75th Birthday Celebration: The Original Decca Recordings
In the first decades of her career, Ella Fitzgerald took her considerable gifts as a vocalist--near-flawless intonation, precise diction, and a joyous sense of swing--and gradually transformed herself into one of the few great jazz singers, a master of roller-coaster improvisation and a consummate interpreter of standards. This two-CD set is an excellent sampling of her Decca recordings from 1938 to 1955, beginning with "A-Tisket, A-Tasket," the scintillating nonsense song that became her first hit as featured vocalist with Chick Webb's big band. The '40s recordings present Fitzgerald's broadening skills with a cross section of fine performers, including the Mills Brothers and Louis Armstrong, while the '50s are highlighted by her increasingly subtle skills with melodic variation and the nuances of lyrics.--Stuart Broomer