Ella Fitzgerald - Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960/2014) Hi-Res

Considered one of Ella's greatest recordings, she's backed on this 1960 release by pianist Paul Smith. "Let No Man Write My Epitaph" was a 1960 Hollywood movie featuring Fitzgerald. The album hits at a depth of emotional understanding that critics often complained was missing in Ella's reading of jazz lyrics, and once again establishes her as one of the supreme interpreters of the Great American Songbook.

This album is a rare gem, a 1960 duo session featuring Ella Fitzgerald singing classic ballads, which she performed in the film Let No Man Write My Epitaph, with pianist Paul Smith as her sole accompanist. Unfortunately, this audiophile LP reissue by Classic omits seven of the 13 selections heard on the original record in order to release it as a pair of one-sided 12" 45-rpm discs. While the fidelity is superb, it seems like it would have been more intelligent to utilize both sides of each disc or the regular 33-rpm speed in order to include all of this valuable music. In any case, Ella's gift for capturing the essence of each melody is matched by Smith's flawless backing for her, especially in her powerful interpretation of "Angel Eyes" and the loping "One for My Baby (And One for the Road)." There's no doubt that the missing songs, which include "I Hadn't Anyone Till You," "Who's Sorry Now," and "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You," are every bit as good as the tracks on this abbreviated reissue.

Recorded on April 14–19, 1960 at United Western Recorders, Hollywood, Los Angeles.

Tracklist

01 - Black Coffee
02 - Angel Eyes
03 - I Cried For You
04 - I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby
05 - Then You've Never Been Blue
06 - I Hadn't Anyone Till You
07 - My Melancholy Baby
08 - Misty
09 - September Song
10 - One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)
11 - Who's Sorry Now?
12 - I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
13 - Reach For Tomorrow