Ella Fitzgerald 1936-1950 CD - Import

4 CD remastered set spanning 1936-1950 (89 tracks). Featured artists also include Louis Armstrong, The Ink Spots, Louis Jordan, Sy Oliver & The Mills Brothers. Standard jewelcases housed in a slip-box. JSP Records. 2002.

Personnel includes: Ella Fitzgerald (vocals); Louis Armstrong, The Delta Boys, Louis Jordan, The Four Hits & A Miss, The Four Keys, The Mills Brothers, Randy Brooks, The Ink Spots, Sy Oliver, The Song Spinners.
Recorded between 1936 & 1950.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
Ella Fitzgerald spent the 15 years bridging 1936 and 1950 recording for the Decca label -- home at one point or another during those years to some of the best vocal jazz artists of the period: herself, of course, plus Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Louis Jordan, and the Mills Brothers, among others. The British JSP collection, 1936-1950, is a solid summation of those years, though it swipes most of the formula from an earlier deluxe box set, American GRP's Ella: The Legendary Decca Recordings. Like that set, this one divides its contents thematically, presenting a full disc of duets (of which Fitzgerald performed many), a full disc of hits (she had a few), one of jazz performances, and a final one of standards ("Evergreens"). It's an effective way to anthologize this frenetic period in Ella Fitzgerald's career, when the label recorded a little of everything and hoped that something would become a hit. Most of her duets are delightful, since she was often paired with equally talented singers (Armstrong, Jordan, the Mills Brothers, the Delta Rhythm Boys), and her jazzier sides reveal Fitzgerald as an incomparable interpreter, swinger and scatter; just listen to "How High the Moon," "Oh, Lady Be Good," or "I'm Beginning to See the Light." The GRP collection includes more detailed notes and many more pictures, but this set is a proper wrap-up of a neglected period in Ella Fitzgerald's career. ~ John Bush