Notes & Personnel Info |  | SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR is a companion 2-CD set to a PBS documentary with the same name which aired on AMERICAN MASTERS in December 1999. | | Personnel includes: Ella Fitzgerald (vocals); George Russell, Frank DeVol, Nelson Riddle, Andre Previn (arranger, conductor); Duke Ellington (arranger, piano); Louis Jordan (vocals, alto saxophone); Louis Armstrong (vocals, trumpet); Charlie Parker, Johnny Hodges, Bud Shank (alto saxophone); Stan Getz, Coleman Hawkins, Paul Gonsalves, Lester Young, Ben Webster, Illinois Jacquet, Flip Phillips (tenor saxophone); Harry Carney (baritone saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet); Cootie Williams, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Maynard Ferguson (trumpet); Jimmy Rowles, Oscar Peterson, Hank Jones (piano); Jim Hall (guitar); Ray Brown, George Duvivier (bass); Buddy Rich, Chick Webb, Connie Kay, Louie Bellson, Shelly Manne (drums). | | Producers: Milt Gabler, Norman Granz, Dave Kapp. | | Compilation producers: Tom Greenwood, Ben Young. | | Recorded between March 24, 1937 & July 29, 1966. Includes liner notes by Stuart Nicholson. | | Digitally remastered by Kevin Reeves (Universal Music Studios East). | | SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video. | | The First Lady Of Song is widely regarded as the finest female jazz singer of all time, and has exerted an influence over American popular music that is incalculable, though SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR gives it a shot. This 32-track, career-spanning double set serves as a companion to PBS's popular "American Masters" series and offers, for the first time on one collection, a retrospective of Ella Fitzgerald's two most important periods: the Decca years (1935-55), and her Verve years (1956-66). | | "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" was the first of many hits she had with the Chick Webb Orchestra, while "How High the Moon" and a live take of "Goody, Goody" show off her remarkable gift for inventive and often humorous scat. There are five selections from her celebrated "Songbook" series, and other rare gems with Ella fronting the orchestras of Duke Ellington, Nelson Riddle and others. With her clear, pristine tone, masterful articulation, and the ability to out-swing anybody any time, Ella Fitzgerald was a singular musical force whose rich legacy continues to reward listeners. |
Musical Guests | | Louis Armstrong | | Chick Webb | | Duke Ellington | | Charlie Parker | | Stan Getz | | Coleman Hawkins | | Hank Jones |
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