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The Complete Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong
The Complete Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
Genres: Jazz, Pop, Broadway & Vocalists
 
  •  Track Listings (16) - Disc #1
  •  Track Listings (16) - Disc #2
  •  Track Listings (15) - Disc #3


     
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CD Details

All Artists: Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong
Title: The Complete Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
Members Wishing: 5
Total Copies: 0
Label: Polygram Records
Original Release Date: 5/20/1997
Re-Release Date: 6/16/1997
Album Type: Box set, Limited Edition
Genres: Jazz, Pop, Broadway & Vocalists
Styles: Swing Jazz, Traditional Jazz & Ragtime, Vocal Jazz, Oldies, Vocal Pop, Classic Vocalists, Traditional Vocal Pop
Number of Discs: 3
SwapaCD Credits: 3
UPC: 731453728424

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CD Reviews

A better pairing does not exist.
Eric V. Moye | New York, by way of Dallas | 02/21/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)

"The music gods smiled upon us several decades back when they permitted these two American treasures to pair up to create a number of memorable recordings. Happily, their efforts have been captured and reproduced on disc here. These discs capture the Verve recording sessions that are now legendary.The contrast between the two of them is phenomenal. These contain Ella Fitzgerald when her voice was at its very strongest, and it was as clear as a bell. This contrasts with the unmistakable rasp that comes from Louis, but also is complemented by some of the most dynamic trumpet work this side of heaven. There is a wonderful juxtaposition of the two of them when they close out "Tenderly", and Louis scats and Ella's voice mimics his wonderfully identifiable voice."A Fine Romance", "They Can't Take That Away From Me" and "Stompin at the Savoy" are but a few of the classics here. Of course, nothing in the world is like their duet on the Gershwin classic "Summertime", which alone makes this worth the price of the set. These two classics together that cannot be beat."
A note about missing songs...
Eric J. Lyman | 12/02/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ella & Louis never recorded Baby' it's Cold Outside together. Luois taped that with Velma Middleton. Many, many people get that mixed up, so that is NOT mising because it never was..."
Amazing Chemistry Makes These Tracks Shine
James Morris | Jackson Heights, NY United States | 12/13/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am quite sure that there are few duets of any musical genre, regardless of the artists, that can easily match the magical chemistry that these two performers exhibit on these wonderful tracks. I could be wrong, but I believe that much of the magic is due to the total musicality of Louis Armstrong, a giant personality who could probably duet with anyone and have the results cook. There is, I believe, an equal chemistry on the two tracks that Louis Armstrong recorded with Billie Holiday for Decca.



Not that there is anything wrong with Ella, long known as the First lady of Song -she's one of my favorites, and with good reason. The tracks that are presented on the "Complete" Ella and Louis - as others have noted, these are only the complete VERVE tracks - are utterly sublime. There is not a bad performance among them. As long as people are mentioning their favorite track, mine is Stars Fell on Alabama, but that just happens to be a personal preference.



Many have mentioned the Ella / Louis Decca duets. There is an import CD by Blue Moon Records called "Ella and Satchmo" which contains numerous solo tracks by both Ella and Louis, and five of their Decca duets (I don't know if there are more - I wish Decca would put out a CD of the complete Ella / Louis duets). For those who may be interested, the duet tracks on the Blue Moon release are Would You Like to Take a Walk, Dream a Little Dream of Me, Frim Fram Sauce, You Won't Be Satisfied (Until You Break My Heart) and Can Anyone Explain. Well worth the investment, since the performances (if not the accompaniment) are equal to the later Verve duets. Some of the solo tracks are quite interesting as well."