Ella Fitzgerald
S’Wonderful: Ella In Japan
Hip-Oselect records
www.hip-oselect.com
By George W. Harris

A few weeks ago, I was talking with my 22 daughter about her childhood
when she mentioned, “I just can’t imagine growing up without having
Ella Fitzgerald in my life.” At that moment, we both felt deep pity for
those poor lost souls in heathen places like Nevada and Florida who
have never heard the good news about the First Lady Of Song.

This limited edition two disc set catches Ella at the peak of her
talents and popularity; 1964 before a pair of adoring concert audiences
at a public hall and intimate hotel in Tokyo. There are essentially two
bands, the American one being the stellar team of Tommy Flanagan/p,
Bill Yancey/b, Gus Johnson/dr along with Roy Eldridge/tp, and a
selection of Japanese jazz musicians that join in for some standards and
jamming on a handful of tunes. Ella is in radiant form here, and she
shakes, rattles and rolls through an enthusiastic set that has her
growling with Eldridge on a saucy “Whatever Lola Wants” and a take of
“Bill Bailey” that is so passionate that it actually made him go home.
Including the intros to tunes like “Cheek To Cheek” give an extra snap
to the songs, as if the double play combo of Flanagan to Yancey to
Johnson needed any help with the relay. Ella can get you up to the
stars on a tune like “Deep Purple” or stomping off to Buffalo on a
headspinner like “Too Close To Comfort.” Every corpuscle that
circulated in this lady was filled with swinging dna-does anyone on the
planet come even a semi-close second? Get it, love it, and let it take
over your attitude on life.