Music Review: Ella Fitzgerald is in fine form on 1967 concert album, ‘Ella at the Coliseum'
Jazz giant Fitzgerald's presence elevated any event, however, and that was the case on June 30, 1967, when she performed at a concert that also included The Duke Ellington Orchestra and other luminaries.
'The Moment of Truth' documents Fitzgerald's set, and her incomparable alto is in typically fine form. She bounces and glides, blares and coos, bellows and whoops and scats and swings to the audience's delight. 'If you love her, clap!' someone shouts.
The album, which will be released Friday, features performances of nine songs unearthed from the private tape collection of Verve Records founder Norman Granz. The vinyl release offers outstanding sound quality and extensive, informative liner notes by the critic Will Friedwald. He notes that while it was unusual for Fitzgerald to sing contemporary pop tunes, the set includes her only known performance of two classics from the mid-1960s — the Burt Bacharach and Hal David penned 'Alfie' and Bob Crewe's 'Music to Watch Girls By.'
Fitzgerald is accompanied by a piano trio, and on several songs by the Ellington orchestra, with whom she had a lengthy 1960s collaboration. Ellington doesn't play, however, and the understated arrangements leave the spotlight entirely to Fitzgerald. She's in a playful mood in her on stage banter, teasing a late arrival, impersonating Louis Armstrong, and ruling out a striptease.
Her singing is radiant as she turns sophisticated melodies into a thrill ride. Their direction is as unpredictable as a pinball, with rhythmic daring and inventiveness that could make an arena sway. And it probably did.
Fitzgerald flies high on 'Mack the Knife,' and displays jazzy verve on Benny Goodman's 'Don't Be That Way' and the Tony Bennett staple 'The Moment of Truth,' while 'You've Changed' shimmers with bluesy beauty. On 'Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love),' her phrasing is as clever as Cole Porter's lyrics. In her version, she injects references to the Beatles, James Bond, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.
As Friedwald notes, Fitzgerald rarely drew from the Burt Bacharach-Hal David catalogue. But her interpretation of their classic ballad 'Alfie' is a marvel of technique, emotional investment and creativity, including a brief digression. Fitzgerald navigates the complicated melody and rhythm with ease. It's an exemplar of the album, because as always, in keeping with the advice of the lyrics, her heart leads the way.
___
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
The Bright Side: Leopard seal love songs structured like nursery rhymes, study finds
Male leopard seals compose and sing their own songs to woo potential mating partners, scientists in Australia have found. The songs are structured much like nursery rhymes, making them easy to remember. "It kind of sounds like sound effects from an '80s sci-fi" movie, the lead author of the study said. When male leopard seals dive down into icy Antarctic waters, they sing songs structured like nursery rhymes in performances that can last up to 13 hours, scientists said Thursday. The Australian-led team of researchers compared the complexity of the songs composed by the big blubbery mammals to those of other animals -- as well as human musicians like the Beatles and Mozart. Lucinda Chambers, a bioacoustics PhD student at Australia's University of New South Wales, told AFP that people are often surprised when they hear the "otherworldly" hoots and trills sung by leopard seals. "It kind of sounds like sound effects from an '80s sci-fi" movie, said the lead author of a new study in the journal Scientific Reports. During the spring breeding season, male leopard seals dive underwater and perform their songs for two minutes before returning to the surface for air. They then repeat this performance for up to 13 hours a day, according to the study. The researchers determined that all leopard seals share the same set of five "notes" which are impossible to distinguish between individuals. However each seal arranges these notes in a unique way to compose their own personal song. "We theorise that they're using that structure as a way to broadcast their individual identity, kind of like shouting their name out into the void," Chambers said. The researchers believe the males use these songs to woo potential female mates -- and ward off rivals. 'Songbirds of the ocean' The team studied recordings of 26 seals captured by study co-author Tracey Rogers off the coast of Eastern Antarctica throughout the 1990s. "They're like the songbirds of the Southern Ocean," Rogers, who is also from the University of New South Wales, said in a statement. "During the breeding season, if you drop a hydrophone into the water anywhere in the region, you'll hear them singing." The team analysed how random the seals' sequences of notes were, finding that their songs were less predictable than the calls of humpback whales or the whistles of dolphins. But they were still more predictable than the more complex music of the Beatles or Mozart. "They fall into the ballpark of human nursery rhymes," Chambers said. This made sense, because the songs need to be simple enough so that each seal can remember their composition to perform it every day, she explained. She compared it to how "nursery rhymes have to be predictable enough that a child can memorise them". But each seal song also needs to be unpredictable enough to stand out from those of the other males. Leopard seals, which are the apex predator in Antarctic waters, swim alone and cover vast distances. They likely evolved their particular kind of song so that their message travels long distances, the researchers theorised. Varying pitch or frequency might not travel as far in their environment, Chambers said. Female seals also sing sometimes, though the scientists do not know why. Chambers suggested it could be to teach their pups how to sing -- exactly how this talent is passed down is also a mystery. But she added that this behaviour has never been observed in the wild. The females could also just be communicating with each other, she said. (FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Seals sing 'otherworldly' songs structured like nursery rhymes
When male leopard seals dive down into icy Antarctic waters, they sing songs structured like nursery rhymes in performances that can last up to 13 hours, scientists said Thursday. The Australian-led team of researchers compared the complexity of the songs composed by the big blubbery mammals to those of other animals -- as well as human musicians like the Beatles and Mozart. Lucinda Chambers, a bioacoustics PhD student at Australia's University of New South Wales, told AFP that people are often surprised when they hear the "otherworldly" hoots and trills sung by leopard seals. "It kind of sounds like sound effects from an '80s sci-fi" movie, said the lead author of a new study in the journal Scientific Reports. During the spring breeding season, male leopard seals dive underwater and perform their songs for two minutes before returning to the surface for air. They then repeat this performance for up to 13 hours a day, according to the study. The researchers determined that all leopard seals share the same set of five "notes" which are impossible to distinguish between individuals. However each seal arranges these notes in a unique way to compose their own personal song. "We theorise that they're using that structure as a way to broadcast their individual identity, kind of like shouting their name out into the void," Chambers said. The researchers believe the males use these songs to woo potential female mates -- and ward off rivals. - 'Songbirds of the ocean' - The team studied recordings of 26 seals captured by study co-author Tracey Rogers off the coast of Eastern Antarctica throughout the 1990s. "They're like the songbirds of the Southern Ocean," Rogers, who is also from the University of New South Wales, said in a statement. "During the breeding season, if you drop a hydrophone into the water anywhere in the region, you'll hear them singing." The team analysed how random the seals' sequences of notes were, finding that their songs were less predictable than the calls of humpback whales or the whistles of dolphins. But they were still more predictable than the more complex music of the Beatles or Mozart. "They fall into the ballpark of human nursery rhymes," Chambers said. This made sense, because the songs need to be simple enough so that each seal can remember their composition to perform it every day, she explained. She compared it to how "nursery rhymes have to be predictable enough that a child can memorise them". But each seal song also needs to be unpredictable enough to stand out from those of the other males. Leopard seals, which are the apex predator in Antarctic waters, swim alone and cover vast distances. They likely evolved their particular kind of song so that their message travels long distances, the researchers theorised. Varying pitch or frequency might not travel as far in their environment, Chambers said. Female seals also sing sometimes, though the scientists do not know why. Chambers suggested it could be to teach their pups how to sing -- exactly how this talent is passed down is also a mystery. But she added that this behaviour has never been observed in the wild. The females could also just be communicating with each other, she said. dl/ach Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Ozzy Osbourne Wanted 1 Song Played at His Funeral
Ozzy Osbourne once revealed the one song he wanted to be played at his funeral. In a 2016 blog for NME, the Black Sabbath legend named the Beatles classic 'A Day In The Life' as his one request for his future funeral. 'I really need a few more years to think this over, but probably something from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band or Revolver.' Osbourne wrote at the time. 'I definitely don't want my f---ing greatest hits album – I never ever play that thing, I'm f---ing embarrassed about it. And I definitely don't want a f---ing happy song – I'm dead.' He then selected the John Lennon/Paul McCartney-penned 'A Day in the Life.' Osbourne previously said the closing track on the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album took him 'back to a magical time in [his] life,' per American Songwriter. Osbourne was a lifelong fan of the Beatles after first hearing their 1963 breakthrough Beatlemania hit, 'She Loves You.' 'This is the one that sucked me in,' he told Rolling Stone. 'I was a 14-year-old kid with this blue transistor radio. I heard 'She Loves You,' and it floored me. It was as if you knew all the colors in the world. Then someone shows you a brand-new color, and you go, 'F---in' hell, man.'' Aside from the Beatles. Osbourne didn't have any other preferences for his funeral playlist. In 2021, he told The Sunday Times, 'I honestly don't care what they play at my funeral. They can put on a medley of Justin Bieber, Susan Boyle, and We Are the Diddymen if it makes 'em happy.' On July 30, Osbourne's life will be remembered with a funeral procession in his hometown of Birmingham, England, a Facebook post from the city council announced. Local brass band Bostin Brass will accompany a procession down Birmingham's Broad Street, which will end at the Black Sabbath Bridge and Bench tourist attraction, The New York Times reported. Osbourne died on July 22 at age 76, less than three weeks after performing his farewell show with Black Sabbath at Villa Park in Aston, Osbourne Wanted 1 Song Played at His Funeral first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 30, 2025
