Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald – Ella And Louis Again (1957)
Of the 19 tracks on Ella And Louis Again, seven feature either Ella or Louis solo, but it’s when they are together that some of the real magic happens.
Following the success of Ella And Louis, Norman Granz and Verve Records decided to repeat the winning formula of having Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald in the studio to record some more classics from The Great American Songbook – the result was Ella And Louis Again.
They were once again joined by the Oscar Peterson Trio – Oscar on piano, with Herb Ellis (guitar) and Ray Brown (bass), but this time Louis Bellson replaced Buddy Rich on drums. The initial session took place on 23 July 1957 and was followed by three more sessions on 31 July, and 1 and 13 August.
Such was the productivity of these sessions that Verve had enough material for a double-album. Of the 19 tracks, seven feature either Ella or Louis solo, but it’s when they are together that some of the real magic happens.
Besides the vocals, Louis Armstrong contributes some beautiful trumpet playing on six of the songs. Among the standout tracks are ‘Autumn In New York’, ‘Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off’, ‘Love Is Here To Stay’ and ‘A Fine Romance’, all of which are duets. A wonderful freewheeling rehearsal take of ‘Stompin’ At The Savoy’ was so good that Norman Granz kept it on the final album.
Released as a “deluxe 2 pocket LP” in October 1957, Ella And Louis Again sold for just under $10 – over twice the price of a single album, which probably accounted for the fact that it failed to make the charts at the time. But this in no way detracts from the greatness of the music.
Ella And Louis Again Track Listing:
Side One
1. Don’t Be That Way 5:01
2. Makin’ Whoopee 3:59
3. They All Laughed 3:50
4. Comes Love 2:28
5. Autumn in New York 6:00
Side Two
1. Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love 8:44
2. Stompin’ at the Savoy 5:16
3. I Won’t Dance 4:47
4. Gee, Baby, Ain’t I Good to You 4:11
Side Three
1. Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off 4:15
2. These Foolish Things 7:40
3. I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm 3:12
4. Willow Weep for Me 4:21
5. I’m Putting All My Eggs in One Basket 3:28
Side Four
1. A Fine Romance 3:56
2. Ill Wind 3:45
3. Love Is Here to Stay 4:01
4. I Get a Kick out of You 4:21
5. Learnin’ the Blues 7:11
Album Credits:
Recorded: July 1957
Studio: Capitol, Los Angeles
Label: Verve Records
Producer: Norman Granz
Musicians:
Louis Armstrong — vocals, trumpet
Ella Fitzgerald — vocals
Oscar Peterson — piano
Herb Ellis — guitar
Ray Brown — bass
Louie Bellson — drums
