Ella Fitzgerald Sings Jerome Kern Song Book CD

Conducted by Nelson Riddle.
Personnel: Ella Fitzgerald (vocals); Robert Bain (guitar); Nathan Ross (violin); Ray Kramer (cello); Plas Johnson (tenor saxophone); Shorty Sherock (trumpet); Dick Nash (trombone); Paul Smith (piano); Joe Comfort (bass instrument); Alvin Stoller (drums).
Liner Note Authors: Benny Green ; James Gavin.
Arranger: Nelson Riddle.
By 1963, Ella Fitzgerald's Songbook series had almost run its course and was becoming much less ambitious in scope. Her Jerome Kern set, Sings the Jerome Kern Songbook, features her interpretations of 14 songs while backed by an orchestra arranged by Nelson Riddle. Treatments of such classics as "A Fine Romance," "All the Things You Are," and "Yesterdays" are pretty straightforward and would have pleased the composer. All of her songbooks are now included in the massive 16-CD box set The Complete Ella Fitzgerald Song Books. ~ Scott Yanow
THE JEROME KERN SONGBOOK is perhaps not as celebrated as some of Ella Fitzgerald's earlier entries in the Songbook series, like the Duke Ellington and Cole Porter volumes, but it's a magnificent, joyous celebration nonetheless.
Recorded in 1963, with Nelson Riddle arranging and conducting the sessions, THE JEROME KERN SONGBOOK has Riddle's typically lush sound and languid tempos, which perfectly suit both Fitzgerald (whose warm, honeyed voice sounds like it was made for Riddle's arrangements) and the sophisticated material. After opening with the standard "Let's Begin," Fitzgerald and Riddle glide through a dozen of Kern's best tunes, including a remarkable reading of perhaps Kern's best-known song, "The Way You Look Tonight." A flirty "You Couldn't Be Cuter" and a sassy "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" add variety to the ballad-heavy selection, but it's the romantic gems like "All the Things You Are" that resonate the longest.
Ella Fitzgerald is rightfully known for her superb, often-definitive interpretations of Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Rodgers & Hart, and Gershwin tunes, which are well documented in her SONG BOOK series. The addition of SINGS THE JEROME KERN SONG BOOK to Fitzgerald's discography is welcome. Recorded in 1963, the album presents Fitzgerald's voice as golden as ever. Yet age was beginning to color her singing a bit, and that texture adds a beautiful dimension to songs like the dark "Why Was I Born?" and the yearning "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man."
Fitzgerald's SONG BOOK outings are usually graced by the orchestra and arrangements of Nelson Riddle. Riddle's charts for the JEROME KERN SONG BOOK are typically smart and swinging, with a lush, full sound that balances punch and lyricism. Fitzgerald's ebullient delivery and honey-rich timbre bring out the humor of "A Fine Romance," the wistfulness of "I'm Old Fashioned," and the tender romance of "The Way You Look Tonight," putting her distinctive stamp on each. This set is sure to please fans of Kern and big-band standards. For aficionados of Fitzgerald's other SONG BOOK albums, this is a must.JazzTimes (p.114) - "[W]hen Fitzgerald, at the absolute apex of her vocal powers, is solvin' that swingin' Riddle, it's unsurpassed quality, not quantity, that matters."