Description
Ella Fitzgerald – Ella At The Hollywood Bowl: The Irving Berlin Songbook – Vinyl Record
Ella at the Hollywood Bowl: The Irving Berlin Songbook is a stunning and long-overdue live album by the First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald, recorded on August 16, 1958 at the Hollywood Bowl and finally released in June 2022 by Verve Records. This remarkable performance captures Fitzgerald at the height of her vocal powers, singing selections from her Irving Berlin Songbook, one of the most celebrated volumes in her historic Songbook series. Until this release, fans had only heard her interpretations of Irving Berlin’s music in the studio, where the performances—while beautifully arranged—were carefully controlled and edited. This newly unearthed recording offers something much rarer: the raw, spontaneous, and deeply engaging experience of Ella performing these classics live with a full orchestra, in front of a captivated audience under the California night sky.
The concert marked a key moment in Ella’s career. Just months earlier, she had released Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook, arranged and conducted by Paul Weston, as part of her ambitious series of albums dedicated to the great American composers. The studio album was already a critical and commercial success. But for this one-night-only concert at the Hollywood Bowl, Fitzgerald was joined by her longtime pianist and musical director Paul Smith, who led the orchestra and adapted the arrangements for the live setting. The result is a performance full of immediacy and intimacy, where Ella’s sense of timing, vocal improvisation, and charisma shine in ways the studio recordings—polished and pristine as they are—can only hint at.
The setlist reads like a who’s who of Irving Berlin’s most enduring songs, including “Cheek to Cheek,” “Puttin’ On the Ritz,” “Let’s Face the Music and Dance,” “The Song Is Ended,” “Top Hat, White Tie and Tails,” and the deeply affecting “How Deep Is the Ocean.” The concert closes with a rousing version of “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” one of Berlin’s earliest hits, delivered with swing and sparkle. But it’s not just the upbeat numbers that shine—Ella brings extraordinary emotional range to the more poignant pieces. One of the most powerful moments of the evening is her interpretation of “Supper Time,” a harrowing song about racial violence and a woman’s grief, originally written by Berlin in the 1930s. In Fitzgerald’s hands, it becomes a moment of subtle but searing political commentary, delivered with restraint and profound feeling.
Throughout the performance, Ella’s voice is clear, flexible, and emotionally resonant, with every phrase shaped by her deep understanding of the lyric. Her control and improvisational skill are breathtaking—she can float effortlessly over the orchestra or dive deep into a lyric’s emotional core. The orchestra itself plays with great finesse, supporting her with lush textures and tasteful dynamics, never overwhelming her voice. The recording, restored and remastered from the original analog tapes, sounds warm, full, and alive—especially impressive given that it sat unreleased in the vaults for over 60 years.
What makes Ella at the Hollywood Bowl: The Irving Berlin Songbook particularly special is that it is the only known live performance from Ella’s Songbook series that was captured in its entirety with a full orchestra. The Songbook albums were some of the most important achievements of her career—transforming her from a jazz singer into a definitive interpreter of American popular song. This concert, then, offers a unique and essential window into how that material came alive on stage, in front of an audience, guided not only by musical excellence but also by Ella’s natural warmth and magnetism as a performer.
For longtime fans and newcomers alike, this album is a treasure. It’s a bridge between jazz and the Great American Songbook, between the recording studio and the concert hall, between historical reverence and spontaneous artistry. In the end, Ella at the Hollywood Bowl is more than just a recovered performance—it’s a radiant celebration of Fitzgerald’s genius and her unmatched ability to bring out the heart, humor, and humanity in every song she touched. It stands not only as a major archival discovery but also as a joyful and moving reminder of why Ella Fitzgerald remains one of the most beloved and important vocalists of all time.
Brand new, never played and still sealed in the factory plastic
Track Listing
The Song Is Ended
You’re Laughing At Me
How Deep Is The Ocean
Heat Wave
Supper Time
Cheek To Cheek
Russian Lullaby
Top Hat, White Tie And Tails
I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
Get Thee Behind Me Satan
Let’s Face The Music And Dance
Always
Puttin’ On The Ritz
Let Yourself Go
Alexander’s Ragtime Band
