Ella in Rome: Birthday Concert
This live recording captures an exceptional performance from 1958, with a broad selection of standards that digs into the Songbooks that Ella Fitzgerald was then immersed in. Duke Ellington is prominent in the repertoire, with versions of "Sophisticated Lady" and "Caravan," as well as the lesser-known "Just Squeeze Me." There are nods as well to George and Ira Gershwin, with "A Foggy Day" and "I Loves You, Porgy," and Cole Porter, with Fitzgerald soaring on "Just One of Those Things" and "It's All Right with Me." The accompaniment is both perfectly supportive and unobtrusive, with Ella's working trio of Lou Levy on piano, Max Bennett on bass, and Gus Johnson on drums supplying just what's needed on ballads and up-tempo swing tunes alike. The birthday party ends with Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, and Herb Ellis joining Fitzgerald and Johnson for a high-spirited "Stompin' at the Savoy."--Stuart Broomer