Ella & Louis (and Oscar Too)

In August 1956 two good friends went into a Los Angeles studio with four other respected jazz musicians to record what was to become something very special.
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong had come to record an album of duets and they were joined by the Oscar Peterson Trio (Peterson on piano, Ray Brown on bass and Herb Ellis on guitar) and drummer Buddy Rich.
Both Louis and Ella were at the peak of their powers and despite coming from very different musical backgrounds had become firm friends. Louis' background was in Dixieland and classic jazz whereas Ella began her career as a big band vocalist moving on to become the queen of bebop singers. Despite this the empathy between them shines through on these wonderful recordings.
The resulting album, "Ella and Louis" was released later that year and is primarily a vocal album although Armstrong's distinctive trumpet does appear sporadically. The album consisted of standards performed in a relaxed but upbeat manner that reflects the fun they obviously had recording together. Louis' distinctive bass singing perfectly complimented Ella who was blessed with a beautiful and wide ranging voice and excellent elocution. She really loved singing and that joy always broke through even on the saddest melodies.
The album opened with Irving Berlins "Cheek To Cheek" which was probably the most upbeat track on the album. From then on it was it was mellow and intimate versions of classic ballads with the great pair singing as one. There is real warmth between the pair here and because of this tracks such as "Tenderly" and "Cheek To Cheek" positively glow.
One year later they were back in the studio. Once again they were joined by the Oscar Peterson Trio but Buddy Rich was replaced by Louis Bellson on drums. Again the pair excelled and the resulting album was simply entitled "Ella and Louis Again". This was a more up tempo affair that included their renditions of more classics such as Cole Porters "I Get A Kick Out Of You" and Irving Berlins "I'm Puttin' All My Eggs In One Basket" Once again Satchmo's trumpet doesn't feature much but it doesn't really need to ! This album stood tall in its own right and was far from a poor follow up affair. Highlights included the Gershwin's
"Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" and Kern & Fields' "A Fine Romance"
Let's not ignore Peterson's contribution to these albums. His easy swing style perfectly complimented the songs selected for these albums and The Trio always worked as an incredibly unified whole. His intuitive backing helped create the atmosphere where the two stars could excel.
Also included on this double disc set are other tracks recorded at these sessions which didn't make it to the album release. These are gems in their own right and have been released on various re-issues of the originals. Included among these are classic versions of, among others, "I Won't Dance" and
"Makin' Whoopee".
They also recorded and released the definitive album of
Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess" but that was a much more formal project than the results of these more spontaneous sessions. It stands as a testament to these two great artists that their versions of these great songs are now considered to be the definitive ones.
- Diarmuid Brophy 2008