Hidden away for decades, the 2020
Ella Fitzgerald archival release
Ella: The Lost Berlin Tapes showcases the singer in an ebullient live performance in Germany in 1962. The concert was recorded on March 25, 1962, in Berlin's Sportpalast Arena, two years after her classic 1960 concert albums
Mack the Knife: Ella in Berlin and
Ella Returns to Berlin. The main reason for the tapes to have gone unheard for so long was primarily due to
Fitzgerald's manager and
Verve label owner
Norman Granz having left the label by the time they were recorded. Subsequently, they ended up languishing in
Granz's private archive for over 50 years. As on her other Berlin concert albums,
Fitzgerald is joined here by her trio with pianist
Paul Smith, bassist
Wilfred Middlebrooks, and drummer
Stan Levey. The original
Ella in Berlin concert was made famous by
Fitzgerald's rendition of "Mack the Knife," in which she forgot the lyrics and deftly improvised her own to uproarious effect -- something she was known to do periodically throughout her career. On the
Lost Berlin Tapes,
Fitzgerald again tackles the Threepenny Opera standard, diving into the song with her characteristically diamond-tipped vocal prowess. Performed at a briskly swinging pace and punctuated by a humorous aside to the earlier
Bobby Darin and
Louis Armstrong versions, this "Mack the Knife" is fairly definitive, besting both the
Ella in Berlin and
Ella Returns to Berlin versions in sheer virtuosity. Equally thrilling performances follow, including rousing takes on "My Kind of Boy," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "Taking a Chance on Love," "Mr. Paganini," and more. While the focus of any
Fitzgerald concert is her voice, her trio supplies enthusiastic and nuanced support throughout with
Smith offering a small jazz ensemble's worth of riffs to frame her vocals. With the discovery of
Ella: The Lost Berlin Tapes, fans now have a triumvirate of stellar live German concerts from
Fitzgerald, each one showcasing just how immensely dazzling and quick-witted she could be. ~ Matt Collar