Get Happy
Ella Fitzgerald was at her creative peak in the late '50s, with a supremely flexible voice and absolute confidence in the way she could use it. This album collects tracks from several recording sessions between 1957 and 1959, and while the arrangements change from one session to another, the material is all connected by Fitzgerald's sheer high spirits. Predominantly up-beat, the selections range from swing-era rhythm tunes like "Beat Me, Daddy, Eight to the Bar" and "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" to period ephemera likeAndre Previn's "Like Young." There are frequently heard standards, like "Moonlight Becomes You" and "Blue Skies," as well asTadd Dameron's beautiful "Cool Breeze" from the bop era. Whatever the quality of some of this material, however,Get Happy!is a pure celebration of one of the great voices in music. --Stuart Broomer