These cozy dates come from a Los Angeles club called the Crescendo in 1961 and 1962, two of Ella's peak years. Only one of the pristine tracks has ever been released. Why did Verve take nearly half a century to put out this treasure?
It's a case of more profitable material, a wealth of studio recordings, crowding out excellent performances that could have been a hit originally. Alas, producer Norman Granz gave them short shrift: a single poorly-selected and poorly-mastered album that flopped commercially.
The tapes sank into the vaults, not to be unearthed until jazz researcher Phil Schaap dug into the archives in 1988. He found 14 hours of California recordings made over 12 days, along with unheard live sets recorded in Rome and Chicago in 1958. At that point, Verve released a single CD, "Ella in Rome," which was a huge success, but then the label got busy with rereleases of her songbook series.
Finally, this year, Richard Seidel, the producer of this boxed set, listened to the tapes and decided to assemble four CDs containing 76 songs both swinging and sentimental. Ella is a joy throughout: creative and playful in her phrasing and scatting, by turns relaxed and spirited in her mood. She even succeeds at the blues, a form she was not particularly known for.
What are you waiting for? This is a glorious find and an essential acquisition for the Fitzgerald fan.
