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Ella Sings Gershwin(Decca, 1950)
Accompan-ied solely by the brilliant Ellis Larkins on piano, Ella established conclusively that she was neither a shallow pop nor be- bop scat vocalist. She was now a mature stylist with impeccable timing, diction and vocal control and could make a meaningful contribution to a song's interpretation. She would go on to make the more comprehensive Gershwin set for Verve and also record a Porgy & Bess of sorts with Louis Armstrong, but first is perhaps best in this case. Many people think Ella's Decca years were all big bands, novelty tunes and hit singles. Ella Sings Gershwin conclusively refutes this.
Sings The Cole Porter Song Book (Verve, 1956)
This was the first of the great Song Book series. Ella and Norman Granz collated as many Porter gems as they could find and gathered together a studio band to play them as good as anybody's - including Sinatra's. While Sinatra and, before him, Lee Wiley, brought the concept album into popular music, Ella's flood of incredible artistry attached to...