Ella & Louis Again

by Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong

Overview

Over the years, there have been different incarnations of Ella and Louis Again, which has been a single LP, a two-LP set, a single CD, and a two-CD audiophile set from Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab. There are no compelling reasons why someone who already owns the audiophile version of Ella and Louis Again that Mobile Fidelity put out in 1995 would find this 2003 version to be an essential purchase -- Verve hasn't added any alternate takes or bonus tracks, and this double CD contains the very same selections in the very same order. Nonetheless, Verve's 2003 version is a nicely assembled reissue -- very nicely, in fact. From attractive packaging to excellent digital remastering, Verve treats Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong's 1957 duets with the respect they deserve. Verve maintains Norman Granz' original liner notes -- a wise move -- but they have also added insightful new liner notes by John Sinclair. And the performances, of course, are first-rate. Stylistically, singer Fitzgerald and trumpeter/singer Armstrong had very different histories; he started out in Dixieland before branching out into classic jazz and swing, whereas Fitzgerald started out as a swing-oriented big-band vocalist before becoming an expert bebopper. But the two of them have no problem finding common ground on Ella and Louis Again, which is primarily a collection of vocal duets (with the backing of a solid rhythm section led by pianist Oscar Peterson). One could nit-pick about the fact that Satchmo doesn't take more trumpet solos, but the artists have such a strong rapport as vocalists that the trumpet shortage is only a minor point. Seven selections find either Fitzgerald or Armstrong singing without the other, although they're together more often than not on this fine reissue. ~ Alex Henderson

Product Details

Release Date:	03/08/2024
Label:	Universal Import
UPC:	4988031621523
Rank:	10702

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Ella Fitzgerald   Primary Artist,Vocals
Louis Armstrong   Primary Artist,Vocals,Trumpet
Oscar Peterson   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Piano
Ray Brown   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Bass
Louie Bellson   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Drums
Herb Ellis   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Guitar

Technical Credits

Norman Granz   Original Recording Producer,Producer,Liner Notes,Original Liner Notes
Otto Harbach   Composer
Harold Arlen   Composer
Cole Porter   Composer
Chick Webb   Composer
Duke Ellington   Composer
Benny Goodman   Composer
Delores Vicki Silvers   Composer
Edgar Sampson   Composer
Ella Fitzgerald   Composer,Performer
Walter Donaldson   Composer
George Gershwin   Composer
Ira Gershwin   Composer
Charles Tobias   Composer
Lew Brown   Composer
Mitchell Parish   Composer
Gus Kahn   Composer
Harry Link   Composer
Ted Koehler   Composer
Jimmy McHugh   Composer
Don Redman   Composer
Dorothy Fields   Composer
Oscar Hammerstein II   Composer
Holt Marvell   Composer
Sam H. Stept   Composer
Ann Ronell   Composer
Andriamanantena Paul Razafinkarefo   Composer
Louis Armstrong   Performer
Dennis Drake   Remastering,Digital Remastering
Richard Seidel   CD Preparation,Reissue Engineer
Val Valentin   Engineer
Jerome Kern   Composer
Andy Razaf   Composer
Vernon Duke   Composer
Irving Berlin   Composer
Jack Strachey   Composer