By the time Ella
Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong collaborated on their first duet together, they
were each already jazz giants. Fitzgerald was an acclaimed solo artist for
Decca with many hits and more than 200 songs under her young belt, first with
the Chick Webb Orchestra and then as leader of her own big band. Armstrong, known
affectionately as Pops, was one of the leading singers, trumpet players and
entertainers of the day; a star of both sound and screen. Together their talent
knew no bounds and propelled them further to stardom, and today are some of the
biggest highlights of both of their extraordinary careers.
For the first time, all of Fitzgerald and Armstrong's
classic duets are in one place: Cheek To Cheek: The Complete Duet Recordings, a
new 4CD and digital set will be available November 10. Part of Ella 100, Verve
Records/UMe's yearlong celebration of Fitzgerald's centennial, the 75-track
collection gathers their three timeless Verve albums – newly remastered
versions of Ella and Louis, Ella and Louis Again and Porgy and Bess – along
with all of their Decca singles, live recordings from Jazz at the Hollywood
Bowl, recorded as a warmup for Ella and Louis, plus several alternates and
false starts from the Decca and Verve eras, illuminating their craft and good
humor. Cheek To Cheek also includes unreleased material: "The Memphis
Blues," with Bing Crosby, from his radio show; several takes of
Armstrong's solo showcase, "Bess, Oh Where's My Bess;" and an
instrumental mix of "Red-Headed Woman." The comprehensive collection
is rounded out with extensive essay by Ricky Riccardi, the world's leading
authority on Armstrong, plus detailed annotations and rare images from the
archives.
Armstrong and Fitzgerald were first paired together by Decca
label head Milt Gabler when they were both recording for the label. For the
inaugural session in January 1946, Gabler had them cut the new song "You
Won't Be Satisfied (Until You Break My Heart)" and a recent Nat King Cole
hit, "The Frim Fram Sauce." The former became a jukebox hit and
hinted at the magic they could create together. Over the next few years they
would reunite for a string of singles – all eight are presented here in order
of release – before recording their first album together. Fitzgerald's manager
Norman Granz, on the heels of founding Verve Records with his highly successful
first release, Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Song Book, put Fitzgerald
and Armstrong in the studio on August 16, 1956 to record the entire eleven-song
Ella and Louis album in a day. The record was a critical and commercial success
when released in the fall of 1956. Down Beat gave it five stars and, in
November, the album hit No. 1 on Billboard's Jazz charts. The night before
recording the album, Fitzgerald and Armstrong performed together at the
Hollywood Bowl, and these rare, impromptu performances of "You Won't Be
Satisfied," along with "Undecided," marking their earliest
collaborative recordings for Granz, are included on the fourth disc.
Knowing he needed to get them back in the studio as soon as
possible, Granz recorded them in several ambitious sessions from July 23 to
August 19, resulting in the follow up album Ella and Louis Again as well as
Porgy and Bess, the folk opera with music and lyrics by George & Ira
Gershwin. Ella and Louis Again once again captured their chemistry and resulted
in the irresistible "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off," the joyful
"Stompin' At The Savoy," and "Autumn In New York," one of
their finest ballad performances. They also each turned in separate solo
features, notably extended interpretations of "These Foolish Things"
by Fitzgerald and "Let's Do It" by Armstrong. The sessions for Porgy
and Bess included their final four duets. The recordings capture their teamwork
at the peak of its powers, exemplified in the way they seamlessly traded roles
of singing and scatting on "Summertime" and "Bess, You Is My
Woman Now." Granz held the album until 1959, when the big-budget film
version was in theaters, and it was another success.
In addition to gathering all of Fitzgerald and Armstrong's
duets, Cheek To Cheek also gives a unique opportunity to hear what it was like
to be in the studio with these two titans. The closing disc is rife with a bevy
of alternate takes and false starts, displaying their camaraderie, with many
previously unreleased, until now.
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong
Cheek To Cheek: The Complete Duet Recordings
Disc 1
The Decca Singles
1. You Won't Be
Satisfied (Until You Break My Heart)
2. The Frim Fram
Sauce
3. Dream A Little
Dream Of Me
4. Can Anyone
Explain? (No, No, No!)
5. Necessary Evil
6. Oops!
7. Who Walks in When
I Walk Out
8. Would You Like to
Take a Walk (Sump'n Good'll Come From That)
Ella and Louis
9. Can't We Be
Friends
10. Isn't This A Lovely Day
11. Moonlight In Vermont
12. They Can't Take That Away From Me
13. Under A Blanket Of Blue
14. Tenderly
15. A Foggy Day
16. Stars Fell On Alabama
17. Cheek to Cheek
18. The Nearness of You
19. April In Paris
Disc 2
Ella and Louis Again
1. Don't Be That Way
2. Makin' Whoopee
3. They All Laughed
4. Comes Love
5. Autumn In New
York
6. Let's Do It
(Let's Fall In Love)
7. Stompin' At The
Savoy
8. I Won't Dance
9. Gee Baby, Ain't I
Good To You
10. Let's Call The Whole Thing Off
11. These Foolish Things (Remind Me Of You)
12. I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
13. Willow Weep For Me
14. I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket
15. A Fine Romance
16. Ill Wind
17. Love Is Here To Stay
Disc 3
Ella and Louis Again (cont'd.)
1. I Get A Kick Out
Of You
2. Learnin' The
Blues
Porgy And Bess
3. Overture
4. Summertime
5. I Wants To Stay
Here
6. My Man's Gone Now
7. I Got Plenty O'
Nuttin'
8. The Buzzard Song
9. Bess, You Is My
Woman Now
10. It Ain't Necessarily So
11. What You Want Wid Bess?
12. A Woman Is A Sometime Thing
13. Oh, Doctor Jesus
14. Medley: Here Come Da Honey Man/Crab Man/Oh, Dey's So
Fresh And Fine
15. There's A Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon For New York
16. Bess, Oh Where's My Bess?
17. Oh Lawd, I'm On My Way
Disc 4: Bonus Tracks
Ella and Louis Live
1. The Memphis Blues
(Live from The Chesterfield Show) with Bing Crosby *
2. You Won't Be
Satisfied (Until You Break My Heart) (Live at the Hollywood Bowl)
3. Undecided (Live
at the Hollywood Bowl)
Decca Extras
4. You Won't Be
Satisfied (Until You Break My Heart) false start and breakdown
5. The Frim Fram
Sauce false starts/takes 1 and 2 *
6. The Frim Fram
Sauce alternate take
Ella and Louis Again Extras
7. Makin' Whoopee
take 1
8. Makin' Whoopee
take 2
9. I Get A Kick Out
Of You take 2 (run-through) and take 3 (breakdown)
10. I Get A Kick Out Of You take 4
11. I Get A Kick Out Of You take 13
12. Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love) take 3
13. Willow Weep For Me take 4
Porgy And Bess Extras
14. I Got Plenty O' Nuttin' (mono master)
15. A Woman Is A Sometime Thing (mono master)
16. Bess, Oh Where's My Bess? takes 5 and 6
17. Bess, Oh Where's My Bess? take 7
18. Bess, Oh Where's My Bess? take 8 *
19. Bess, Oh Where's My Bess? take 9 *
20. Bess, Oh Where's My Bess? insert for take 9 *
21. Bess, Oh Where's My Bess? take 10 *
22. Red-Headed Woman instrumental *
* Previously unreleased