The Songbirds Archives

What do you get when you take a clever concept, select 36 great standards, assemble outstanding jazz musicians under the direction of the inimitable Benny Carter, and return an accomplished recording star to her jazz roots? The answer is 30 by Ella, nearly an hour of tasty and sophisticated jazz comprised of six long medleys that effectively breeze their way through three dozen outstanding tunes, thirty of which are sung, swung, or caressed by Ella Fitzgerald.

How liberating it must have been for Fitzgerald to be freed from the slipshod "stab in the dark" process governing her three previous efforts for Capitol Records – gospel, country, and Christmas albums that often saddled her with an overwrought chorus, bland arrangements, and poor production. 30 by Ella, her last effort for Capitol, should have been her first.

With masterful accompaniment by Benny Carter's "Magnificent Seven" (pairing Fitzgerald with old friends like pianist Jimmy Jones, trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison, and drummer Louis Bellson), flawless head arrangements, and an outstanding song selection, Fitzgerald is in wonderful voice. Her instrument is huskier than her Verve years, and her vibrato a bit deeper. One can detect an almost imperceptible struggle with breath control on occasion, but you have to really listen for it.

Aside from these slight imperfections – which many would argue make her voice more interesting than her pure "little girl" voice – her vocals are nearly flawless. Fitzgerald makes more generous use of her vibrato on this album than almost any other, extending notes at the drop of a hat, often lulling the listener into a blissfully calm state. She also peppers the recordings with swooping lifts and falls in her extended register. She swings hard on occasion, and to great effect (listen to the old Glenn Miller hit Elmer's Tune).

The first medley is a collection of soft and tender songs. From the opening verse of My Mother's Eyes – "One bright and guiding light" – she could have just as easily been describing her voice as the subject of her song. It is indeed "bright," "guiding," and gentle. Her emotional reading of Try a Little Tenderness strongly communicates the weariness referred to in the verse. A welcome remake of her 1936 recording with Benny Goodman of Goodnight, My Love fares exceptionally well. The song is given a lullaby quality (aided by Jimmy Jones doubling on celeste); it's soft and plaintive.

The second medley contains a number of old swingers, including Four or Five Times, Elmer's Tune, and It's a Wonderful World. With these songs, Fitzgerald again proves why she is without peer when it comes to singing swing numbers. The standout in the third medley is You Stepped Out of a Dream, which contains an outstanding coda where she bends and shades her voice considerably, ending with an uncharacteristic echo effect and fade out.

Medley number four contains a great collection of seldom heard songs with exceptional lyrics, including If I Give My Heart To You, Once in a While, The Lamp Is Low, and Thinking of You. The fifth medley is filled with some finger-snapping swingers, including It Happened In Monterey, the old chestnut 720 in the Books, and What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry?

In the sixth and final medley, Fitzgerald handles the tongue-tripping lyrics of I've Got a Feeling Your Fooling with aplomb. She lapses back into lullaby mode with an ethereal Rain. She ends with You're a Sweetheart – the exact sentiment of all but the most hardened listener upon hearing this sweetly and swingingly sung collection.

The bonus track, Hawaiian War Chant, is simply a hoot. It's the only scat she recorded for Capitol – and with a Hawaiian motif, no less. It must be heard to be believed!

30 by Ella is a thoroughly enjoyable album that should find its way into every jazz lover's collection. It’s not without flaws, however. Biographer Stuart Nicholson called the effort "as pedestrian as it was perfunctory." Perfunctory, perhaps. One wonders how much better each tune could have been if given individual treatment. Her versions of Goodnight My Love, I Cried for You, 720 in the Books, and Rain – all of which she recorded as individual songs – demonstrate how compressed, and sometimes rushed, the versions are on this album.

Disappointingly, the newly released version doesn't contain any new liner notes. (It does, however, contain a credit card application inserted in the sleeve – whoopee). In the absence of any notes, here’s a bit of background.

Fitzgerald’s short tenure with Capitol was, by most accounts, the nadir of her studio recording career. Her two decades with Decca (1935-1955) generated a string of top-selling singles, some beautiful work with Ellis Larkins at piano, and some of her most groundbreaking and electrifying scat efforts. The following decade (1956-1966) at Norman Granz's Verve Records produced the landmark songbook series, other definitive interpretations of standards, and some wonderful Big Band and bop albums, pairing her with the likes of Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Nelson Riddle, and other musical giants. Her brief stint at Reprise in the early 1970s produced some inventive and pleasant rock-influenced albums. And at her final label, Pablo (1973-1990), once again under the direction of mentor Granz, Fitzgerald successfully weathered the final diminution of her great powers, waxing some truly memorable albums with Joe Pass, Oscar Peterson, and Count Basie.

What did she have to show for her nearly two years at Capitol Records from 1967-1969, at the height of her career and vocal powers? The dismal and poorly produced gospel album Brighten the Corner, the mirthless yuletide disc Christmas with Ella Fitzgerald, the near-miss country LP Misty Blue, and the too-little, too-late jazz album 30 by Ella.

How did she end up with Capitol, and why did one of the world's most talented recording artists fare so badly at the label? When her contract with Verve lapsed in 1966, Granz had tired of producing albums, was disenchanted with current trends in music, and was beset with numerous tax and business problems. Although he considered Fitzgerald "his star," he'd produced a decade's worth of highly successful and critically-acclaimed albums with her, and thought maybe it was time to hand the reins to someone else.

Fitzgerald biographer Nicholson writes how the singer was unsuccessfully pursued by John Hammond of Columbia, who urged the record label to sign the international superstar after seeing her perform at the Empire State Building's Riverboat Club in November 1966. In an internal company memo, he wrote to his superiors "I think we would literally be crazy not to sign her immediately ... She has years of creativity left." The deal never came through. Instead, Granz decided to sign her with Capitol in September 1967, ceding complete creative control to her new producer, Dave Dexter, Jr.

According to Fitzgerald biographer Geoffrey Mark Fidelman, Dexter wrote in his memoirs Playback that "his impression of Ella was extremely negative, and he wrote of her as a recording has-been who had not sold well for many years. He remembered her as being a cold, thoughtless woman who never sent him a Christmas card or thanked him for his lovely gifts while he was producing her Capitol albums. He wrote of her begging Capitol to take her on as a client, and that it was a struggle to get her signed. He praised his own efforts to turn out Fitzgerald product that the public would buy."

Dexter's comments stand in stark contrast to countless others who worked with Fitzgerald and found her to be cooperative (almost to a fault), gentle, considerate, and warm. One senses a bit of sour grapes on Dexter's part – he's the only producer that ever failed with the First Lady of Song.

By 1969, the semi-retired Granz had had enough. Disgusted at how the record label was handling "his star," he quickly sought a way to end her disastrous contract with Capitol and sign her with someone else. In fact, former Capitol employee Les Traub said Granz's displeasure was so obvious that someone came up with the idea of fulfilling the 30 remaining sides she owed Capitol on her contract in a single album. Lo and behold, 30 by Ella.

Dexter's original liner notes paint a picture of the album’s sessions in which a more assertive Fitzgerald suggested alternate bridges and different tempos. He writes that she was not sanguine about the album's concept, but was quickly won over as production got underway at Capitol’s "A" studio. Dexter quotes Fitzgerald: "You know, I think I owe someone an apology. I thought this whole medley idea was just terrible, somethin' awful, when we started three nights ago. Now I say it's the finest album I ever recorded."

Most Ellaphiles, looking back at her earlier long-playing glories, will respectfully disagree with her assessment, while freely admitting that 30 by Ella ranks among Fitzgerald’s best recordings during this challenging time in her career.

Tracks:

1. My Mother's Eyes (Gilbert, Baer), Try a Little Tenderness (Woods, Connelly, Campbell), I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) (Ellington, Webster; instrumental), Everything I Have Is Yours (Adamson, Lane), I Never Knew (I Could Love Anybody Like I'm Loving You) (Pitts, Egan, Marsh, Whiteman), Goodnight My Love (Gordon, Revel)

2. Four or Five Times (Hellman, Gay), Maybe (Flynn, Madden), Taking a Chance on Love (Duke, LaTouche, Fetter; instrumental), Elmer's Tune (Albrecht, Gallop, Jurgens), At Sundown (Donaldson), It's a Wonderful World (Adamson, Savitt, Watson)

3. On Green Dolphin Street (Washington, Caper), How Am I to Know (Parker, King), Just Friends (Lewis, Klemmer; instrumental), I Cried for You (Freed, Arnheim, Lyman), Seems Like Old Times (Lombardo, Loeb), You Stepped Out of a Dream (Kahn, Brown)

4. If I Give My Heart to You (Crane, Jacobs, Brewster), Once in a While (Green, Edwards), Ebb Tide (Sigman, Maxwell; instrumental), The Lamp Is Low (Parish, DeRose, Shefter), Where Are You (Adamson, McHugh), Thinking of You (Kalmar, Ruby)

5. Candy (David, Whitney, Kramer), All I Do Is Dream of You (Freed, Brown), Spring Is Here (Rodgers, Hart; instrumental), 720 in the Books (Adamson, Savitt, Watson), It Happened In Monterey (Rose, Wayne), What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry? (Donaldson, Lyman)

6. No Regrets (Tobias, Ingraham), I've Got a Feeling You're Fooling (Freed, Brown), Don't Blame Me (Fields, McHugh; instrumental), Deep Purple (Parish, DeRose), Rain (Ford), You're a Sweetheart (Adamson, McHugh)

7. Hawaiian War Chant (Freed, Noble, Leleihaku; bonus track)

Running time: 54:58. Personnel: Ella Fitzgerald, vocals, with Benny Carter's Magnificent Seven (Benny Carter, arranger and alto sax; Georgie Auld, tenor sax; Harry "Sweets" Edison, trumpet; Jimmy Jones, piano; John Collins, guitar; Bob West, bass; Panama Francis and Louis Bellson, drums). Recorded May 28-29 and June 3, 1968 at Capitol Records, Los Angeles. Originally produced by Dave Dexter. Reissue producer: Michael Cuscuna.

Blue Note Records (Capitol Jazz)

First Lady of Song