A much-needed look at a near-lost side of Ella's work for Verve – the singles she recorded for the label in the 50s and 60s, work that's very different than her more famous LPs! Historically, Ella's probably best remembered for her Songbook albums at Verve – serious efforts that focused on the work of 20th Century songwriters like Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. But during the same years she was working on those projects, she also cut a tremendous amount of singles for the label – many of them in styles not heard on LPs. The set's got some really wonderful numbers that really open up our understanding of Ella – short jazzy tunes, catchy pop numbers, weepy ballads, bossa nova, novelty tracks, and even a few Holiday tunes – all packaged in a great 2CD set that includes 36 titles in all! Tunes include "Ol Man Mose", "Desafinado", "Stardust Bossa Nova", "All The Live Long Day", "I'm A Poached Egg", "Your Red Wagon", "But Not For Me", "Dreams Are Made For Children", "Stay There", "Hotta Chocolatta", "Too Young For The Blues", "It's Only A Man", and "Lonely Is". CD

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Titles include "Midnight Sun", "You're Blase", "Night Wind", "Hurry Home", "What's New", "Close Your Eyes", "More Than You Know", "There's A Lull In My Life", and "How Long Has This Been Going On". LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal pre-Verve work by Ella Fitzgerald – a variety of early singles from the late 40s and early 50s, collected together in one full album by Decca! Even at this point in her career, the Fitzgerald magic is firmly in place – sensitively taking on familiar lyrics on some tunes, scatting breezily on others – all with a lot more jazz in the mix than her contemporaries, but not nearly as much pyrotechnics as the bebop-era vocalese crowd. Backings are by Sy Oliver on many numbers, by small groups on others – and a few tracks feature backing vocals by the Ray Charles singers. Titles include "Lullaby Of Birdland", "Rough Ridin", "Smooth Sailing", "Later", "Ella Hums The Blues", "How High The Moon", "Air Mail Special", and "Flying Home". CD

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A great set from Ella Fitzgerald – recorded at Carnegie Hall during a stretch when Fitzgerald was hitting new worldwide fame, and singing a lot of groovy contemporary tunes – but done here in a very old school style that hearkens back to Ella's earliest days in the jazz world! The orchestra here is that of Chick Webb, directed by Eddie Barefield – who brings a vintage swing to the music that's mighty nice, and free from some of the more modern modes of some of Fitzgerald's studio work of the time. The live setting allows for Ella to open up nicely on some tunes – especially some of the medley numbers, which may well be some of the most entertaining on the record. Ella sings with some backing from Ellis Larkins on piano on a few numbers – and a few other tracks are instrumental, with work by Tommy Flanagan on piano, Eddie Lockjaw Davis on tenor, and Al Grey on trombone. Titles include "Stardust", "Some Of These Days", "I've Gotta Be Me", "C Jam Blues", "Smooth Sailing", "Indian Summer", and "Lemon Drop". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic vocal set from Ella – filled with standards from the Rodgers & Hart songbook – including "Isn't It Romantic", "My Romance", "Spring Is Here", "Thou Swell", "Bewitched", "Blue Moon", "A Ship Without A Sail", "I Could Write A Book", and "Where Or When". LP, Vinyl record album

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A classic vocal set from Ella – filled with standards from the Rodgers & Hart songbook – including "My Romance", "Spring Is Here", "Thou Swell", "A Ship Without A Sail", and "Have You Met Miss Jones". LP, Vinyl record album

Massive music from Ella Fitzgerald – 4CDs worth of sublime small group recordings – all of them live, and all of them previously unissued! The set follows the same format of the Verve Ella In Hollywood album – recorded in a small club setting, with combo backing that really lets Fitzgerald open up and swing – inflecting the tunes with the kind of warmth and spontaneity that she brought to her famous live performances of the time – which were almost always more compelling than her studio sides, no matter how great those were too! The first 3CDs feature material from two weeks' worth of recording in May of 1961 – with backing from Jim Hall on guitar, Lou Levy on piano, Wilfred Middlebrooks on bass, and Gus Johnson on drums – and CD four features Ella returning to Hollywood for two more nights in 1962, with trio backing from Paul Smith on piano, Middlebrooks on bass, and Stan Levey on drums. There's a massive 77 tracks in all – handsomely package in a hardcover 7" square book – which also features beautiful color pages inside, lots of notes on the music, and design that's every bit as groovy as the old albums on Verve. Titles include "Joe Williams' Blues", "It's De-Lovely", "Lorelei", "I Can't Get Started", "Round Midnight", "Perdido", "Little White Lies", "Lover Come Back To Me", "Across The Alley From The Alamo", "Love For Sale", "Exactly Like You", "Mack The Knife", "Teach Me Tonight", "My Kind Of Boy", "It Had To Be You", "Hard Hearted Hannah", "All Of Me", and "Too Darn Hot/Ella's Twist". And, in case you're wondering, there's almost no repetition in the set at all – all discreet, unique tunes – not just the sort of rehash you might get in other concert box sets of this nature! CD

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Ella's performing songs written by or associated with Duke–what could be better? Here she's backed by two different Ellington groups–-one a big band, the other a small group, whose members included Stuff Smith, Barney Kessel, and Ben Webster. Titles include "Rockin' In Rhythm", "Caravan", "Take The A Train", "Clementine", and "Perdido", all performed with the with the big band, and "Satin Doll", "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)", "Cottontail", and "Do Nothing Till You Here From Me", backed by the small group. Sublime! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the hippest takes ever on the Porgy & Bess score – done in duet format by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, in a fuller spirit than their other albums for Verve! Like many late 50s albums of Gershwin's score, this one was issued in advance of the film with Sidney Poitier – but unlike most, this is less of a cash-in affair, and really takes Gershwin's music on its own – serving it up with that newly serious style that Verve was hitting with some artists, especially Ella, in the latter half of the 50s. Most tracks have relatively full backings – strings and jazz orchestrations – and the double-length set features 15 tracks that include "Buzzard Song", "I Got Plenty O Nuttin", "My Man's Gone Now", "I Wants To Stay Here", "Summertime", "It Ain't Necessarily So", "What You Want Wid Bess", "There's A Boat Dat's Leavin Soon For New York", "Oh Lawd I'm On My Way", and "A Woman Is A Sometime Thing". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the hippest takes ever on the Porgy & Bess score – done in duet format by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, in a fuller spirit than their other albums for Verve! Like many late 50s albums of Gershwin's score, this one was issued in advance of the film with Sidney Poitier – but unlike most, this is less of a cash-in affair, and really takes Gershwin's music on its own – serving it up with that newly serious style that Verve was hitting with some artists, especially Ella, in the latter half of the 50s. Most tracks have relatively full backings – strings and jazz orchestrations – and the double-length set includes "Buzzard Song", "I Got Plenty O Nuttin", "My Man's Gone Now", "I Wants To Stay Here", "Summertime", "It Ain't Necessarily So", "What You Want Wid Bess", "There's A Boat Dat's Leavin Soon For New York", "Oh Lawd I'm On My Way", and "A Woman Is A Sometime Thing" – plus two live bonus tracks recorded the previous year. CD

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A beautiful late duo set from Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass – who'd worked together on a number of terrific sets in the 70s & 80s – always with an excellent, intuitive communication – which culminated in the lovely Easy Living in the early 80s! Here they work with material largely culled from the Broadway and film music canons – some of quite well known if not acknowledged standards, and others that are are little more obscure. A real late charmer from Ella & Joe! Includes "My Ship", "Don't Be That Way", "My Man", "Don't Worry 'Bout Me", "Easy Living", "Days Of WineAnd Roses", "I Want A Little Girl", "I'm Making Believe", "On A Slow Boat To China", "Love For Sale" and more. This remastered 2011 edition has 2 bonus tracks: "Don't Be That Way (Take 3, Alternate)" and "Love For Sale (Take 1, Alternate)". CD

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A great set of Christmas classics – five albums, each represented with LP-styled artwork in a box of 5 CDs! First up is Jolly Christmas by Frank Sinatra – one of the greatest Christmas albums of the 20th century – a rich tapestry of sadness and longing from Ol' Blue Eyes himself! Sure, most folks think that Christmas albums are supposed to be cheery and celebratory – but Frank, coming off of his best Wee Small Hours years at Capitol, rightly chose the sadder side of Christmas – and put together an album full of songs that really get at the bluer side of the holiday. Side one of the set includes some tremendous secular songs – the kind of mid-century tunes that often had a dark undercurrent of separation and unfulfilled desire – masquerading as holiday tunes, but in Frank's hands, coming off more like smokey late night tunes of lost love and wasted life. Side two's got some more spiritual-oriented tunes – but again, done by Frank, with arrangements by Gordon Jenkins, these tunes come off with a lot less celebratory spirit than you'd expect. Titles include "The Christmas Waltz", "Mistletoe & Holly", "The Christmas Song", "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear", and "I'll Be Home For Christmas". Next is A Christmas Gift To You – Phil Spector's classic Christmas album – a swirling delight of 60s pop and soul numbers, still one of the greatest full Christmas LPs ever recorded! The whole thing is wonderful – a mix of soul, rock, and pop – all produced with that classic "wall of sound" style that made Phil Spector such an early production genius in the 60s! The music is from those magical times when boundary-busting art and craft were mixed perfectly with pop styles that anyone could instantly fall in love with – and titles include "Frosty The Snowman" by The Ronettes, "Here Comes Santa Claus" by Bob B Soxx & The Blue Jeans, "Marshmallow World" by Darlene Love, "Sleigh Ride" by The Ronnettes, "Winter Wonderland" by Darlene Love, "Santa Claus Is Comin To Town" by The Crystals, and "Silent Night" by Phil and other artists on the set! Next is Elvis Christmas Album – an early Holiday gem from Elvis Presley – a set that had RCA Records wisely rushing the young singer into the studio to cut a host of Christmas tunes – which ensured that Elvis would be spinning on the turntable for many seasons to come! Titles include "Here Comes Santa Claus", "Silent Night", "Blue Christmas", "White Christmas", and "Santa Bring My Baby Back". Next is Merry Christmas from Bing Crosby – which may well be THE Christmas album of the 20th century – a 50s issue of 40s singles cut by Der Bingle, packaged in a cover with a classic cover image that's ensured that the record stayed in print for dozens of Decembers in years to come! Given that Bing virtually owned Christmas on TV during the 50s, 60s, and 70s, the album's place in popular music is well-earned – and honestly, Bing's "aw shucks, I'm just reg'lar folks" sort of approach to these tunes really helped create a kind of common man secular side to the Holidays that forever transformed America's celebration of the season. Or maybe we're going to far with this one . . . But whatever the case, the album's a standard, and one we were certainly raised on. Titles include "Silver Bells", "Jingle Bells", "Silent Night", "White Christmas", "Adeste Fideles", "Faith Of Our Fathers", "I'll Be Home For Christmas", and "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas". Last up is Ella Fitzgerald Wishes You A Swinging Christmas – a wonderful Holiday album that's stayed fresh for years! Ella's got a perfect style to interpret these numbers – working with Frank DeVol and Russ Garcia in a set of lightly jazzy versions of Christmas favorites like "Sleigh Ride", "Jingle Bells", "Winter Wonderland", "White Christmas", "Frosty The Snowman", and one of the best versions of "What Are You Doing New Years Eve" ever recorded! CD

A late session from Ella – but a nice one! The setting is bossa – as you could guess by the title – and the music is handled with a smooth west coast Brazilian approach – arrangements by Erich Bulling, and players that include Oscar Castro-Neves, Paulinho Da Costa, Alex Acuna, and Joe Pass. Zoot Sims blows a few solos, Toots Thielemans plays harmonica – and titles include "Dreamer", "Dindi", "Somewhere In The Hills", "Girl From Ipanema", "Water To Drink", "Song Of The Jet", "Wave", "Useless Landscape", and "Bonita". 2LPs – with lots of tracks! LP, Vinyl record album

This is a 60s set that brings together the 2 volumes released separately. Among the 30 plus songs are "All Through The Night", "Anything Goes", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "I Love Paris", "Easy To Love", "You're The Top", "Let's Do It", "Begin The Beguine", "Love For Sale", "It's Delovely", "Night And Day", and "I've Got You Under My Skin". CD

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Classic duets between Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong – done in a sweet mode that only could have been handled by Verve in the 50s! Backings are in a nice small combo mode – with Armstrong on both trumpet and vocals – and Ella and Louis carry most of the set with their great vocal interplay – warm, personal, and pretty darn charming – in a mode that should be hokey, but comes across great, thanks to the quality of both vocalists! Titles include "April In Paris", "Can't We Be Friends", "Isn't This A Lovely Day", "Under A Blanket Of Blue", and "A Foggy Day". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes "People", "Sweet & Slow", "Broadway", "The Thrill Is Gone", "I Won't Dance", "Show Me", "See See Rider", "Honeysuckle Rose", "When Your Lover Has Gone", "Gone With The Wind", and "Don't Be That Way". LP, Vinyl record album

A newly-discovered live set from Ella Fitzgerald – recorded at the Shrine Auditorium in LA, a week before the famous Ella At Zardi's set! Producer Norman Granz was already great at capturing an intimate artist in a live setting – as evidenced by his famous Jazz At The Philharmonic Recordings – and he does a great job here with Ella, too – who steps out swinging, with some nice small combo backings. Granz speaks at the end of the set – and titles include "Joe Williams' Blues", "And The Angels Sing", "Air Mail Special", "Cry Me A River", "Glad To Be Unhappy", and "Lullaby Of Birdland". LP, Vinyl record album

A previously-unreleased live performance by the legendary Ella Fitzgerald – recorded in a small club in Los Angeles during her first few months with the Verve label – but never issued at the time! The quality here is great, and the set captures Ella at a pivotal moment – stepping from the jazz underground to the huge stage of American fame where she'd shine in the 60s and 70s – with an initial stop at higher-class venues like this, where she could craft her vocal skills into a style that was virtually all her own! Make no mistake, Ella's still plenty jazzy and swinging here – but she's also already matured far past the style she was using at Decca just a few short years before – working with accompaniment from a trio that includes Don Abney on piano, Vernon Alley on bass, and Frank Capp on drums. 2LP set presents material from both the first and second set of the performance – 21 tracks in all – and titles include "Why Don't You Do Right", "S Wonderful", "Glad To Be Unhappy", "Lullaby Of Birdland", "It All Depends On You", "Little Boy", "Airmail Special", "Bernie's Tune", "How High The Moon", and "Cry Me A River". LP, Vinyl record album