Ella Fitzgerald First Lady Of Song CD

This is packaged in a hardcover book that contains more than sixty pages of essays on Ella Fitzgerald's life and music, as well as photographs and reproductions of all her Verve LP cover art.

Comprising 16 of the 51 tracks (one-third) from the original First

Includes previously unreleased material.

THE BEST OF ELLA FITZGERALD: FIRST LADY OF SONG contains highlights from the FIRST LADY OF SONG 3-CD set on Verve (517 898).

Personnel: Ella Fitzgerald (vocals); Louis Armstrong (vocals, trumpet); Stuff Smith (vocals, piano); Freddie Green, Herb Ellis, Jim Hall, Al Viola, Barney Kessel, Mundell Lowe (guitar); Lou Levy (cello, piano); Frank Wess (flute, reeds, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Marshall Royal (flute, reeds, alto saxophone); Eric Dixon (flute, tenor saxophone); Harry Carney (clarinet, bass clarinet, bass saxophone); Russell Procope (clarinet, alto saxophone); Jimmy Hamilton (clarinet, tenor saxophone); Edmond Hall, Buddy DeFranco (clarinet); Frank Foster (reeds, tenor saxophone); Wilmer Shakesnider, Carl Davis, Les Taylor, Phil Woods, Bill Graham, Charlie Fowlkes (reeds); Herb Geller, Johnny Hodges, Sonny Stitt, Willie Smith, Bill Holman, Ronnie Lang, Bud Shank, Charlie Parker (alto saxophone); Ben Webster (tenor saxophone, trumpet); Bob Cooper (tenor saxophone, trombone); Coleman Hawkins, Flip Phillips, Illinois Jacquet, Lester Young, Paul Gonsalves, Stan Getz, Ted Nash (tenor saxophone); Chuck Gentry, Med Flory (bass saxophone); Bob Enevoldsen (trumpet, valve trombone); Clark Terry, Conrad Gozzo, Cootie Williams, Reunald Jones, Don Fagerquist, Don Rader, Ernie Royal, Flip Ricard, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Herbie Jones, Joe Newman , Joe Wilder, Al Porcino, Mercer Ellington, Pete Candoli, Ray Copeland , Ray Linn, Ray Nance, Roy Eldridge, Stu Williamson , Taft Jordan, Thad Jones, Bill Perkins, Al Aarons, Willie Cook, Sonny Cohn, Wendell Culley, Cat Anderson (trumpet); Vincent DeRosa (French horn); Milt Bernhart, Henry Coker, J.J. Johnson , Tommy Turk, Joe Howard, Kai Winding, Lawrence Brown , Melba Liston, Quentin Jackson, Urbie Green, Benny Powell, Bill Hughes , Trummy Young, Chuck Connors, John Sanders, Britt Woodman, Buster Cooper, Lloyd Ulyate (trombone); George Roberts (bass trombone); John Kitzmiller (tuba); Don Abney, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Ray Tunia, Hank Jones , Jimmy Jones , Jimmy Rowles, Oscar Peterson, Paul Smith , Tommy Flanagan, Billy Kyle , Bill Doggett (piano); Dick Hyman, Wild Bill Davis (organ); Frank Flynn (vibraphone); Grady Tate, Gus Johnson, Jo Jones , Louie Bellson, Mel Lewis, Alvin Stoller, Sam Woodyard, Shelly Manne, Sonny Payne, Barrett Deems, Buddy Rich (drums).

Audio Remasterers: Tom "Curly" Ruff; Phil Schaap.

Liner Note Authors: Geoffrey Mark Fidelman; Gene Lees.

Recording information: Crescendo Club On Sunset Strip, Hollywood, CA (09/18/1949-07/29/1966); Deutschlandhalle, West Berlin, Germany (09/18/1949-07/29/1966); Hamburg, W. Germany (09/18/1949-07/29/1966); Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA (09/18/1949-07/29/1966); Jazz At The Philharmonic, New York, NY (09/18/1949-07/29/1966); Juan-Les-Pins, France (09/18/1949-07/29/1966); London, England (09/18/1949-07/29/1966); Los Angeles, CA (09/18/1949-07/29/1966); New York, NY (09/18/1949-07/29/1966); Newport, RI (09/18/1949-07/29/1966); Rome, Italy (09/18/1949-07/29/1966); Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA (09/18/1949-07/29/1966).

Photographers: Duncan P. Schiedt; Paul J. Hoeffler; Ray Avery.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Michael Lang ; Paul Weston & His Orchestra; Phil Schaap; Billy May Orchestra.

Arrangers: Marty Paich; Nelson Riddle; Quincy Jones; Russell Garcia; Frank de Vol; Bill Doggett; Billy May; Buddy Bregman.

Personnel includes: Ella Fitzgerald (vocals), Louis Armstrong (vocals, trumpet), Ben Webster (tenor saxophone), Charlie Parker, Bill Doggett (alto saxophones), Roy Eldridge (trumpet), Stuff Smith (violin), Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Tommy Flannagan, Oscar Peterson (piano), Jim Hall, Herb Ellis, Barney Kessel (guitars).Entertainment Weekly (4/30/93, p.53) - "...FIRST LADY OF SONG is as much a tribute to [Verve founder] Norman Granz--and the overlooked role of marketing in the careers of aesthetic icons like Fitzgerald--as it is to the work of Granz's client..." - Rating: A
Q (7/93, p.106) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...By the '50s, the voice was in its prime: richly resonant and poised, and ready to record the definitive versions of the great American songbooks (Gershwin, Porter, Arlen etc.)...well chosen..."
JazzTimes (8/93, p.63) - "...[FIRST LADY OF SONG] makes one hell of an initial visual impact....the sound reproduction is generally good..."