The Early Years Part II

Product Description:

Personnel includes: Hilton Jefferson (saxophone).

Recorded between 1939 and 1941.

THE EARLY YEARS, PART II covers the period in Ella Fitzgerald's career from her last recordings with Chick Webb's Orchestra in 1939 to her recordings with Her Famous Orchestra which disbanded in 1941.

THE EARLY YEARS PART II finds not only Ella Fitzgerald but jazz itself in a time of transition. The swing era was slowly giving way to the birth of bop, with its emphasis on smaller combos and trickier charts. This change is expressed here in the differences between disc one, largely recorded with Chick Webb's good-timey swing band, and disc two, which features the debut of Ella Fitzgerald and Her Famous Orchestra. Though it was somewhat unusual for a singer to front her own band, it's obvious why Fitzgerald made the change.

The Webb material is terrific, though somewhat lightweight. With a breathy, girlish voice that she never used later in her career, Fitzgerald sings novelty tunes like "Chew-Chew-Chew (Chew Your Bubble Gum)" and "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" with charm and wit. But on her work as a leader, including a sultry take on "My Man," Ella sounds more like the refined songstress that fans know and love.