Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Jerome Kern Song Book (2013)

For the seventh album in her celebrated Song Book series, Ella Fitzgerald tackled classic melodies written for Broadway and Hollywood by Jerome Kern, the grandfather of the modern musical comedy, with backing by the orchestra of Nelson Riddle, the dean of Hollywood pop-jazz arrangers. The album was recorded on January 5-7, 1963 at Radio Recorders Studio 10H in Los Angeles and features some of the best studio musicians of the time, including Don Fagerquist (trumpet), Plas Johnson (tenor saxophone), and Wilbur Schwartz (clarinet). For lovers of good songs and good singing, Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Song Book is a triple treat.
Ella Fitzgerald is rightfully adored for her superb, often-definitive interpretations of Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Rodgers & Hart, and Gershwin tunes, which are well documented in her Song Book series. The addition of Sings the Jerome Kern Song Book to Fitzgerald's discography is welcome. Recorded in 1963, the album proves Fitzgerald's voice as golden as ever. Yet age was beginning to color her singing a bit, and that texture adds a beautiful dimension to songs like the dark "Why Was I Born?" and the yearning "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man." Nelson Riddle's charts are typically smart and swinging, with a lush, full sound that balances punch and lyricism. Fitzgerald's ebullient delivery and honey-rich timbre bring out the humor of "A Fine Romance," the wistfulness of "I'm Old Fashioned," and the tender romance of "The Way You Look Tonight," putting her distinctive stamp on each. It's sure to please fans of Kern and big-band standards, and for aficionados of Fitzgerald's other Song Book albums, this is a must.

Produced by Norman Granz.
Recorded on January 5-7, 1963 at Radio Recorders Studio 10H, Los Angeles.

Tracklist

01 - Let's Begin
02 - A Fine Romance
03 - All The Things You Are
04 - I'll Be Hard To Handle
05 - You Couldn't Be Cuter
06 - She Didn't Say Yes
07 - I'm Old Fashioned
08 - Remind Me
09 - The Way You Look Tonight
10 - Yesterdays
11 - Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man
12 - Why Was I Born?

Ella Fitzgerald - vocals
Robert Bain - guitar
Nathan Ross - violin
Ray Kramer - cello
Plas Johnson - tenor saxophone
Shorty Sherock - trumpet
Dick Nash - trombone
Paul Smith - piano
Joe Comfort - bass
Alvin Stoller - drums
Nelson Riddle Orchestra - Conducted by Nelson Riddle