Search - Ella Fitzgerald :: Invite You to Listen & Relax

Approaching the Greatest Years

R. M. Resnick | New York, N.Y. | 01/07/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Alhough not on a par with the records Ella consistently made with Verve (and the likes of Marty Paich and Nelson Riddle), Ella treats us to a group of standards and showtunes here. Gordon Jenkins, the most dour of the big arrangers of his era, cannot affect Ella's ebullience to the extent he dampens several other great singers, such as Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra. The recording provides an opportunity to hear selections we would otherwise miss Ella singing - along with repertoire (the gloomiest "Black Coffee" Ella ever cried into). Amidst some of best selections on Ella's Decca albums, Jenkins' dated tone is uncharacteristic of the infectious and timeless tracks on which Ella collaborated only a couple years later. Here, Ella's flaw (pardon the oxymoron) is that she hadn't quite reached the peak of maturity in her intonation - a point that has no bearing in any other setting. Ironically, during the subsequent 1950's and the early 1960's, Ella more expressed an indomitable spirit, youth and zing. While the record is no match for the ultra-sophisticated and exquisite tracks Ella recorded with Frank DeVol and Stan Getz, the Jenkins teaming is a fun entree to the time in which it was recorded. Jenkins' over-the-top heavy-handedness keeps the listener coming back due to Ella's constantly tasteful and perfect counterpoint."