Throughout much of her career, Ella Fitzgerald was the reigning queen of jazz singers, applying her consummate musicality to uptempo swing and bop material, as well as the usual mix of ballads and show tunes. Fitzgerald's ability to swing was immediately apparent in her early work with drummer Chick Webb, which produced the novelty rhythm hit "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" from 1938. However, the breadth of her talent becomes apparent here with the inspired scat improvising on "Flying Home" from 1945 and the mature balladry of "Nice Work If You Can Get It," recorded with just the accompaniment of pianist Ellis Larkins in 1954. Fitzgerald is heard here in collaboration with some of the greatest names in jazz. There's a 1957 meeting with Louis Armstrong on "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" and a 1963 encounter with the Basie band on "Shiny Stockings." There's also a sampling of her multivolume Song Book recordings, including a wonderful "Sophisticated Lady" with tenor saxophonist Ben Webster from the Ellington set. Live recordings with her working rhythm section, such as "How High the Moon," are filled with playful exuberance, but there's also restrained artfulness in the introduction to "Blue Skies" and the lyric concentration of "Blues in the Night." --Stuart Broomer
