Artist: Ella Fitzgerald
Album: The Moment of Truth: Ella at the Coliseum
Genre: Vocal Jazz
Label: Verve Records
Released: 2025
Quality: FLAC (tracks+.cue)
Tracklist:
- The Moment of Truth (Satterwhite-Scott) - 2:52
- Don't Be That Way (Goodman-Sampson-Parish) - 4:34
- You've Changed (Fischer-Carey) - 4:37
- Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love) (Porter) - 4:43
- Bye Bye Blackbird (Henderson-Dixon) - 5:02
- Alfie (Bacharach-David) - 5:44
- In a Mellow Tone (Ellington-Gabler) - 4:42
- Music to Watch Girls By (Ramin-Velona) - 3:57
- Mack the Knife (Weill-Brecht) - 4:53
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- Personnel:
- Ella Fitzgerald - vocals
- Jimmy Jones - piano
- Bob Cranshaw - bass
- Sam Woodyard - drums
- Cat Anderson, Mercer Ellington, Herbie Jones, Cootie Williams - trumpet
- Lawrence Brown, Chuck Connors, Buster Cooper - trombone
- Harry Carney, Paul Gonsalves, Jimmy Hamilton, Johnny Hodges, Russell Procope - reeds
Recorded in 1967 at the height of a three-year-long touring partnership with Duke Ellington, 2025's The Moment of Truth: Ella at the Coliseum finds Ella Fitzgerald taking center stage at the iconic Oakland, California stadium. This was a busy period for Fitzgerald, who had started the decade by winning a Grammy for her live version of "Mack the Knife" off Ella in Berlin. Consequently, she found herself in high demand as a live performer and kept up a heavy touring schedule. Her team-up with Ellington made sense -- not only were they both already icons of the swing era, they had recorded two well-received albums: 1957's Ella Fitzgerald sings the Duke Ellington Songbook and 1965's Ella at Duke's Place. Here, they make the most of their time together, digging into a nice mix of classic tunes from their early days, as well as more contemporary pop hits. Particularly sensational are the swingers, including the opening title track and their rendition of the Benny Goodman standard "Don't Be That Way," the latter of which Fitzgerald recorded several times and was particularly suited for. Equally compelling is her ebullient take on Cole Porter's "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)," another standard the audience would be more than familiar with from her composer songbook series. Here, Fitzgerald sounds delightfully loose, ad-libbing call-outs to Sonny & Cher, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and even 007 James Bond, all as she's egged on by Cat Anderson and Cootie Williams' bluesy trumpet asides. Along with the Ellington band, she is joined by her own trio of pianist Jimmy Jones, bassist Bob Cranshaw, and drummer Sam Woodyard. She takes advantage of the tonal shift, sinking into intimate readings of several more modern turns, including the film theme "Alfie" and the loungey bossa nova number "Music to Watch Girls By." Of course, she ends the night in big, swinging style with "Mack the Knife," conjuring some of that Grammy magic that made her such an indelible artist.
Review by Matt Collar
