Sweet & Low/Georgia On My Mind/I Can’t Get Started/Street Of Dreams/Imagination/The Very Thought Of You/ It’s A Blue World/Darn That Dream/He’s Funny That Way/I Wished On The Moon/It’s A Pity To Say Goodnight/ My One & Only Love/Body & Soul
Swings Gently With Nelson is an essential album for Ella fans. She is in peak form and the arrangements by Nelson Riddle provide her with the perfect backing.
“There is not a single indifferent song on this album, and never do the standards of musicianship from any of the performers waver: Swings Gently is perfection throughout. It's not even easy to pick out one track that is better than the others, but special acknowledgement is, perhaps, demanded by Body & Soul, a touchstone of the jazz musician's art since the '20s.”
“This is an album of the most magical, achingly beautiful music-making. It really is one of those records which, in the words of one of the numbers so lusciously performed here, 'makes a cloudy day sunny'. There was no kind of popular song written between 1920 and 1960 that Ella Fitzgerald couldn't handle, and as a result, it's almost absurd to compare one of her albums with another. However, for sheer transcendent beauty, it's hard to beat this set of gorgeously rendered ballads.”
“Oh boy, is this a treat. One of those albums whose discovery really makes life seem better. Riddle's arrangements are simply breathtaking; lush, heady, saturated with nostalgia, but with a powerful slow swing, as if cast for some dance band in heaven, they provide a magical backdrop for Ella at her most forthright and soulful."
“She is absolutely in peak voice on this album and when combined with Riddle's dance band arrangements you have pure musical magic and there is not a weak track on this album. She was a genuine talent and boy could she sing. Everything is totally flawless, precise and well-executed - it's utterly sublime.”
“Ella shines in every way on this album and Nelson Riddle's arrangements and orchestra are impeccable. She is in her prime vocally and uses that incredible voice like one of the instruments reminiscent of the great jazz musicians. No wonder there are no female vocalists today that come close to this lady. She set a standard that can't be matched. And it is no wonder she loved to work with Nelson. He is in a category unto himself.”
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