Fine and Mellow
Editorial Reviews
Album Details
Digitally Remastered Double CD with Extensive Liner Notes.
Fine and Mellow, Music, Carmen McRae, Jazz, Jazz Music, Pop, Standards, Traditional Pop, United States of America, Vocal Jazz
Average customer rating:
|
Song Hits from Theatreland/Film Encores
Manufacturer: Fine & Mellow
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
All Works by Porter
| Porter, Cole
| ( P )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Rodgers, Richard
| ( R )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
All Works by Weill
| Weill, Kurt
| ( W )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Film Scores
| Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music
| Forms & Genres
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Chamber Music
| Forms & Genres
| Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General Modern
| Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Vocal & Song
| Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Italy
| Continental Europe
| Europe
| International
| Styles
| Music
General
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
Modern & 20th Century
| Historical Periods
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
General
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
General
| Easy Listening
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Orchestral Pop
| Easy Listening
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
General
| Vocal Pop
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Movie Soundtracks
| Soundtracks
| Styles
| Music
General
| Soundtracks
| Styles
| Music
Solo Instrumental
| New Age
| Styles
| Music
Pop
| Imports
| Stores
| Music
ASIN: B000OLHFAI
Release Date: 2007-04-30 |
Tracks:
- Carousel/If I Loved You
- Kiss Me Kate/Wunderbar
- Guys and Dolls/I've Never Been in Love Before
- Pal Joey/Bewitched
- Paint Your Wagon/I Talk to the Trees
- South Pacific/Some Enchanted Evening
- Oklahoma/Out of My Dreams
- Kismet/Stranger in Paradise
- Can Can/C'est Magnifique
- Brigadoon/Almost Like Being in Love
- King and I/Hello Young Lovers
- Annie Get Your Gun/They Say It's Wonderful
- My Foolish Heart/My Foolish Heart
- Unchained/Unchained Melody
- Wizard of Oz/Over the Rainbow
- Summertime/Summertime in Venice
- Intermezzo/Intermezzo
- Three Coins in the Fountain/Three Coins in the Fountain
- Love Is a Many Splendoured Thing/Love Is a Many Splendoured Thing
- Laura/Laura
- High Noon/High Noon
- Lili/Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo
- Knickerbacker Holiday/September Song
- Limelight/Theme from 'Limelight'
Album Description
2007 release from the celebrated Mantovani featuring two complete LPs on one CD: Song Hits From Theatreland (1955) and Film Encores (1957). 24 tracks total.
Album Details
2007 Issued Digitally Remastered Edition with Two Original Complete LPs on a Single CD. "Song Hits from Theatreland" (For the First Time Ever on CD) and "Film Encores" Are Classic Gems from Mantovani's Vast Discography. As the Original Liner Notes Attest, "Although his Music is Acclaimed Enthusiastically by Audiences in Europe, Africa and America and the Sales of his Recordings Are Among the Largest in the World, Mantovani Still Remains the Same Modest, Charming Personality and One of the Best-liked Men in British Popular Music. But the Secret of Mantovani's Success Lies in the Fact that He is a Complete Musician: A Gifted Violinist, an Inspired Conductor, and a Brilliant Orchestrator. A Fabulously Successful Tour of the United States and Canada in the Autumn of 1956 Saw Mantovani Cover 14,000 Road-miles and Play 64 Concerts, Ending with Three at New York's Famous Carnegie Hall".
Average customer rating:
- Exciting ensemble recording, with McRae as band singer.
|
Fine and Mellow: Live at Birdland West
Carmen McRae
Manufacturer: Concord Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Traditional Jazz General
| Traditional Jazz & Ragtime
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Vocal Jazz General
| Vocal Jazz
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Traditional Vocal Pop
| Broadway & Vocalists
| Styles
| Music
General
| Vocal Pop
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Traditional Pop
| Oldies
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
General
| Jazz
| Indie Music
| Stores
| Music
Vocal Jazz
| Jazz
| Indie Music
| Stores
| Music
Traditional & Vocal Pop
| Pop
| Indie Music
| Stores
| Music
Similar Items:
- The Art of Carmen McRae/For Once in My Life
- Any Old Time
- Live at Century Plaza
- The Carmen McRae-Betty Carter Duets (Live at the Great American Music Hall)
- Look What I Got
ASIN: B0000006GT
Release Date: 1990-10-25 |
Tracks:
- What Is This Thing Called Love
- What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry
- Fine And Mellow
- These Foolish Things Remind Me Of You
- Black And Blue
- One More Chance
- Until The Real Thing Comes Along
- My Handy Man Ain't Handy No More
Customer Reviews:
Exciting ensemble recording, with McRae as band singer........2005-12-02
In this 1987 recording from Birdland West, Carmen McRae is less a headliner than she is part of a jazz ensemble as she records this mellow, relaxed album. Co-produced by sax player and band leader Red Holloway, the CD showcases McRae, but her stellar instrumentalists are so talented and have so many solo opportunities that the CD is as much theirs as hers. Holloway is always outstanding on sax, and with Jack McDuff on organ, Phil Upchurch on guitar, John Clayton on bass, and Paul Humphrey on drums, the talent quotient is amazing, with McRae giving them all ample opportunity to do their stuff.
All the songs here are slow, relaxed, and mostly bluesy, with McRae using her voice as an instrument, close in timbre to Holloway's sax, as she varies her vocal strength from loud to soft, often ending with soft diminuendos. Most of the tracks are unusually long, with "One More Chance," the most upbeat and fastest track, lasting a "mere" 4.06 minutes, while all others are five minutes long or longer. Billie Holiday's composition, "Fine and Mellow," the title song, is an incredible 9:31 minutes long, as McRae shares the spotlight with the guitar, sax, organ, and a bowed bass.
"These Foolish Things," a standard, is one of my favorites on the CD, with McRae endowing the lyrics with great meaning while the band keeps its accompaniment unobtrusive until Holloway's wonderful sax solo. By far the most dramatic and impressive track is "Black and Blue," and the protest lyrics and McRae's interpretations, with mournful, sobbing beats, are powerful. As she sings, "Just 'cause you're black, they laugh at you and scorn you," or "When you are near, they laugh and sneer," the audience is completely silent, and when she sings "My only sin is in my skin. What did I do?" no one can help but be profoundly moved. "Handy Man," sung sexy and full of double entendres, which McRae emphasizes through slight hesitations in the lyrics, is a terrific finale for this jazz concert.
Those expecting a McRae extravaganza should be aware that this is a joint effort, with McRae having very little more recording time than do her instrumentalists. Those looking for a fine jazz recording, in which every participant respects and gives way to every other musician, however, will find this a stunning and memorable live performance. n Mary Whipple
Average customer rating:
|
Fine and Mellow
Gene Ammons
Manufacturer: Prestige
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
Bebop General
| Bebop
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Hard Bop
| Bebop
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Soul-Jazz & Boogaloo
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
- Quadromania
- Boss Tenor
- Legends of Acid Jazz
- Preachin'
- Boss Tenors in Orbit (Dlx) (Dig)
ASIN: B0000C3IDJ
Release Date: 2003-09-09 |
Tracks:
- Lady Sings The Blues
- Play Me
- Ben
- Fly Me
- Fuzz
- Fine And Mellow
- Strange Fruit
- Big Bad Jug
- God Bless The Child
- Tin Shack Out Back
- Lady Mama
- I Can't Help Myself
- Lucille
- Papa Was A Rolling Stone
Average customer rating:
- Exciting ensemble recording, with McRae sharing the stage.
|
Fine and Mellow: Live at Birdland West
Carmen McRae
Manufacturer: Jvc Japan
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Traditional Jazz General
| Traditional Jazz & Ragtime
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Vocal Jazz General
| Vocal Jazz
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Traditional Vocal Pop
| Broadway & Vocalists
| Styles
| Music
General
| Vocal Pop
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Traditional Pop
| Oldies
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Jazz
| Imports
| Stores
| Music
ASIN: B000065EE3
Release Date: 2002-05-22 |
Tracks:
- What Is This Thing Called Love?
- What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry
- Fine and Mellow
- These Foolish Things
- Black and Blue
- One More Chance
- Untill the Real Thing Comes Along
- My Handy Man Ain't Handy No More
Album Details
20bit K2 Digitally Remastered Japanese Limited Edition in an LP-STYLE Slipcase.
Customer Reviews:
Exciting ensemble recording, with McRae sharing the stage........2005-12-31
In this 1987 recording from Birdland West, Carmen McRae is less a headliner than she is part of a jazz ensemble as she records this mellow, relaxed album. Co-produced by sax player and band leader Red Holloway, the CD showcases McRae, but her stellar instrumentalists are so talented and have so many solo opportunities that the CD is as much theirs as hers. Holloway is always outstanding on sax, and with Jack McDuff on organ, Phil Upchurch on guitar, John Clayton on bass, and Paul Humphrey on drums, the talent quotient is amazing, with McRae giving them all ample opportunity to do their stuff.
All the songs here are slow, relaxed, and mostly bluesy, with McRae using her voice as an instrument, close in timbre to Holloway's sax, as she varies her vocal strength from loud to soft, often ending with soft diminuendos. Most of the tracks are unusually long, with "One More Chance," the most upbeat and fastest track, lasting a "mere" 4.06 minutes, while all others are five minutes long or longer. Billie Holiday's composition, "Fine and Mellow," the title song, is an incredible 9:31 minutes long, as McRae shares the spotlight with the guitar, sax, organ, and a bowed bass.
"These Foolish Things," a standard, is one of my favorites on the CD, with McRae endowing the lyrics with great meaning while the band keeps its accompaniment unobtrusive until Holloway's wonderful sax solo. By far the most dramatic and impressive track is "Black and Blue," and the protest lyrics and McRae's interpretations, with mournful, sobbing beats, are powerful. As she sings, "Just 'cause you're black, they laugh at you and scorn you," or "When you are near, they laugh and sneer," the audience is completely silent, and when she sings "My only sin is in my skin. What did I do?" no one can help but be profoundly moved. "Handy Man," sung sexy and full of double entendres, which McRae emphasizes through slight hesitations in the lyrics, is a terrific finale for this jazz concert.
Those expecting a McRae extravaganza should be aware that this is a joint effort, with McRae having very little more recording time than do her instrumentalists. Those looking for a fine jazz recording, in which every participant respects and gives way to every other musician, however, will find this a stunning and memorable live performance. Mary Whipple
Average customer rating:
- Ruth Brown - Fine & Mellow
|
Fine and Mellow
Ruth Brown
Manufacturer: Fantasy
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Blues
| Styles
| Music
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Vocal Jazz General
| Vocal Jazz
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Classic R&B
| R&B
| Styles
| Music
General
| R&B
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
- R+B = Ruth Brown
- Good Day for the Blues
- Blues on Broadway
- Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean & Other Favorites
- Here's That Rainy Day
ASIN: B000000XE8
Release Date: 1991-11-06 |
Tracks:
- Fine And Mellow
- I Ain't Got Nothin' But The Blues
- A World I Never Made
- Salty Papa Blues
- I'lll Crown In My Own Tears
- Know Me A Kiss
- It's Just A Matter Of Time
- Don't Get Around Much Anymore
- Nothing Takes The Place Of You
- I'll Be Satisfied
Customer Reviews:
Ruth Brown - Fine & Mellow.......2000-11-02
I had never heard of Ruth Brown until I stumbled upon her fortuitously one night back in 1993 at Blues Alley in Washington, DC. - I was very impressed, and moved by her amazing voice. You don't just hear her sing, you feel her passion. This CD has some very good tracks: #6, "Knock me a Kiss"; #8, Don't get around much anymore; #9, "Nothing Takes the Place of You" - her vocals on this track are spectactular; and, #10, "I'll be Satisfied" - incredible Hammond B-3 organ. If you like good quality jazz/blues vocals, this will "satisfy".
Average customer rating:
- A great, relatively cheap prewar Holiday set
|
Fine & Mellow: 1935-1941
Billie Holiday
Manufacturer: Indigo UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
Classic Female Vocal Blues
| Blues
| Styles
| Music
Traditional Blues
| Blues
| Styles
| Music
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Swing General
| Swing Jazz
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Traditional Jazz General
| Traditional Jazz & Ragtime
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Vocal Jazz General
| Vocal Jazz
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Traditional Vocal Pop
| Broadway & Vocalists
| Styles
| Music
General
| Vocal Pop
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Traditional Pop
| Oldies
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
CDs $7 - $10
| Jazz General
| Jazz
| Today's Deals in Music
| Formats
| Music
CDs $7 - $10
| Vocal Jazz
| Jazz
| Today's Deals in Music
| Formats
| Music
All Bargain Titles
| Vocal Jazz
| Jazz
| Today's Deals in Music
| Formats
| Music
General
| Jazz
| Indie Music
| Stores
| Music
Vocal Jazz
| Jazz
| Indie Music
| Stores
| Music
ASIN: B000007ZHW
Release Date: 1995-09-15 |
Tracks:
- What a Little Moonlight Can Do - Billie Holiday, Teddy Wilson
- I Cried for You - Johnny Hodges, Billie Holiday
- No Regrets - Bunny Berigan, Billie Holiday, Artie Shaw
- Billie's Blues - Bunny Berigan, Billie Holiday, Artie Shaw
- Summertime - Bunny Berigan, Billie Holiday, Artie Shaw
- He Ain't Got Rhythm - Billie Holiday, Teddy Wilson
- This Year's Kisses - Billie Holiday, Teddy Wilson
- I Must Have That Man! - Billie Holiday, Teddy Wilson
- My Last Affair - Henry "Red" Allen, Billie Holiday
- Mean to Me - Buck Clayton, Billie Holiday, Lester Young
- Foolin' Myself - Buck Clayton, Billie Holiday, Lester Young
- Easy Living - Buck Clayton, Billie Holiday, Lester Young
- I'll Never Be the Same - Buck Clayton, Billie Holiday, Lester Young
- Me, Myself and I - Buck Clayton, Billie Holiday, Lester Young
- Trav'lin' All Alone - Buster Bailey, Billie Holiday, Lester Young
- When You're Smiling - Billie Holiday, Teddy Wilson, Lester Young
- Back in Your Own Backyard - Billie Holiday, Lester Young
- Fine and Mellow - Billie Holiday, Frankie Newton, Tab Smith
- Them There Eyes - Billie Holiday, Charlie Shavers
- Man I Love - Billie Holiday
- All of Me - Shad Collins, Billie Holiday, Lester Young
- God Bless the Child - Roy Eldridge, Billie Holiday
- I Cover the Waterfront - Emmett Berry, Billie Holiday, Teddy Wilson
- Strange Fruit - Billie Holiday
Customer Reviews:
A great, relatively cheap prewar Holiday set.......2001-01-09
This set is probably the best one-CD overview of Billie's work in the 1930s and 1940s, a slight improvement over the Columbia Greatest Hits collection. It includes Strange Fruit, God Bless the Child, and most of the other predictable favorites. It also gives you a good spectrum of her sound with Teddy Wilson and Lester Young, her primary collaborators in this period. And unlike most of the postwar (especially Verve) collections, her voice is still pretty good on these early records, so that you can listen for tone as well as phrasing.
Average customer rating:
|
Fine and Mellow
Carrie Smith
Manufacturer: Audiophile
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Blues
| Styles
| Music
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Swing General
| Swing Jazz
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
General
| Vocal Pop
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
General
| Blues
| Indie Music
| Stores
| Music
General
| Jazz
| Indie Music
| Stores
| Music
Vocal Jazz
| Jazz
| Indie Music
| Stores
| Music
Similar Items:
- Confessin' the Blues
ASIN: B000001UQ3
Release Date: 1995-12-01 |
Tracks:
- The Lady Sings The Blues
- Miss Brown To You
- I Cover The Waterfront
- Mandy Is Two
- Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)
- Billie's Blues (Fine And Mellow)
- Don't Explain
- I Cried For You
- Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good To You?
- Willow Weep For Me
- Sometimes I'm happy
- God Bless The Child
- Small Fry
- One Morning In May
- The Nearness Of You
- My Resistance Is Low
- Rockin' Chair
- Lazybones
- Moon Country
- Ivy
- Skylark
- I Get Along Without You Very Well
- Georgia On My Mind
Customer Reviews:
VERY INTIMATE RECORDING.......2002-09-17
THis album is my first time listening to this singer as I know that she mainly does blues...if u like your jazz straight ahead with no frills...this one is for you..great renditions done straight from the heart
Average customer rating:
|
Fine and Mellow/Save Your Love for Me
Etta Jones
Manufacturer: Muse Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Vocal Jazz General
| Vocal Jazz
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Traditional Vocal Pop
| Broadway & Vocalists
| Styles
| Music
General
| Vocal Pop
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
ASIN: B000000GOB
Release Date: 1994-03-17 |
Tracks:
- I Laughed at Love
- My Foolish Heart
- I May Be Wrong (But I Think You're Wonderful)
- I Want a Little Boy
- Don't Worry 'Bout Me
- Orange Colored Sky
- Fine and Mellow
- Save Your Love for Me
- One I Love (Bleongs to Somebody Else)
- Gerogia on My Mind
- My Man
- Man That Got Away
- Let's Beat out Some Love
- Stardust
- East of the Sun (And West of the Moon)
Customer Reviews:
LETS BEAT OUT SOME LOVE.......2003-06-23
Ms Etta Jones sure does beat out some love on this two for one recording...in fact im listening to it right now. What a glorious voice this lady has/had. I have all her muse/highnote recordings.
Her versions of classics become her very own. Good vocal jazz singing never gets much better than this. If you havent discovered Ms Etta Jones then u are missing a real treat. Sadly missed, however the voice will linger on.
Average customer rating:
- Great Ruins
- Ella Still Has IT --- A Great Recording and Worthy Effort
- There's nothing mellow about Ella's best on Pablo!
- Ella's best from the 70s
- Ella was getting old, but she could still swing!
|
Fine and Mellow
Ella Fitzgerald
Manufacturer: Pablo
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Swing General
| Swing Jazz
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Traditional Jazz General
| Traditional Jazz & Ragtime
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Vocal Jazz General
| Vocal Jazz
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
General
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
General
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
General
| Vocal Pop
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Traditional Pop
| Oldies
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Traditional Vocal Pop
| Broadway & Vocalists
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
- West
ASIN: B000000XJI
Release Date: 1990-10-25 |
Tracks:
- Fine & Mellow
- I'm Just A Lucky So & So
- (I Don't Stand) A Ghost Of A Chance With You
- Rockin' In Rhythm
- I'm In The Mood For Love
- 'Round Midnight
- I Can't Give You Anything But Love
- The Man I Love
- Polka Dots And Moonbeams
Customer Reviews:
Great Ruins.......2006-03-28
By the late 1960s, Ella Fitzgerald had been recorded in almost every conceivable context. Yet there were not many cuts, let alone whole albums, which could truly be called jamming sessions. The gap was finally filled when Ella's long-time manager, Norman Granz, set up a new record company, Pablo, in the early 1970s. The express purpose of the Pablo label was to record major jazz artists jamming, and for the recording date that produced Fine and Mellow Granz assembled a quite amazing constellation of talent. Apart from seasoned Fitzgerald collaborators such as Tommy Flanagan, Ray Brown and Sweets Edison, the octet here includes Zoot Sims, Clark Terry, Lockjaw Davis and Louie Bellson, as well as the guitarist Joe Pass, with whom Ella was to record successfully throughout the 1970s. The result, as you might hope, is an album that is at once electrifying and beautifully laid-back.
If you know Ella primarily from Verve recordings, cut when her vocal sound was unmatched in its bell-like purity, you might be dubious about buying an album pressed in 1974, when her powers were fading. By this stage, it's true, her voice was roughened by age, non-stop touring and ill-health. However, none of her musicality, her sensitivity to lyrics or her musical inventiveness had left her - indeed, they were never to do so - and the sheer vivacity of her performances here make this record a real treasure. Fitzgerald was always a humble artist, what is remarkable here is the way that she works in with the group, a soloist among soloists and emphatically not a vocalist with instrumental backing. If anything, the cracks in the ageing voice ensured that she blended with the four horns and with Joe Pass's moody guitar sound better than she would have done a decade before.
As in Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie! and in Ella's live concert programs, there is a nice variety of material on Fine and Mellow,' though the bluesy tone suggested by the title track is in evidence throughout much of the album. An obvious exception is the barnstorming 'Rockin' in Rhythm,' a blistering musical firecracker which rivals Ella's other, incandescent recording of the number with the Ellington orchestra more than fifteen years before. There is also characteristic Fitzgerald humour in several places - a cheeky exchange with Louie Bellson's laconic drums in 'I'm Just A Lucky So And So' and a delicious scat dialogue with Clark Terry during 'I Can't Give You Anything But Love.' At the other end of the spectrum, 'Polka Dots and Moonbeams' is presented as an almost straight ballad, and the art concealing art of which Ella was capable is clearly apparent in 'Round Midnight,' a ravishing song which she had, by this time, really made her own.
With all its variety, there is a satisfying 'wholeness' to this album, and this is surely due to the fact that these nine marvellous musicians were so completely at ease with and so breathtakingly inspired by one another. Such music-making is very close to the warm, human, bluesy heart of jazz. Enjoy.
Ella Still Has IT --- A Great Recording and Worthy Effort.......2005-01-20
The subtitle of this CD reads "Ella Jams", which basically describes this CD. Even at 57 years-old, Ella Fitzgerald still proves she's GOT IT ! Producer Norman Granz (who at this point had been recording Ella for decades) assembles basically the "Cream of the Crop" in the jazz world playing alongside Ella. She definitely rises to the occasion.
The biggest criticism you can throw at Ella is her somewhat lack of "emotionalism" when singing "down and out" material -- the blusier jazz songs. Yes, she could swing with the best of them, but when it came time to sing the blues or songs with a downbeat message, Ella had a problem in her interpretations. With the same material, Ella's contemporary and biggest rival -- Billie Holiday -- exceled with this stuff. But on this CD, Ella proves she can dig far deep into her material. Perhaps at this stage in her long storied career, Ella had reached a point where she could see life from a different perspective, which probably contributed to her newfound interpretation of these songs that maybe she couldn't manage even 10 years earlier.
Nothing demonstrates this better than the title track where Ella tackles the song so identified with (and written by) Billie Holiday --- "Fine and Mellow". This track alone is worth the purchase price. Ella uses her slightly rough-hewn vocals and wide vibrato (both due to age) to great effect. Her jazz guys are simply superb playing alongside her. A gorgeous song sung and played by Ella and her guys. This track loses nothing to the original so well done by Billie in many different interepretations.
It's also refreshing to hear Ella singing in a jazz setting again after countless orchestra recordings (it can get tiring). This context is really where Ella shines, using her jazz improvisational skills and "jamming" with her guys in the studio. Actually this recording doesn't have the feel or sound of a studio. The sound quality is Excellent, more like hearing Ella live in a nightclub or jazz joint. Really a worthwhile effort and one of Ella's best recordings after her glory days at Verve Records in the Fifties and Sixties. By the 1970's, jazz critics were starting to write Ella off, but here in 1974, at 57 years-old, Ella still proves she has what it takes when the occasion presented itself.
All songs on this CD are sung, played and recorded Superbly, but nothing really surpasses the title song, "Fine and Mellow".
There's nothing mellow about Ella's best on Pablo!.......1999-07-24
Ella's voice became thicker and more textured as she got older, and on this 1974 set, recorded while she was still in her mid-50's, is her best post-Verve performance. Her lower timbre not too thick, it added to her vocals just a hint of blues. Ella just jams on this album, every cut a great new interpretation of an old standard, my favorite being "The Man That Got Away" which starts out as a ballad and builds to a swingin' session. Other eye openers are "I'm In The Mood For Love" and "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" in which she and Clark Terry try to outscat each other. It's a wild ride and a tribute to Ella's ever increasing talents as a jazz stylist.
Ella's best from the 70s.......1999-07-21
Recorded in 1974, this is Ella Fitzgerald's best recording from the 1970s. It's similar to "Clap Hands Here Comes Charlie" in featuring her in a strictly jazz setting, although one that is more noisy and rambunctious. Her accompaniment is among the best ever with Joe Pass, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Zoot Sims, Tommy Flanagan, Ray Brown and Louie Bellson. Ella scats up a storm on "Rocking in Rhythm," and this version, in my view, is superior to the one found on the fabled "Duke Ellington Songbook." Another highlight is when Clark Terry joins Ella for a dual "scatfest" on "I Can't Give You Anything But Love." He darn near outdoes Ella!
Ella was getting old, but she could still swing!.......1999-04-05
Looking at the tracks on this CD, you'd think it was the same old thing. It's not! Take "Lucky So-and-So" for example--so many have done it, and Ella has done it many times, but it's done here with such style, such class, and such a beat, it's a whole new song! These great old songs were reworked to showcase Ella with percussion. It works so well, I can't help but dance. My favorites are "Round Midnight", "The Man I Love" and as mentioned above, "Lucky So-and-So".
Average customer rating:
- Fine and Mellow: Singer, repertoire and acompanists...
|
Fine and Mellow
Mary Stallings
Manufacturer: Clarity Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Traditional Jazz General
| Traditional Jazz & Ragtime
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Vocal Jazz General
| Vocal Jazz
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Traditional Vocal Pop
| Broadway & Vocalists
| Styles
| Music
General
| Vocal Pop
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Traditional Pop
| Oldies
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
General
| Jazz
| Indie Music
| Stores
| Music
Vocal Jazz
| Jazz
| Indie Music
| Stores
| Music
Traditional & Vocal Pop
| Pop
| Indie Music
| Stores
| Music
Similar Items:
- Manhattan Moods
- Live at the Village Vanguard
- Remember Love
- Cal Tjader Plays, Mary Stallings Sings
- I Waited for You
ASIN: B00000080R
Release Date: 1995-04-16 |
Tracks:
- Fine And Mellow
- Social Call
- If You Went Away
- Dream Dancing
- You'll See
- Lover, Come Back To Me
- Sunny
- Lazy Afternoon
- Out Of This World
- For All We Know
Customer Reviews:
Fine and Mellow: Singer, repertoire and acompanists..........2000-02-21
How lucky I was that this was one of the first blues records I purchased! Since then, it has attained tenuere in my list of records that get plaeyed consistently. Just listen to the title song and "You'll See" what I mean... and enjoy...
Music:
- Finishing the Act [Cast Recording]
- Fred Hersch: Nourishing The Caregiver
- Golden Hits [Import]
- Great [Import] [Original recording remastered]
- Greatest Hits, Vol. 3
- Green Green Grass of Home
- I'm Gonna Be Warm this Winter (Singin' in Japanese) [Import]
- In Montreux [Import] [Live]
- Isn't It A Shame
- Joe Williams & Friends
Music
Music