''Ella in Berlin'' is a 1960 live 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 ...

. This album was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

in 1999, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance." One of Fitzgerald's most acclaimed live performances, at this concert in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, Fitzgerald improvised lyrics for "

Mack the Knife "Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" (german: "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", italic=no, link=no) is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama ''The Threepenny Opera'' (german: Die Dreig ...

" after forgetting the original lyrics. In recognition of this, she received the Grammy for Best Female Vocal Performance (Single) and the Best Vocal Performance, Female (Album) at the

3rd Annual Grammy Awards The 3rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on April 13, 1961, at Los Angeles and New York. They recognized musical accomplishments by the performers for the year 1960. Ray Charles won four awards and Bob Newhart and Henry Mancini each won three awards ...

Track listing

Original Verve release from 1960 ''Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife'' on MG VS-64041; featuring 9 tracks. ;Side One: # "

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...

" (

Herb Magidson Herbert A. Magidson (January 7, 1906 – January 2, 1986) was an American popular lyricist. His work was used in over 23 films and four Broadway revues. He won the first Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1934. Life and career Magidson was ...

, Allie Wrubel) – 2:25 # "

Misty Misty may refer to: Music * ''Misty'' (Ray Stevens album), an album by Ray Stevens featuring the above song * ''Misty'' (Richard "Groove" Holmes album), an album by Richard "Groove" Holmes featuring the above song * ''Misty'' (Eddie "Lockjaw" ...

" ( Johnny Burke,

Erroll Garner Erroll Louis Garner (June 15, 1921 – January 2, 1977) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His instrumental ballad " Misty", his best-known composition, has become a jazz standard. It was first r ...

) – 2:38 # " The Lady Is a Tramp" ( Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 2:40 # " The Man I Love" (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin) – 3:42 # " Summertime" (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin, DuBose Heyward) – 3:02 ;Side Two: # "

Too Darn Hot "Too Darn Hot" is a song written by Cole Porter for his musical ''Kiss Me, Kate'' (1948). In the stage version, it is sung at the start of Act 2, and in the 1948 original Broadway production, it was sung by Lorenzo Fuller (as Paul) and Eddie Sle ...

" ( Cole Porter) – 3:17 # "

Lorelei The Lorelei ( ; ), spelled Loreley in German, is a , steep slate rock on the right bank of the River Rhine in the Rhine Gorge (or Middle Rhine) at Sankt Goarshausen in Germany, part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site. Th ...

" (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin) – 3:27 # "

" ( Marc Blitzstein, Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill) – 4:39 # "

How High the Moon "How High the Moon" is a jazz standard with lyrics by Nancy Hamilton and music by Morgan Lewis. It was first featured in the 1940 Broadway revue '' Two for the Show'', where it was sung by Alfred Drake and Frances Comstock. In ''Two for the S ...

" (

Nancy Hamilton Nancy Hamilton (July 27, 1908 - February 18, 1985) was an American actress, playwright, lyricist, director and producer. Early life and education Nancy Hamilton was born in Sewickley, Pennsylvania on July 27, 1908, daughter of Charles Lee Hamil ...

, Morgan Lewis) – 6:58

CD track listing

Verve re-issue from 1993 ''The Complete Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife'' on Verve 314 519 564–2; featuring 13 vocal performances. The 1993 re-issue, and all later releases, include 4 bonus tracks. Tracks 2 and 3 were recorded at the Berlin concert in January 1960 and had been rediscovered on a reel-to-reel tape of the concert initially recorded for radio broadcast. Tracks 10 and 11 were mistakenly identified as being part of the live recording made from the concert, both tracks had appeared on a Dutch pressing of the album in 1960. The two performances had actually been recorded in August 1956 and previously released on the 2-LP set ''Jazz at the Hollywood Bowl'' on Verve MG V 8231–2. The mistake was discovered post-production of this CD release.Sleeve notes;

Phil Schaap Philip van Noorden Schaap (April 8, 1951September 7, 2021) was an American radio host, who specialized in jazz as a broadcaster, historian, archivist, and producer. He began presenting jazz shows on Columbia University's WKCR in 1970, and hoste ...

(1993) ''The Complete Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife'' on Verve 314 519 564-2 # Setting up the Stage – 0:20 # "

That Old Black Magic "That Old Black Magic" is a 1942 popular song written by Harold Arlen (music), with the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. They wrote it for the 1942 film '' Star Spangled Rhythm'', when it was sung by Johnny Johnston and danced by Vera Zorina. The song ...

" ( Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer) – 3:51 # "

Our Love Is Here to Stay "Love Is Here to Stay" is a popular song and jazz standard composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin for the movie ''The Goldwyn Follies'' (1938). History "Love Is Here to Stay" was first performed by Kenny Baker in ''The Goldwy ...

" (

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

, Ira Gershwin) – 3:19 # "

" (

, Allie Wrubel) – 2:25 # "

" ( Johnny Burke,

) – 2:38 # Applause and Fanfare Interlude – 0:19 # " The Lady Is a Tramp" ( Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 2:40 # Fanfare and Announcement – 0:28 # " The Man I Love" (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin) – 3:42 # " Love for Sale" - Recorded in August 1956 ( Cole Porter) – 2:57 # " Just One of Those Things" - Recorded in August 1956 (Porter) – 3:53 # " Summertime" (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin, DuBose Heyward) – 3:02 # "

" (Porter) – 3:17 # Applause and Fanfare Interlude – 0:24 # "

" (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin) – 3:27 # "

" ( Marc Blitzstein, Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill) – 4:39 # Fanfare and Announcement – 0:23 # "

" (Nancy Hamilton, Morgan Lewis) – 6:58 # Applause and Closing Fanfare – 1:06

Personnel

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

* 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 ...

* Jim Hall –

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 ...

* Wilfred Middlebrooks –

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 ...

* Gus Johnson – drums

Footnotes

External links

'Remembering Ella' by Phillip D. Atteberry
features discussion about this album. {{Authority control Albums produced by Norman Granz Ella Fitzgerald live albums Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients 1960 live albums Verve Records live albums Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance