Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong make for a charming team on this CD. Accompanied by pianist Oscar Peterson, guitarist Herb Ellis, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Buddy Rich, Fitzgerald and Armstrong perform standards with joy and swing. There are touches of Satch's trumpet, but this is primarily a vocal set with the emphasis on tasteful renditions of ballads.
This release contains the complete original Verve LP "Ella & Louis" along with five bonus tracks from its follow-up set "Ella & Louis Again".
Tracklisting:
01. Can't We Be Friends? (James, Swift) (3:45)
02. Isn't This a Lovely Day? (Berlin) (6:14)
03. Moonlight in Vermont (Blackburn, Suessdorf) (3:40)
04. They Can't Take That Away from Me (Gershwin, Gershwin) (4:37)
05. Under a Blanket of Blue (Livingston, Neiburg, Symes) (4:16)
06. Tenderly (Gross, Lawrence) (5:06)
07. A Foggy Day (Gershwin, Gershwin) (4:30)
08. Stars Fell on Alabama (Parish, Perkins) (3:31)
09. Cheek to Cheek (Berlin) (5:51)
10. The Nearness of You (Carmichael, Washington) (5:40)
11. April in Paris (Duke, Harburg) (6:32)
12. Don't Be That Way (Goodman, Parish, Sampson) (5:01) (*) Bonus Track
13. Autumn in New York (Duke) (6:00) (*) Bonus Track
14. Let's Call the Whole Thing Off (Gershwin, Gershwin) (4:15) (*) Bonus Track
15. Love Is Here to Stay (Gershwin, Gershwin) (4:01) (*) Bonus Track
16. Stompin' at the Savoy (Goodman, Razaf, Sampson, Webb) (5:16) (*) Bonus Track
Total time: 78:37 min.
Tracks #1-11 originally issued as Verve MGV 4003.
Personnel: Ella Fitzgerald (vcl), Louis Armstrong (vcl, tp), Oscar Peterson (p), Herb Ellis (g), Ray Brown (b) and Louie Bellson (d). Recorded in Hollywood, on August 16, 1956.
The bonus tracks #12-16 has been taken from "Ella & Louis Again" (Volumes 1 & 2" (Verve MGV 4017 & 4018). Recorded with the same band in Hollywood, on July 23, and August 13, 1957.
