Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong - Ella & Louis [Mono]

ELLA FITZGERALD & LOUIS ARMSTRONG - ELLA & LOUIS

TITLE

1. Can't We Be Friends 
2. Isn't This a Lovely Day 
3. Moonlight in Vermont 
4. They can't take that away from Me 
5. Under a Blanket of Blue 
6. Tenderly 
7. A Foggy Day 
8. Stars Fell on Alabama 
9. Cheek to Cheek 
10. The Nearness of You 
11. April in Paris

When two artists reach a point where they simply have to title an album with their first names, there are no more questions. It becomes almost irrelevant that the lineup also featured Oscar Peterson on piano, Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass, and Buddy Rich on drums. And since this recording was captured on tape in 1956, it becomes perhaps the most important mono recording in the history of jazz.

The hybrid SACD sounds slightly more restrained on the CD track compared to the almost simultaneously released Ultra HD Mastering Disc by FIM, making it particularly recommended for SACD player owners. Those who can only listen to the CD track should opt for the FIM version.

This recording is part of a series of 25 Verve reissues by Analogue Productions. The analog original tapes are reworked by senior mastering engineer George Marino at Sterling Sound in New York. Many of the tapes had been sent as copies to other labels for decades, but Sterling Sound works so closely with Universal Music, the owning company of the Verve label, that occasional exceptions are made here. The hybrid SACDs sound excellent and clearly outshine earlier digitizations.