Ella Fitzgerald

If you are an Ella fan then this is a must for you...IMHO this is the best live performance ever by Ella....As I have said before I have seen her 5 times in the 60's/70's...BUT I would have loved to be in this audience in 1956...The comunication with the audience is MAGIC MAGIC !!

So why did this recording sit in the vault for over 60 years?

The enchanting archival live album, Ella at Zardi's, finds legendary jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald in concert at the famed Los Angeles club Zardi's in February of 1956. No random session, the Zardi's show was captured in the wake of producer Norman Granz founding his then-newly minted label Verve Records for the sole purpose of recording Fitzgerald. While the singer had long been under Granz's management, in his estimation she had languished at Decca, suffering under the label's choice of average songs and poor promotion. In moving Fitzgerald to Verve, Granz sought to showcase her virtuosic talent on record much in the same way that he had with the vibrant Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts since the mid-'40s.While all of her talent is on display here, the charm of the album is just how intimate, low-key, and seemingly off-the-cuff everything sounds. Backing Fitzgerald with urbane sensitivity is pianist Don Abney, bassist Vernon Alley, and drummer Frank Capp.The result is a breezy cabaret vibe with Fitzgerald fielding requests from the audibly enthusiastic audience. Included are many of her most well-known songbook standards at that point, including such standouts as "Tenderly," "How High the Moon," and "I Can't Give You Anything But Love." She even offers up an exuberantly swinging reading of her signature 1938 original hit "A-Tisket, A-Tasket,"....Ella's dazzling vocal skills, that make Ella at Zardi's such a magical experience.

             Edited Review By Matt Collar From AllMusic

 The Zardi’s recording has great historic importance, as it is undoubtedly the earliest authorized recording of Ella Fitzgerald working in a nightclub....Zardi’s, located on Hollywood Boulevard, was one of the popular jazz spots in 1950s Los Angeles.

      4. Airmail Special.......(Wow!.. what a performance nobody does Scat Like Ella !)