1950 - Ella Sings Gershwin

WHAT NYMITH SAYS

This is fine, gentlemanly entertainment from start to finish, just as you'd expect from the great Ella Fitzgerald. Ella Sings Gershwin was her first album, backed by Ellis Larkins on the piano, and singing...well, the songs of Gershwin. Eight of them. For this reason, her first and second albums are combined as a CD called Pure Ella - if you want to hear this record, that's the place to go. It's not necessarily a great place to start listening to her, though, as the result is overwhelmingly staid: immaculate, elegant and restrained. Larkins never revves it up, even on the fastest song ('My One and Only') which is when you really crave some stomping piano. That's one criticism.

My other is simply a lack of variety. 'My One and Only' is the only fast song ('Looking for a Boy' lacks the natural bounce) and 'But Not For Me' is the only sad song. Everything else is slow, peaceful, optimistic and loving. It's not terribly exciting. Then again, it's still Ella Fitzgerald, so there's not much to complain about. Her singing is perfect and you can't fault a song as tender and elegant as 'Someone to Watch Over Me.'

Lyrically, everything manages to be sentimental and clever at the same time. Ira Gershwin could tell when he was going overboard and then along comes a line like "the world will pardon my mush/cause I've got a crush/my baby/on you" to make you forgive him. And it really does help. There are colourful phrases - best line for me was "with love to lead the way/I've found more clouds of grey/than any Russian play/could guarantee" - and one way or another every song keeps your interest. Though on average I do not find Gershwin's popular songs terribly catchy when compared to, say, the popular songs of Kurt Weill, that might just be the sameness of the treatment they got on Ella Sings Gershwin.

Naturally, if you want Ella at her best, you have to hear her in a more exuberant setting. For my money, nothing beats Ella at Duke's Place (1965 - watch for it!) as a good Fitzgerald introduction, combining her stately and playful sides. Once you've heard that, check out these early albums. They're pretty but only a couple of tracks have individual staying power.

WHAT TICHARU SAYS

Cocktail piano and the perfection of Ella Fitzgerald singing some really well crafted tunes. What's not to love? Sound quality is amazing. This is a very easy record to fall in love with. Listening to Ella, for me her phrasing seems very modern, almost "rock"? I could be way off the mark but that's what I hear. Ella just seems to get it right.

Pure Ella is the disc you're looking for. It's on GRP Records!

"It's not that you're attractive but oh my heart grew active" my favourite line of many.