It’s the time of year for saving money!
By Mark Smotroff
In the universe of great singers, Ella Fitzgerald sits high on the list for many fans of jazz vocalists if not “the” top. For me personally, I’ve long held Sarah Vaughan as my #1 favorite with Billie Holiday a close second. I’ve always enjoyed Ella’s voice but there have been times when the choice of material or production aesthetics haven’t presented her in the best possible light (at least to my personal taste). I have always found this inconsistency surprising in some ways.
Again, I’m just talking about my personal preferences here, folks. Not making any sort of generalized judgement. Others will likely disagree with me and that is ok. There is plenty of room for us all to have our favorites, perspectives which can change over time.
Case in point, two albums which I’ve owned over the years but haven’t spent enough time with have lately gone a long way to erase at least one preconception that has long bothered me. It seemed that for every great Ella recording, there were many bland offerings. I’ve tended to lean toward her pairings with other artists which always seemed to bring out her best. Particularly, I’m talking about those seminal recordings made with Louis Armstrong as well as her collaborations with Duke Ellington — they are simply the tops!
Verve Label Group and Universal Music Enterprises in conjunction with Acoustic Sounds have recently reissued two somewhat under-the-radar Ella Fitzgerald albums which — hearing in Stereo for the first time and in pristine quality — have enabled me to better connect with Ella and her music to the point that I have to re-think my past perspectives.
Both reissues have been supervised by Acoustic Sounds’ CEO Chad Kassem and both have been remastered from original master tapes by two of the best mastering engineers out there: Bernie Grundman (Grundman Mastering) and Ryan Smith (Sterling Sound). The pressings from Quality Record Pressing are exemplary, 180-grams thick, deep dark black, dead quiet and well centered. And the packaging is arguably finer than the originals – both albums now appear in laminated gatefold form — by Stoughton Printing Co. featuring classic style “tip-on” jackets — with lovely period photos gracing the inner spread. Each album comes housed in an audiophile grade plastic inner-sleeve.
While these albums are not especially rare on the used market, as with most of vinyl from the period, finding genuinely clean and good sounding originals is always the challenge. Even the most fastidious and obsessive audiophile from back in the day seemed to inevitably scuff up their records somehow (probably during a party or after a few drinks, if I might leverage a cliché).
So, instead of knocking yourself out looking for a Unicorn-rare mint “OG” (as some collectors call original pressings these days), you might be wise to just plunk down the very reasonable 30 or so bucks for these new Verve Acoustic Sounds reissues and be done with it. They sound and look great! You can find them in your favorite stores likely but also if you click on the title links in this review it will take you to Amazon where you can easily order them.
Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie
The 1961 Verve Records release Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie finds Ella at her swingin’ “jazzy” best, immersed in a batch of classics including tunes from the Be Bop era and beyond such as Dizzy Gillespie’s “A Night In Tunisia,” Thelonious Monk’s “‘Round Midnite,” and Victor Young’s “Stella By Starlight.”
Here, Ella is singing soulfully and bluesy, and there is almost a sense of release and relief apparent after so many years of crafting those excellent but fairly structured “songbook” series releases in the 1950s as well as her brilliant 1959 interpretation of Porgy & Bess with Louis Armstrong. These are looser and freer sounding performances.
Perhaps most significantly, I was taken by her version of “Cry Me A River,” a song which became a Top 10 smash for Julie London in 1955. Frankly, the only reason I keep Julie London’s debut album (with this hit on it) is for Barney Kessel’s guitar accompaniment (sorry folks, I don’t consider Julie an especially great singer, though she does quite well on that debut). Ella Fitzgerald’s 1961 version is just so much better, backed by a fine quartet that includes guitar legend Herb Ellis.
And here is a pleasant surprise I learned from the internet: “Cry Me A River” was originally written for Ella! This detail totally makes sense and you can hear Ella slipping into the song like putting on a pair of custom made kid-leather gloves.
Production wise, Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie sounds very much like a then-modern 1960s recording despite the vintage material. This is a great reissue and from the Stereo presentation I found it much more engaging and immersive than my old Mono copy. A keeper for sure, this edition was mastered by Bernie Grundman of Bernie Grundman Mastering.
Let No Man Write My Epitaph – From the Acoustic Sounds website we learn some interesting perspective on this release: “Considered one of Ella’s greatest recordings, she’s backed on this 1960 release by pianist Paul Smith. Let No Man Write My Epitaph was a 1960 Hollywood movie featuring Fitzgerald. The album hits at a depth of emotional understanding that critics often complained was missing in Ella’s reading of jazz lyrics, and once again establishes her as one of the supreme interpreters of the Great American Songbook.”
Indeed, as I was mentioning earlier in this review, this recording has gone a long way to elevate my perspective on Ella’s gifts as as jazz interpreter and vocalist. Clearly she could swing the blues with the best of them and just needed to be given the opportunity to let that side of her personality come through.
Here on Let No Man Write My Epitaph she delivers fine interpretations of classics like “September Song,” “One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)” and “Black Coffee” (which was a chart hit for Sarah Vaughan in 1948 and was the title for Peggy Lee’s debut album).
These bare-bones vocal-and-piano performances are striking, delivering an outstanding soundtrack for the 1960 noir crime drama of the same name. The film, by the way, stars not only Burl Ives, Shelley Winters, James Darren, Jean Seberg, and Ricardo Montalbán but also Ella Fitzgerald herself who plays the role of Flora, a lounge pianist at a bar, a central location in the film.
Let No Man Write My Epitaph is a great album. If you are like me and long wished to hear Ella performing untethered to an orchestra in a jazz setting, this album is essential. The album was mastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound.
[Mark Smotroff has been reviewing music at AudiophileReview for many years but can also be found at AnalogPlanet.com. In the past he has written for Sound & Vision, DISCoveries, EQ, Mix and many more. An avid vinyl collector and music enthusiast who has also worked in marketing communications for decades you can learn more about his background at LinkedIn.]
Track Listings
Side A
1. Black Coffee
2. Angel Eyes
3. I Cried For You
4. I Can’t Give You Anything But Love
5. Then You’ve Never Been Blue
6. I Hadn’t Anyone Till You
7. My Melancholy Baby
Side B
1. Misty
2. September Song
3. One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)
4. Who’s Sorry Now
5. I’m Getting Sentimental Over You
6. Reach For Tomorrow
Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie
Side A
1. A Night In Tunisia
2. You’re My Thrill
3. My Reverie
4. Stella By Starlight
5. ‘Round Midnight
6. Jersey Bounce
7. Signing Off
Side B
1. Cry Me A River
2. This Year’s Kisses
3. Good Morning Heartache
4. (I Was) Born To Be Blue
5. Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie!
6. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
7. Music Goes Round And Around
