Pablo Records Orig Year 1981 Personnel: Ella Fitzgerald (vocals); Joe Pass (violao, guitar) Alex Acuna (drums) Ronald Batista (guitar) Oscar Castro Neves (violao, guitar) Clarck Terry (trumpet) Paulinho da Costa (percussion, associate producer) Mitch Holder (guitar) Paul Jackson (guitar) Abraham Laboriel (bass) Clarence McDonalds (keyboards) Zoot Sims (sax tenor) Toots Thielemans (harmonica) Terry Trotter (keyboards) Mike Lang (keyboards) Tracklist 1. Somewhere In The Hills (Faleva) 2. Girl From Ipanema, The (Garota De Ipanema) 3. Dindi 4. Off Key (Desafinado) 5. Water To Drink (Agua De Beber) 6. Dreamer (Vivo Sonhando) 7. Quiet Night Of Quiet Stars (Corcovado) 8. Bonita 9. One Note Samba (Samba De Uma Nota So) 10. Triste 11. How Insensitive (Insensatez) 12. He's A Carioca (Ele E Carioca) 13. This Love That I've Found (So Tinha De Ser Com Voce) 14. A Felicidade 15. Wave 16. Song Of The Jet (Samba Do Aviao) 17. Photograph (Fotografia) 18. Useless Landscape (Inutil Paisagem) recen Nel 1981, Norman Granz, produttore di Ella Fitzgerald e fondatore della casa discografica Pablo nel 1973, nonch? l'uomo, a mio parere, che pi? di tutti ha promosso il jazz nel mondo, scrive una nota all'album "Ella abraca Jobim" dove esprime il suo personale amore per quest'album che lui considera essere "il migliore della Fitzgerald, il pi? emozionante ed esplosivo". Ma purtroppo l'album non ebbe un forte riverbero. Ella Fitzgerald, ancora oggi, ? ricordata per le grandi interpretazioni dei songbook di Cole Porter o soprattutto di George and Ira Gershwin ma non per questa interpretazione, forse minore, del songbook di Antonio Carlos Jobim. Forse perch? negli anni '80 la musica sta cambiando aspetto. Sono gli anni in cui Tom Waits cambia completamente rotta, iniziando a sperimentare nuove forme stilistiche (ricordo il bellissimo "Rain Dogs" del 1985). Sono gli anni in cui si afferma il talento di Nina Simone, in cui si fa strada una new wave pop (The Cars, Blondie, Ultravox, Culture Club, Tears for Fears, The Smiths, INXS e chi pi? ne ha, pi? ne metta). Sono gli anni in cui si consolida la disco music, chiudono i cosiddetti "night", e il jazz prende un'altra direzione, diventa smooth-jazz, diventa funk, raggiunge il massimo dell'evoluzione la "fusion" (che alcuni sostengono sia stata creata, forse involontariamente, da Miles Davis). Senza divagare ulteriormente, il nostro Norman Granz, sfruttando la sempre brava Lady Ella, produce "Ella abraca Jobim" avvalendosi della presenza di un grande percussionista, Paulinho da Costa, e di ottimi musicisti. Esce l'album e presenta una particolarit? : "Ella abraca Jobim" non ? un album propriamente jazz. E non ? neanche un album di bossanova. E un album che si potrebbe definire pop dalle venature jazz, bossa, funk. Quindi i tempi sono cambiati anche per il grande Norman Granz, storico produttore di jazz (nell'accezione classica), che, con quest'album, mescola la scuola di samba di Rio e di Bahia con i suoni americani del soul e del funk. "Ella abraca Jobim", soggettivamente, non convince del tutto. Ci sono dei classici interpretati in maniera egregia come "Garote de Ipanema", dove i musicisti dimostrano effettivamente il loro valore avvalendosi della prestigiosa voce di Ella Fitzgerald che, quasi verso la fine, si dedica ad un coinvolgente scat. E sono bellissime le riletture di "Favela", "Wave", "Desafinado", e particolarmente suggestiva ? la versione di "Dindi" con Toots Thielemans all'armonica, pervadente, struggente, la vera e propria letizia dell'album. Ma, a mio avviso, sono anche tanti gli episodi non del tutto riusciti come "Dreamer", "Agua da beber" che pecca di una poco incisiva interpretazione, "He's a carioca" che diviene funk per l'occasione ed ? oggetto di una brutta rilettura, "One note samba" che diviene una bellissima versione per piano bar e night club cesellata da un simpatico "elliano" scat. In definitiva, "Ella abraca Jobim" ? un album particolare ma non ? assolutamente il migliore della produzione Granz. Ed ? un album in cui Ella, di certo, non utilizza al massimo la sua estensione vocale. Non ? un album necessario ma ? figlio dei cambiamenti musicali degli anni '80 e, solo per questo, merita un ascolto attento. BIO Biography Dubbed "The First Lady of Song," Ella Fitzgerald was the most popular female jazz singer in the United States for more than half a century. In her lifetime, she won 13 Grammy awards and sold over 40 million albums. Her voice was flexible, wide-ranging, accurate and ageless. She could sing sultry ballads, sweet jazz and imitate every instrument in an orchestra. She worked with all the jazz greats, from Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Nat King Cole, to Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Goodman. (Or rather, some might say all the jazz greats had the pleasure of working with Ella.) She performed at top venues all over the world, and packed them to the hilt. Her audiences were as diverse as her vocal range. They were rich and poor, made up of all races, all religions and all nationalities. In fact, many of them had just one binding factor in common - they all loved her. Humble but happy beginnings Ella Jane Fitzgerald was born in Newport News, Va. on April 25, 1917. Her father, William, and mother, Temperance (Tempie), parted ways shortly after her birth. Together, Tempie and Ella went to Yonkers, N.Y, where they eventually moved in with Tempie's longtime boyfriend Joseph Da Silva. Ella's half-sister, Frances, was born in 1923 and soon she began referring to Joe as her stepfather. To support the family, Joe dug ditches and was a part-time chauffeur, while Tempie worked at a laundromat and did some catering. Occasionally, Ella took on small jobs to contribute money as well. Perhaps na?ve to the circumstances, Ella worked as a runner for local gamblers, picking up their bets and dropping off money. Their apartment was in a mixed neighborhood, where Ella made friends easily. She considered herself more of a tomboy, and often joined in the neighborhood games of baseball. Sports aside, she enjoyed dancing and singing with her friends, and some evenings they would take the train into Harlem and watch various acts at the Apollo Theater. A rough patch In 1932, Tempie died from serious that injuries she received in a car accident. Ella took the loss very hard. After staying with Joe for a short time, Tempie's sister Virginia took Ella home. Shortly afterward Joe suffered a heart attack and died, and her little sister Frances joined them. Unable to adjust to the new circumstances, Ella became increasingly unhappy and entered into a difficult period of her life. Her grades dropped dramatically, and she frequently skipped school. After getting into trouble with the police, she was taken into custody and sent to a reform school. Living there was even more unbearable, as she suffered beatings at the hands of her caretakers. Eventually Ella escaped from the reformatory. The 15-year-old found herself broke and alone during the Great Depression, and strove to endure. Never one to complain, Ella later reflected on her most difficult years with an appreciation for how they helped her to mature. She used the memories from these times to help gather emotions for performances, and felt she was more grateful for her success because she knew what it was like to struggle in life. "What's she going to do?" In 1934 Ella's name was pulled in a weekly drawing at the Apollo and she won the opportunity to compete in Amateur Night. Ella went to the theater that night planning to dance, but when the frenzied Edwards Sisters closed the main show, Ella changed her mind. "They were the dancingest sisters around," Ella said, and she felt her act would not compare. Once on stage, faced with boos and murmurs of "What's she going to do?" from the rowdy crowd, a scared and disheveled Ella made the last minute decision to sing. She asked the band to play Hoagy Carmichael's "Judy," a song she knew well because Connee Boswell's rendition of it was among Tempie's favorites. Ella quickly quieted the audience, and by the song's end they were demanding an encore. She obliged and sang the flip side of the Boswell Sister's record, "The Object of My Affections." Off stage, and away from people she knew well, Ella was shy and reserved. She was self-conscious about her appearance, and for a while even doubted the extent of her abilities. On stage, however, Ella was surprised to find she had no fear. She felt at home in the spotlight. "Once up there, I felt the acceptance and love from my audience," Ella said. "I knew I wanted to sing before people the rest of my life." In the band that night was saxophonist and arranger Benny Carter. Impressed with her natural talent, he began introducing Ella to people who could help launch her career. In the process he and Ella became lifelong friends, often working together. Fueled by enthusiastic supporters, Ella began entering - and winning - every talent show she could find. In January 1935 she won the chance to perform for a week with the Tiny Bradshaw band at the Harlem Opera House. It was there that Ella first met drummer and bandleader Chick Webb. Although her voice impressed him, Chick had already hired male singer Charlie Linton for the band. He offered Ella the opportunity to test with his band when they played a dance at Yale University. "If the kids like her," Chick said, "she stays." Despite the tough crowd, Ella was a major success, and Chick hired her to travel with the band for $12.50 a week. Jazzing things up In mid 1936, Ella made her first recording. "Love and Kisses" was released under the Decca la...
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