Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Ella Fitzgerald - Clap hands, here comes Charlie!



By its selection and compilation, it's a perfect vocal jazz album. Because it shows gladness and melancholy, also vividness and slowness, and contemplating-carefree moods as the songs pass by. That's what I like in these records, this kind of variegation.

Starting with the fast Night in Tunisia we can easy be fascinated, and after that, too, because then comes the slow, beautiful ballad, You're my thrill, and a nice song, My reverie (one of the best songs on this album). Later we meet the happy shouting Jersey bounce, or the well-known and well-titled Good morning heartache, which melts up in melancholy and beauty, to paint some more colours on the album.

But this variegation wouldn't work without a very varicoloured voice. Ella was a great talent, it's not coincidence that they called her "First lady of song". Yes, she can be wild, she can shout in happiness, wake up your mind: "live!", laugh on something, or slow down and almost cry while singing.

To prove it better, here are some words quoted from the inner cover:

"Ella Fitzgerald has no competition. The most universally admired popular singer in the world, she represents one of the fortunate cases when talent translates into popularity and productivity. ...
Clap hands, here comes Charlie, a collection of tunes with varying degrees of jazz relevance, has ever since 1961 been just about the most treasured by Ellavationalists. ...
Ever as emotionally deep as she is swinging, her voice brimming with contagious, enthusiastic energy, her ptich perfect and her time beyond approach, I think she's modestly misidentified the proper recipient of applause: we should be shouting: Clap hands! Here comes Ella!"

They call it the Jersey Bounce
A rhythm that really counts
The temperature always mounts
Whenever they play the funny rhythm they play

It started on Journal Square
And Somebody heard it there
They put it right on the air
And now you'll hear it everywhere...

Good morning heartache:
Hear samples of the album on Amazon:

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