Ella Fitzgerald: Twelve Nights In Hollywood on 4 CDs

Zwölf Nächte trat die legendäre Ella 1961 im Crescendo Club in Los Angeles auf. Nur 12 Titel wurden damals auf der LP »Ella In Hollywood« veröffentlicht, ganze 75 unveröffentlichte Tracks finden sich jetzt hier. Ella live at her best! 4 CDs in reich illustriertem Hardcover-Buch (19 x 19 cm) mit Schutzhülle.

Ella Fitzgerald’s Twelve Nights In Hollywood is an unprecedented release – a 4-CD box set of 73 completely unreleased live recordings from Ella in her relaxed, absolute prime.

For Twelve Nights In Hollywood Verve Select dug into the vault to collect the best performances across her extended 10-night 1961 engagement at Los Angeles’ Crescendo Club – which originally resulted in the hit LP Ella In Hollywood – and her two-night return engagement the following year, presenting an unforgettable experience that puts you right in the front seat at the club. It’s more than a glimpse of Ella at her height, it’s as if you got to hang out at the Crescendo every night; you can hear her joke with the crowd, with the band (led by her longtime pianist Lou Levy), then turn around a jaw-dropping improvisation with seeming ease.

Even if you own Ella In Hollywood – and you should – this box set does not repeat a single performance from the original album, nor does it repeat the single tracks that were issued from the 1962 show; we found fantastic alternates to “Bill Bailey” and “Ol’ Man Mose.”

Twelve Nights In Hollywood includes several tracks Ella had never recorded before, like” I Found A New Baby;” tracks she was recording live for the first time, like “’Round Midnight” and “Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive;” tracks she had just recorded or was about to record in the studio, like “You’re Driving Me Crazy;” and old chestnuts, from “Mr. Paganini” to “A-Tisket, A Tasket,” she revisited in a fresh way.

Thos highlights are just a few of the ones found in Twelve Nights In Hollywood. She delights on “Take The ‘A’ Train.” “Joe Williams’ Blues.” “But Not For Me.” “Nice Work If You Can Get It.” “Perdido” – and on and on.

Twelve Nights In Hollywood was mastered from original stereo and mono sources, originally recorded by Verve’s house engineer Val Valentin, that were supervised by Verve chief Norman Granz; he is audible throughout the discs, shaping the set on the fly. The 4-CDs are housed in exquisite packaging – same dimensions as the Oscar set, complete with extensive liner notes by former Verve producer and executive Richard Seidel, detailed annotations, rare photos, and specially commissioned album cover art by Hall of Fame illustrator Bart Forbes.

There have been several Ella live albums, but this is indeed unlike any other.

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