Ella Fitzgerald's Christmas Album

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
There's rarely--if ever--been another singer like Ella Fitzgerald, whose glowing personality and seamless singing talents always make it sound deceptively easy to sing as beautifully as she did. Cool phrasing, wonderful intonation, and a guileless voice (perfect for Christmas music) were just a few of her vocal trademarks. Fitzgerald's Christmas record (first released in 1967), however, seems geared more toward mainstream fans and thus may disappoint those keener on her jazz orientation. That said, faithful vocal renditions and arrangements of classics such as "O Holy Night" and "O Come All Ye Faithful" find Ella in her simple but elegant, heartfelt best. One could quibble with the schmaltzy backing vocals that color standards like "We Three Kings" and the more playful "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." But with someone like this queen of song leading the mix, you might just find yourself joining in on the chorus. --Martin Keller

Tracks:

O Holy Night
It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
Hark The Herald Angels Sing
Away In The Manger
Joy To The World
The First Noel
Silent Night
O Come All Ye Faithful
Sleep My Little Lord Jesus
Angels We Have Heard On High
O Little Town Of Bethlehem
We Three Kings
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Amazon.com

There's rarely--if ever--been another singer like Ella Fitzgerald, whose glowing personality and seamless singing talents always make it sound deceptively easy to sing as beautifully as she did. Cool phrasing, wonderful intonation, and a guileless voice (perfect for Christmas music) were just a few of her vocal trademarks. Fitzgerald's Christmas record (first released in 1967), however, seems geared more toward mainstream fans and thus may disappoint those keener on her jazz orientation. That said, faithful vocal renditions and arrangements of classics such as "O Holy Night" and "O Come All Ye Faithful" find Ella in her simple but elegant, heartfelt best. One could quibble with the schmaltzy backing vocals that color standards like "We Three Kings" and the more playful "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." But with someone like this queen of song leading the mix, you might just find yourself joining in on the chorus. --Martin Keller

Customer Reviews:

A Holiday Treasure!Ella.......2006-11-07

Ella Fitzgerald's Christmas Album is now my favorite holiday album.Ella has never sounded better on such gems as Silent Night and O Holy Night but my favorite song is The First Noel.Listening to this album will take you back to a simpler time when Christmas meant Our Lord's birthday. No overblown production values just pure,beautiful singing by one of our national treasures,the late Ella Fitzgerald. Definitely 5 stars!!!

Calming Christmas Sounds.......2005-10-28

Each year we tend to make Christmas dreams harder to achieve as we place higher expectations on material goods. If you find yourself stressed this Christmas, make yourself a good cup of joe, light a fire, put Ella Fitzgerald's Christmas Album on, and then snuggle with a loved one. Ella's masterful styling mixed with an unobtrusive choir, reminds us that Christmas is simply about family and Love come down to earth.

Excellent!.......2003-10-08

Ella had perhaps the most beautiful voice of the 20th century, and she brings a wonderful glow to these traditional carols. You can feel the warmth that she radiates... perfect for the Christmas season, or ANY rainy day. I give it only four stars because it's too short! But the music itself gets five. :D

Proof that Ella was indeed a heavenly singer . . ........2001-12-14

This collection of Christmas carols and hymns may not be the most exciting or jazzy Christmas collection, but the genre is well-suited for Ella's beautiful, simple, and well-articulated vocals. Some of the background arrangements may a bit dated, such as "We Three Kings," but since this album is full of "traditional" songs one can look at it as an evocation of nostalgia. (Then it's fun to listen to with a cup of hot cider and a warm sweater.) I would definitely recommend this to Ella fans, especially ones who may not mind when she isn't a purely jazz singer. In any case, the compilation makes for a good variety in a Christmas CD collection.
The CD ends all too soon: the total running time clocks in at just under 30 minutes. I recommend purchasing Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas, too. You'll definitely want more Ella to keep you in that holiday spirit after hearing her lovely voice singing some of your favorite Christmas songs.

Elegant and lovely Ã` but not as good as her jazz album........2001-11-17

Ella Fitzgerald had it all as a singer Ñ gorgeous tone, perfect diction, great phrasing, a striking sense of rhythm and, best of all, a sense of play and humor that made her joy to listen to every time. Her jazz Christmas album, Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas, has been one of my favorites for years, so I immediately grabbed this one, made up of religious Christmas music, when I saw it in the store last year.

To be honest, I was a little disappointed. ItÕs not a bad album. Her voice is, as always, lovely. But because of the nature of the material, the things that made Fitzgerald such a joy to hear are missing. How much can you play with O Holy Night? How much heart and soul can even a singer as fine as Fitzgerald find in God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen? The songs, obviously, are timelessly beautiful, and Fitzgerald sings them in elegant and lovely style. But, ironically, youÕll find more of the joyous spirit of Christmas in the secular and jazzy Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas than here.

Music:

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