''Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Song Book'' is a 1963 studio album by the American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

singer

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

accompanied by an orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle. The album focuses on the songs of the composer

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in ove ...

. This was the second of Fitzgerald's Song Book series to have been orchestrated by Riddle; their previous collaboration was her '' George and Ira Gershwin Song Book'' in 1959. Fitzgerald and Riddle also recorded two albums of standards, '' Ella Swings Brightly with Nelson'' and '' Ella Swings Gently with Nelson'', in 1962. This was the seventh and penultimate album in Fitzgerald's Song Book series of songs written by

musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

composers; it was preceded by 1961's '' Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Song Book'' and followed by ''

Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Song Book ''Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Song Book'' is a 1964 studio album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, focusing on the songs of Johnny Mercer. It was recorded in Los Angeles, California. This ...

'' in 1964. Awarded four and a half stars by ''

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' magazine in 1963.

Track listing

For the 1963 Verve LP release; Verve V6-4060; Re-issued in 2005 on CD, Verve B0003933-02 Side One: #" Let's Begin" (

Otto Harbach Otto Abels Harbach, born Otto Abels Hauerbach (August 18, 1873 – January 24, 1963) was an American lyricist and librettist of nearly 50 musical comedies and operettas. Harbach collaborated as lyricist or librettist with many of the leading B ...

) – 2:56 #" A Fine Romance" (

Dorothy Fields Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), " On t ...

) – 3:36 #" All the Things You Are" ( Oscar Hammerstein II) – 3:15 #"

I'll Be Hard to Handle "I'll Be Hard to Handle" is a 1932 song composed by Jerome Kern, with lyrics written by Bernard Dougall. It was written for the musical ''Roberta'', where it was introduced by Lyda Roberti. ''Roberta'' opened on Broadway in November 1933.< ...

" (Bernard Dougall) – 3:47 #" You Couldn't Be Cuter" (Fields) – 3:13 #" She Didn't Say Yes" (Harbach) – 3:20 Side Two: #" I'm Old Fashioned" ( Johnny Mercer) – 3:27 #" Remind Me" (Fields) – 3:50 #"

The Way You Look Tonight "The Way You Look To-night" is a song from the film ''Swing Time'' that was performed by Fred Astaire and composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics written by Dorothy Fields. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1936. Fields remarked, ...

" (Fields) – 4:28 #" Yesterdays" (Harbach) – 2:51 #"

Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" with music by Jerome Kern, and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, is one of the most famous songs from their classic 1927 musical play '' Show Boat'', adapted from Edna Ferber's 1926 novel. Context The song, written i ...

" (Hammerstein) – 3:54 #"

Why Was I Born? "Why Was I Born?" is a 1929 song composed by Jerome Kern, with lyrics written by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was written for the show '' Sweet Adeline'' (1929) and introduced by Helen Morgan. Popular recordings in 1930 were by Helen Morgan and by ...

" (Hammerstein) – 3:44 All music written by

with lyricists as indicated.

Personnel

Recorded January 5–7, 1963 at Radio Recorders Studio 10H,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

: Tracks 1,3,5-6 and 8 *

- Vocals *

Don Fagerquist Donald Alton Fagerquist (February 6, 1927 – January 23, 1974) was a small group, big band, and studio jazz trumpet player from the West Coast of the United States. Career Fagerquist was a featured soloist with several major bands, including M ...

Trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

* Caroll Lewis * Dick Nash -

Trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

* George Seaberg * Shorty Sherock * Tommy Pederson * Tommy Shepard * George Roberts *

Plas Johnson Plas John Johnson Jr. (born July 21, 1931) is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most widely known as the tenor saxophone soloist on Henry Mancini’s "The Pink Panther Theme". He also performs on alto and baritone sa ...

Tenor Saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

* Harry Klee -

Woodwind Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and re ...

* Joe Koch * Wilbur Schwartz - woodwinds * Victor Arno -

Violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

Israel Baker Israel Baker (February 11, 1919 – December 25, 2011) was an American violinist and concertmaster. Through a long and varied career he played with many of the greatest figures in the worlds of classical music, jazz and pop. He appeared on hund ...

* Victor Bay * Alex Beller * Armand Kaproff -

Cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

* Ray Kramer * Dan Lube * Erno Neufeld * Lou Raderman * Nathan Ross * Alex Neimann -

Viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

* Paul Robyn * Barbara Simons *

Eleanor Slatkin Eleanor Aller (Slatkin) (May 20, 1917 – October 12, 1995) was an American cellist and founding member, with her husband, Felix Slatkin, of the Hollywood String Quartet. Life and career Born in New York City, she was the daughter of cellist Gre ...

* Paul Smith -

Piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

* Sidney Sharp * Gerald Vinci * Champ Webb * Robert Bain -

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

* Joe Comfort -

Double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

* Frank Flynn - drums *

Alvin Stoller Alvin Stoller (October 7, 1925 – October 19, 1992) was an American jazz drummer. Though he seems to have been largely forgotten, he was held in high regard in the 1940s and 1950s. He was best known for playing drums on both Mitch Miller's ...

- Drums * Nelson Riddle - Arranger, Conductor On Tracks 2,4, and 7: Personnel same as tracks 1,3,5-6, and 8 except Felix Slatkin and Marshall Sosson

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

replace Don Lube and Sidney Sharp; Edgar Lustgarten

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

replaces Ray Kramer; and add Ann Stockton on harp.

References

External links

Album review from a Dorothy Fields perspective
{{Authority control 1963 albums Albums arranged by Nelson Riddle Albums conducted by Nelson Riddle Albums produced by Norman Granz Ella Fitzgerald albums Jerome Kern tribute albums Verve Records albums