Artist: Ella Fitzgerald
Album: Ella Abraca Jobim: Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Antonio Carlos Jobim Song Book
Genre: Vocal Jazz
Label: Pablo Records
Released: 1981/1991
Quality: FLAC (tracks+.cue)
Tracklist:
- Dreamer (Vivo Sonhando) (Jobim-Lees) - 4:54
- This Love That I've Found (So Tinha de Ser com Voce) (Jobim-Oliveira) - 5:17
- The Girl from Ipanema (Garota de Ipanema) (Jobim-De Moraes-Gimbel) - 3:51
- Somewhere in the Hills (Favela) (Jobim-De Moraes-Gilbert) - 3:56
- Photograph (Fotografia) (Jobim-Gilbert) - 3:49
- Wave (Jobim) - 5:21
- Triste (Jobim) - 4:06
- Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars (Corcovado) (Jobim-Lees) - 5:39
- Water to Drink (Agua de Beber) (Jobim-De Moraes-Gimbel) - 2:45
- Bonita (Jobim-Lees-Gilbert) - 2:51
- Off Key (Desafinado) (Jobim-Mendonca-Lees) - 3:42
- He's a Carioca (Ele e Carioca) (Jobim-Gilbert-De Moraes) - 5:13
- Dindi (Jobim-Oliveira-Gilbert) - 6:37
- How Insensitive (Insensatez) (Jobim-De Moraes-Gimbel) - 3:00
- One Note Samba (Samba de Uma Nota So) (Jobim-Mendonca) - 3:53
- A Felicidade (Jobim-De Moraes) - 2:17
- Useless Landscape (Inutil Paisagem) (Jobim-Oliveira-Gilbert) - 7:59
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- Personnel:
- Ella Fitzgerald - vocals
- Clark Terry - trumpet
- Zoot Sims - tenor saxophone
- Paul Jackson, Mitch Holder, Roland Bautista - rhythm guitar
- Joe Pass - solo electric guitar
- Oscar Castro-Neves - solo acoustic guitar
- Terry Trotter, Mike Lang, Clarence McDonald - keyboards
- Toots Thielemans - harmonica
- Abraham Laboriel - bass
- Alex Acuna - drums
- Paulinho da Costa - percussion
For years, "The Girl fom Ipanema" was a staple in Ella Fitzgerald's songbook, so it's something of a wonder that it was not until 1981 that Ella Abraça Jobim, Fitzgerald's double-album immersion in Antonio Carlos Jobim's back catalog, appeared. Ella's first single-composer release since 1964's tribute to Jerome Kern, Ella Abraça Jobim is, more than anything, final proof of the unassuming Brazilian's place in jazz history alongside the great composers. Sadly Jobim's mellow bossa nova, drenched in the Brazilian concept of saudade, or agreeable melancholy, doesn't necessarily gel with Fitzgerald's swing-based and energetic vocal style. Fitzgerald and her small group take songs like "Agua de Beber (Water to Drink)" at just slightly too speedy a tempo, rushing a bit where they should be gamboling. Fitzgerald is in very good voice compared to some other recordings from her later years, though, sadly, she's clearly not at her peak. Norman Granz's production is typically excellent, however, and the arrangements are refreshingly free of the typical late-'70s/early-'80s post-fusion clichés. Neither Fitzgerald nor Jobim's finest, then, but not without merit.
Review by Stewart Mason