Cheap Ella Fitzgerald - Live in '57 and '63 (Jazz Icons) (DVD) Price

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Customer Reviews of Ella Fitzgerald - Live in '57 and '63 (Jazz Icons)

Louis for ever
We are very fortunate to be able to see the first complete Jazz soloist at work in a good qulity DVD. It's like somebody found film on Paganini playing the violin 200-years ago but he only played the violin. Only difrenece here is that Louis was the starting point for the whole modern music era. For all instruments for all vocalists for all and for all...I'd say biginig of the American culture and art form for any style...jazz, pop,soul, rock, R&B even RAP...yes RAP..listen to some of his early vocals where he is talking the whole song...Louis did it all...!!nothing has happened since that time that did not come from him.Regardless of the time age or quality of his horn playing , this is history caprured live which will survive another 500-years if not longer. <
>We MUST show this DVD or play his music to every American, young or old. <
>America has contributed two things to the world that can not be copied. <
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>Loius Armstrong and western movies....!! <
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Everything you could want from Ella (except big band backup)
My preference has always been for instrumental jazz, but Ella is one of the few jazz vocalists who caught and held my attention. I only had one opportunity to see this truly unique performer in concert - in front of the Count Basie band in the 1970s - so it's a joy to experience Ella performing live again through the miracle of modern technology. <
>The DVD presents two appearances, the first in a concert hall in Belgium in 1957 and the second in a Swedish television studio in 1963. Ella is on top of her game for both, and the selection of tunes makes for a great showcase of her talents. It's all here: her creative embellishments of the melody, her scat singing, and her occasional use of improvised lyrics to add local flavor or pay tribute to other jazz artists. <
>It would be difficult to pick which of these two dates was the better performance. Overall, her interpretive powers are better displayed in the 1963 show, especially in fabulous renditions of "No Moon At All," "Runnin' Wild," "Georgia On My Mind," and "Mack the Knife." But the 1957 concert has many special moments that are not to be missed. "Lullaby of Birdland" is an up-tempo swinger that is the best vocal version of this tune you're ever likely to hear. "April in Paris" pays homage to the Basie arrangement that was destined to become a classic. Ella has some fun with "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" where she does an excellent impersonation of Louis Armstrong. The concert closes with Duke Ellington's "It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing," complete with scat choruses and great solo work from Herb Ellis on guitar and Oscar Peterson on piano. <
>The only other thing I'd like to see to complete the Ella experience is concert video of "The First Lady of Song" in front of a big band. Maybe the Jazz Icons series can find enough old footage for a second Ella DVD.