Ella Fitzgerald › Ella Fitzgerald's Christmas

Personnel includes: Ella Fitzgerald (vocals); Ralph Carmichael (conductor).

Recorded at Capitol Studios, Los Angeles, California on July 17 & 18, 1967. Originally released on Capitol (#2509).

Digitally remastered by Ron McMaster.

Arranger: Lewis Redner.

Seemingly every singer at one time or another makes a Christmas album, and a large portion of them seem uninspired. ELLA FITZGERALD'S CHRISTMAS, happily, is not one such lackluster effort. The song selection consists entirely of traditional carols--"O Holy Night," "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," etc.--instead of tedious novelties or boring original tunes. While the carols are performed with reverence, the arrangements are gently swinging, giving the proceedings an intimate, cozy feel suitable to a jazz-oriented Christmas album. Fitzgerald's voice is bell-like in its clarity, somewhat different from the soft-focus slurring she often favors, which only emphasizes how stunning her voice is. ELLA FITZGERALD'S CHRISTMAS is among the best Christmas albums of all time.

Genre:

• Holiday & Seasonal

Labels:

• Capitol

Music Categories:

• Rock & Pop: Christmas

Product Groupings:

• Christmas Collection