Search - Ella Fitzgerald, Chick Webb :: Chick Webb & Ella Fitzgerald Decca Sessions 1934-041 (Mosaic 252) 8 CD box set!

Mosaic Records' new release is the most complete collection ever of this important collaboration between the man who was the first "voice" on drums and the unassuming teenage girl who would blossom into the most revered vocalist in music. Too often, music of the swing era is disregarded as being "for dancers." Chick and Ella made sure it was for listeners as well. Chick's decision to take his orchestra's great musicianship, and lay it all at the feet of a masterful vocalist, made sure his music would be for the ages. Webb was already playing professionally at age 11. Not only was he simply sensational at tying his band together, he produced a sound no one before him ever achieved because of his rigorous attention to the pitch and attack of each component of his set. He endlessly tuned and tightened the heads on his drums, replacing them at the first sign of wear. Chick created personality on his instrument through his use of subtle phrasing techniques and dynamics. From the beginning, Ella projected schoolgirl warmth along with her unerring feel for jazz. Just a few years later, she was secure and serene with musicianship that established her as part of the band, not merely a singer supported by it. Over the years Webb's band included Edgar Sampson, Taft Jordan, John Kirby, Johnny Hodges, Louis Jordan, Benny Carter, Mario Bauza, Pete Clark, and many others. While Chick wisely turned the band's attention to serving Ella Fitzgerald after she joined him, cuts like "Harlem Congo," give testament to what was so thrilling about Chick's drive, and the variety of nuance he could produce on drums. The Mosaic set is generous, with eight CDs featuring 187 tracks, three of them never before issued in any format. It includes the Webb band recordings done for Brunswick and Vocalion prior to the formation of Decca. Liner notes are by John McDonough and Mosaic's exclusive booklet includes many rarely-seen photographs.