Ella and Louis Again is a studio album by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, released in 1957 on Verve Records. It is the sequel to their 1956 album, Ella and Louis. In contrast to their previous collaboration, this album features seven solo vocal tracks by either Armstrong or Fitzgerald amongst its dozen duet tracks. It was reissued as part of a two-compact disc set in 1995, and in The Complete Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong on Verve in 1997. It was recorded at Radio Recorders and Capitol Studios, Hollywood.[1]
| Ella and Louis Again | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 1957 | |||
| Recorded | July 23, July 31 and August 13, 1957 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 90:26 | |||
| Label | Verve MGV 4006-2 Verve 0602517036918 (2006) | |||
| Producer | Norman Granz | |||
| Ella Fitzgerald chronology | ||||
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| Louis Armstrong chronology | ||||
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Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [3] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings |  [4] |
In addition to the album not being strictly all vocal duets, whereas on its predecessor Armstrong plays trumpet on every track, here he only plays on six. The Oscar Peterson Trio returns as the duo's backing, this time along with drummer Louie Bellson. Writing for AllMusic, music critic Alex Henderson wrote of the album:
One could nit-pick about the fact that Satchmo doesn't take more trumpet solos, but the artists have such a strong rapport as vocalists that the trumpet shortage is only a minor point. Seven selections find either Fitzgerald or Armstrong singing without the other, although they're together more often than not on this fine recording.[2]
Track listing
editSide one
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Don't Be That Way" | Benny Goodman, Edgar Sampson, Mitchell Parish | 4:59 |
| 2. | "Makin' Whoopee" (Armstrong solo vocal) | Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn | 3:56 |
| 3. | "They All Laughed" | Ira Gershwin, George Gershwin | 3:46 |
| 4. | "Comes Love" (Fitzgerald solo vocal) | Lew Brown, Sam Stept, Charles Tobias | 2:25 |
| 5. | "Autumn in New York" | Vernon Duke | 5:57 |
Side two
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Let's Do It" (Armstrong solo vocal) | Cole Porter | 8:41 |
| 2. | "Stompin' at the Savoy" | Benny Goodman, Edgar Sampson, Chick Webb, Andy Razaf | 5:12 |
| 3. | "I Won't Dance" | Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach, Dorothy Fields | 4:43 |
| 4. | "Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You" | Don Redman, Andy Razaf | 4:12 |
Side three
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" | George Gershwin, Ira Gerswhin | 4:11 |
| 2. | "These Foolish Things" (Fitzgerald solo vocal) | Harry Link, Holt Marvell, Jack Strachey | 7:36 |
| 3. | "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" | Irving Berlin | 3:09 |
| 4. | "Willow Weep for Me" (Armstrong solo vocal) | Ann Ronell | 4:18 |
| 5. | "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket" | Irving Berlin | 3:26 |
Side four
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Fine Romance" | Dorothy Fields, Jerome Kern | 3:52 |
| 2. | "Ill Wind" (Fitzgerald solo vocal) | Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler | 3:41 |
| 3. | "Love Is Here to Stay" | Ira Gershwin, George Gershwin | 3:58 |
| 4. | "I Get a Kick out of You" (Armstrong solo vocal) | Cole Porter | 4:17 |
| 5. | "Learnin' the Blues" | Dolores Silver | 7:11 |
CD editions
editIn 1995 and 2003, a double CD was released with the same content as the double LP, but in 2000, a single CD was released with only the 12 duets, removing the 7 songs with either Armstrong or Fitzgerald solo vocal:
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Don't Be That Way" | Benny Goodman, Edgar Sampson, Mitchell Parish | 4:59 |
| 2. | "They All Laughed" | Ira Gershwin, George Gershwin | 3:46 |
| 3. | "Autumn in New York" | Vernon Duke | 5:57 |
| 4. | "Stompin' at the Savoy" | Benny Goodman, Edgar Sampson, Chick Webb, Andy Razaf | 5:12 |
| 5. | "I Won't Dance" | Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach, Dorothy Fields | 4:43 |
| 6. | "Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You" | Don Redman, Andy Razaf | 4:12 |
| 7. | "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" | George Gershwin, Ira Gerswhin | 4:11 |
| 8. | "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" | Irving Berlin | 3:09 |
| 9. | "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket" | Irving Berlin | 3:26 |
| 10. | "A Fine Romance" | Dorothy Fields, Jerome Kern | 3:52 |
| 11. | "Love Is Here to Stay" | Ira Gershwin, George Gershwin | 3:58 |
| 12. | "Learnin' the Blues" | Dolores Silver | 7:11 |
Personnel
edit- Louis Armstrong – vocals; trumpet on "Autumn in New York," "Stompin' at the Savoy," "Gee Baby Ain't I Good to You," "Willow Weep for Me," "Love Is Here to Stay," and "Learnin' the Blues."
- Ella Fitzgerald – vocals
- Oscar Peterson – piano
- Herb Ellis – guitar
- Ray Brown – bass
- Louie Bellson – drums
Charts
edit| Chart (2022) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[5] | 84 |
References
edit- ^ J. Wilfred Johnson (5 August 2010). Ella Fitzgerald: An Annotated Discography; Including a Complete Discography of Chick Webb. McFarland. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-7864-4690-2.
- ^ a b Henderson, Alex. "Ella and Louis Again > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
- ^ Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (9th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-14-103401-0.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – Ella & Louis Again" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 23, 2022.