Verve Releases Another “Unearthed” Ella Album

Ella Fitzgerald with her band (photograph by ©Tom Copi, courtesy of Verve Records)

Those that have followed this site for some time may recall my delight in writing about the album Ella: The Lost Berlin Tapes, a “live” recording of a performance given by vocalist Ella Fitzgerald at the Berlin Sportpalast on March 25, 1962, performing only with the trio of Paul Smith on piano, Wilfred Middlebrooks on bass, and Stan Levey on drums. This album was released by Verve in the summer of 2019; and it is still available through an Amazon.com Web page in both vinyl and CD formats. For those that share my enthusiasm for the Fitzgerald discography, I am happy to report the recent release of a new Verve album, this one entitled The Moment of Truth: Ella at the Coliseum.

Since I am a resident of San Francisco, the venue for this recording is much closer than Berlin; and it captures a much earlier period in Fitzgerald’s career. It was recorded on June 30, 1967 (around the time that I earned my Bachelor’s degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) at the Oakland Coliseum. She is accompanied, for the most part, by members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, including such well-known performers as trumpeters Mercer Ellington and Cootie Williams, Chuck Connors on trombone, and reed players Paul Gonsalves and Johnny Hodges. However, there are also trio performances by pianist Jimmy Jones, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and drummer Sam Woodyard.

Two of the tracks are first-time recordings for Fitzgerald: “Alfie” and “Music To Watch Girls By.” Both of these are familiar to my generation and would have shown up as “regulars” (by other performers) in broadcasts from the campus radio station (where I spent my recreational time). On the other hand, the title track (which is also the first track) was a “first contact” experience for me, as were a few of the other tracks.

In other words, while Fitzgerald died in 1996, I find that I am still discovering new aspects of her performances and loving every minute of all of them!