By the way, I've recently "discovered" a compilation of Ella Fitzgerald in concert and boy, howdy, she is the finest singer I've ever heard!! I've never heard anyone do things with pitch that well! She slides in several different ways, sometimes slippery-sliding, sometimes with a lilt. The held notes are rock-steady, with or without vibrato. I didn't know a human being could BE this good. She's redefined speed-scatting for me too. The way she can articulate without losing the apparent JOY of vamping against the trumpets is something I've never heard. But she's not some dry, academic singer. She appears to be having a ball while all of these fireworks are going on.
Furthermore, she has this ability with time. The way she knows just when to lag behind time, then "bounces" up at the end of a line is amazing. I think it's called "swinging" and I've ever heard anyone do it this well! I didn't know it COULD be done like this. It's like discovering a new RANGE of colors. I'm thinking this week that she did all these things better than anyone I've ever heard before. To my mind, on this recording, she's a far, far better singer than anyone I've heard. Time and again, I found myself nodding and wondering, "Why didn't anyone think of this before?" In short, she's pushed back the boundaries of what I thought could be done. Like I said, it's a compilation. On Verve CDs, it's called "Ella Fitzgerald Live", and it's in their affordable line called "Compact Jazz" series and encompasses 14 tracks. There's nothing dated about it. It smokes; it rocks; it schmoozes; it amazes; it swings. Lama ps, I swear on Allah, I am as sober as a judge.
