would regret purchasing this album.

It's Joe Pass and Ella! Need I say more? Two of the finest jazz musicians to walk the planet.