Pure Ella

Ella Fitzgerald

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 15, 1994)
• Original Release Date: February 15, 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Verve
• ASIN: B000003N3Y
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #14,729 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Broadway & Vocalists > Classic Vocalists

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording
The flawless lyricism of Ellis Larkins's piano provides an ideal frame for Ella Fitzgerald's maturing art on the two sessions that make up this CD. The first, from 1950, is an all-Gershwin program, while the second, from 1954, includes songs from other masters of the popular ballad, like Sammy Kahn, Cole Porter, and Hoagy Carmichael. Fitzgerald's voice was an ineffable combination of breadth of sound and lightness of delivery. Larkins's spare and sympathetic settings let her caress each song, and her subtle melodic variations and superb diction make each rendering a musical gem. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Be Careful What Ella Fitzgerald You Order, December 8, 2001

By A Customer

Be careful that you are ordering the right Ella Fitzgeral CD. There is another outstanding Ella Fitzgerald CD by almost the same name that is very different. It is called "Pure Ella: The Very Best of Ella Fitzgerald," and it is the best Elle Fitzgerald ever made.

So don't accidentally order this CD thinking you are getting the other one.

This very enjoyable CD shows a nice side of Ella with the Piano and Gershwin songs, and would make a nice addition to your collection. But it would not be one of my first three choices by Ella Fitzgerald. My first choice would be the other one: "Pure Ella: The Very Best of Ella Fitzgerald," released in 1998.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cream of the Decca Years , December 25, 2005

By	James Morris (Jackson Heights, NY United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I recently came across this CD in my local store and debated taking it home. With 94 Ella Fitzgerald CD's in my collection already, I need another Ella like I need a hole in my head. But when I noticed that it contained the tracks she made with Ellis Larkins on piano, I said "What the heck" and took it home anyway.

I might not have bothered; had I checked first I would have realized that the exact same tracks, in the exact same sequence, occupy disc three of the four-disc boxed set "Ella: The Legendary Decca Recordings". That's the problem with re-issue anthologies for someone as prolific a recording artist as Ella - there is always the danger that you already have the all or most of the material they contain.

But I never regret purchasing more of Ella Fitzgerald. These tracks are particularly interesting, as they were made right before her most fruitful and celebrated period, the "Song Book" sessions she did for Norman Granz on his Clef (later known as Verve) label. The idea of having Ella backed with just a piano was sheer genius, and one of the few correct things that Decca did for her during her years there. Ellis Larkins provides her with sympathetic accompaniment on these sessions, and she responds in kind. The Decca producers have long claimed that Ella was not "wasted" during her Decca period, as many critics and fans have complained. I am of the opinion that her Decca years were almost a complete waste, with these wonderful tracks a glorious exception. Her other Decca recordings seemed to concentrate on novelty numbers, and when she was given material she really deserved, the arrangements tended to be either overly commercial, or obscure her delightful voice. Decca has been very, very bad about releasing vintage material - I wish I had a dollar for every musical artist I have on a Decca vinyl whose material has not yet made it to CD, and Ella is no exception. Decca has yet to release quite a few of her original Decca recordings; all we get is anthology after anthology that tend to present the same material over and over. This is not the way they should be treating the female vocalist who made more records than any other female vocalist. Many people are not aware that Ella Fitzgerald is the third most recorded vocalist of all time. I was not surprised to learn that Frank Sinatra made more records than she did to occupy the #2 spot, but I am still floored to know that Bing Crosby officially remains the #1 recorded vocalist of all time.

Anyway, the music here is quite marvelous, as there is hardly an obscure song on the whole CD, and certainly not a single bad performance, either. It's hard as always with Ella to pick out a standout, but for my money, I'm Glad There Is You, My Heart Belongs to Daddy, How Long Has This Been Going On and Someone To Watch Over Me are the clear winners.

Just a few years after these sessions her career was to be guided by Norman Granz, who became her personal manager as well as her producer (for both records and concerts) and that is when her career, which had been languishing at Decca for years, really took off. But these tracks are the very best of her Decca years.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The swinging angel sings, December 22, 2001

By	KSG "ksgnyc" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This truly is PURE ELLA, no strings or brass, just her voice and the piano.
The perfect recording for a dinner party or an evening sitting by the fire.
This selection of rarified show tunes, many by the Gershwins, are given the royal treatment by Ella and her sublime and swinging pianist, Ellis Larkins.
You can't go wrong with this CD.