Ella Swings Gently with Nelson

Review

In 1961 Ella Fitzgerald recorded two albums with Nelson Riddle's Orchestra. Her voice was in peak form and, even if the backup band was somewhat anonymous, Fitzgerald uplifted the 15 songs on this set; "All of Me" was from a different obscure sampler and "Call Me Darling" was previously unissued. Although the accent is on ballads, several of the songs are taken at medium tempos and she swings throughout. Highlights include "Georgia on My Mind," "The Very Thought of You," "It's a Pity to Say Goodnight," "Darn That Dream," "Body and Soul" and a cooking "All of Me."

Track listing

For the 1962 Verve LP album, Verve MG V-4055

Side One:

1. "Sweet and Slow" (Al Dubin, Harry Warren) – 3:15
2. "Georgia On My Mind" (Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell) – 3:29
3. "I Can't Get Started" (Vernon Duke, Ira Gershwin) – 3:33
4. "Street of Dreams" (Sam M. Lewis, Victor Young) – 3:12
5. "Imagination" (Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 3:47
6. "The Very Thought of You" (Ray Noble) – 2:46

Side Two:

1. "It's a Blue World" (George Forrest, Robert C. Wright) – 2:44
2. "Darn That Dream" (Eddie DeLange, Van Heusen) – 2:31
3. "She's Funny That Way" (Neil Moret, Richard A. Whiting) – 3:14
4. "I Wished on the Moon" (Dorothy Parker, Ralph Rainger) – 2:44
5. "It's a Pity to Say Goodnight" (Mack Gordon, Billy Reid) – 2:34
6. "My One and Only Love" (Robert Mellin, Guy Wood) – 3:12
7. "Body and Soul" (Frank Eyton, Johnny Green, Edward Heyman, Robert Sour) – 3:44

Bonus Tracks; Issued on the 1993 Verve CD re-issue, Verve 519 348-2

14. "Call Me Darling" (Dorothy Dick, Mort Fryberg, Rolf Marbet, Bert Reisfeld) – 3:41

15. "All of Me" (Gerald Marks, Seymour Simons) – 3:22

Personnel