Ella and Louis

1956 studio album by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

Ella and Louis

Studio album by

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

Released| October 1956[1][2][3]
Recorded| 16 August 1956
Studio| Capitol (Hollywood)
Genre| Jazz
Length| 54:06
Label| Verve MGV 4003
Polygram 825 373-2 (1989)
Producer| Norman Granz
Ella Fitzgerald chronology
| Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook
(1956)  | Ella and Louis
(1956)  | Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers & Hart Songbook
(1956)

|
|

Louis Armstrong chronology
| The Great Chicago Concert
(1956)  | Ella and Louis
(1956)  | I've Got the World on a String
(1957)

|
|

Ella and Louis is a studio album by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, accompanied by the Oscar Peterson Quartet, released in October 1956.[1][2][3][4] Having previously collaborated in the late 1940s for the Decca label, this was the first of three albums that Fitzgerald and Armstrong were to record together for Verve Records, later followed by 1957's Ella and Louis Again and 1959's Porgy and Bess.

## The album

[edit]

Norman Granz, the founder of the Verve label, selected eleven ballads for Fitzgerald and Armstrong, mainly played in a slow or moderate tempo. Recording began 16 August 1956, at the new Capitol Studios in Hollywood. Though Granz produced the album, Armstrong was given final say over songs and keys.[5]

The success of Ella and Louis was replicated by Ella and Louis Again and Porgy and Bess. All three were released as The Complete Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong on Verve. Verve also released the album as one of the first ones in SACD.

## Reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music| [8]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings| [9]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide| [7]

AllMusic's Scott Yanow wrote, "Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong make for a charming team on this CD… This is primarily a vocal set with the emphasis on tasteful renditions of ballads."[6] Jasen and Jones called the set a "pinnacle of popular singing".[10] The Penguin Guide to Jazz, compiled by Richard Cook and Brian Morton, says that while the approaches of Armstrong and Fitzgerald may not have been entirely compatible, the results are "hard to resist", and awards the album three and a half stars.[9]

In 2000 it was voted number 636 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[11]

Björk chose the album as one of her favourites in a 1993 Q feature. "I love the way Ella and Louis work together," she remarked. "They were opposites in how they sung, but were still completely functional together, and respectful of each other."

## Track listing

[edit]

### Side one

[edit]

No.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

1.| "Can't We Be Friends?"| Paul James, Kay Swift| 3:47
2.| "Isn't This a Lovely Day?"| Irving Berlin| 6:16
3.| "Moonlight in Vermont"| John Blackburn, Karl Suessdorf| 3:42
4.| "They Can't Take That Away from Me"| Ira Gershwin, George Gershwin| 4:39
5.| "Under a Blanket of Blue"| Jerry Livingston, Al J. Neiburg, Marty Symes| 4:18
6.| "Tenderly"| Walter Gross, Jack Lawrence| 5:10

### Side two

[edit]

No.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

1.| "A Foggy Day"| Ira Gershwin, George Gershwin| 4:32
2.| "Stars Fell on Alabama"| Mitchell Parish, Frank Perkins| 3:34
3.| "Cheek to Cheek"| Irving Berlin| 5:53
4.| "The Nearness of You"| Hoagy Carmichael, Ned Washington| 5:42
5.| "April in Paris"| Vernon Duke, Yip Harburg| 6:33

## Personnel

[edit]

* Ella Fitzgerald – vocals
* Louis Armstrong – vocals, trumpet
* Oscar Peterson – piano
* Herb Ellis – guitar
* Ray Brown – bass
* Buddy Rich – drums

### Additional personnel

[edit]

* Val Valentin – session engineer
* Phil Stern – photography

## Charts

[edit]

2022 chart performance for Ella and Louis Chart (2022)  | Peak
position

|

German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] | 66

## Sources

[edit]

1. ^ a b "October Album Releases" (PDF). The Cash Box. The Cash Box Publishing Co. Inc., NY. 6 October 1956. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
2. ^ a b "Ella and Louis". The Billboard. The Billboard Publishing Co. 13 October 1956. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
3. ^ a b "Pop Albums Coming Up Strong". The Billboard. The Billboard Publishing Co. 3 November 1956. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
4. ^ Giddins, Gary (2009). Satchmo : the wonderful world and art of Louis Armstrong. Abrams. p. 227. ISBN 9780810995284.
5. ^ Maxwell, Tom (November 2016). "The Story of 'Ella and Louis,' 60 Years Later". Longreads. Longreads.com. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
6. ^ a b Yanow, Scott. "Ella and Louis > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
7. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 78\. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
8. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
9. ^ a b Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (9th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 45\. ISBN 978-0-14-103401-0.
10. ^ Black Bottom Stomp: Eight Masters of Ragtime and Early Jazz, by David A. Jasen and Gene Jones, 272 pages, Routledge Chapman & Hall (September 2001), ISBN 0-415-93641-1, ISBN 978-0-415-93641-5]
11. ^ Colin Larkin (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 209\. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
12. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – Ella and Louis" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 22 July 2022.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Draper, Jason (2008). A Brief History of Album Covers. London: Flame Tree Publishing. pp. 24–25. ISBN 9781847862112. OCLC 227198538.

* v
* t
* e

Ella Fitzgerald

* Discography
* Awards

Studio
albums|

* Ella Sings Gershwin
* Songs in a Mellow Mood
* Lullabies of Birdland
* For Sentimental Reasons
* Miss Ella Fitzgerald & Mr Gordon Jenkins Invite You to Listen and Relax
* Sweet and Hot
* Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book
* Ella and Louis
* Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers & Hart Song Book
* Ella and Louis Again
* Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book
* Like Someone in Love
* Ella Swings Lightly
* Porgy and Bess
* Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book
* Get Happy!
* Ella Fitzgerald Sings Sweet Songs for Swingers
* Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book
* Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas
* Hello, Love
* Ella Fitzgerald Sings Songs from "Let No Man Write My Epitaph"
* Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Song Book
* Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie!
* Rhythm Is My Business
* Ella Swings Brightly with Nelson
* Ella Swings Gently with Nelson
* Ella Sings Broadway
* Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Song Book
* Ella and Basie!
* These Are the Blues
* Hello, Dolly!
* Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Song Book
* Ella at Duke's Place
* Whisper Not
* Brighten the Corner
* Ella Fitzgerald's Christmas
* 30 by Ella
* Misty Blue
* Ella
* Things Ain't What They Used to Be (And You Better Believe It)
* Ella Loves Cole
* Take Love Easy
* Fine and Mellow
* Ella and Oscar
* Fitzgerald and Pass... Again
* Lady Time
* Dream Dancing
* A Classy Pair
* Ella Abraça Jobim
* The Best Is Yet to Come
* Speak Love
* Nice Work If You Can Get It
* Easy Living
* All That Jazz

Live
albums|

* At the Opera House
* Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday at Newport
* Ella in Rome: The Birthday Concert
* Ella Fitzgerald Live at Mister Kelly's
* Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife
* Ella in Hollywood
* Ella Returns to Berlin
* Twelve Nights in Hollywood
* Ella at Juan-Les-Pins
* Ella in Hamburg
* Ella and Duke at the Cote D'Azur
* Sunshine of Your Love
* Newport Jazz Festival: Live at Carnegie Hall
* The Stockholm Concert, 1966
* Ella in Budapest
* Ella à Nice
* Jazz at Santa Monica Civic '72
* Ella in London
* Montreux '75
* Montreux '77
* Digital III at Montreux
* A Perfect Match
* Sophisticated Lady

Other
albums|

* Songs from Pete Kelly's Blues
* One O'Clock Jump
* Back on the Block
* The Complete Ella Fitzgerald Song Books
* Pure Ella
* The Complete Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong on Verve
* Jukebox Ella: The Complete Verve Singles, Vol. 1
* Gold

Tribute
albums|

* Dear Ella
* To Ella
* We All Love Ella: Celebrating the First Lady of Song

Filmography|

* Ride 'Em Cowboy
* Pete Kelly's Blues
* St. Louis Blues

Related|

* Ray Brown (second husband)
* Ray Brown Jr. (son)
* Louis Armstrong collaborations
* A Man and His Music + Ella + Jobim
* Marilyn and Ella (2008 play)

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Louis Armstrong

* Discography
* Filmography

Top Ten
singles|

* "Muskrat Ramble" (1926)
* "Hotter Than That"
* "West End Blues" (1928)
* "Ain't Misbehavin'" (1929)
* "Chinatown, My Chinatown" (1932)
* "You Can Depend on Me"
* "All of Me"
* "Love, You Funny Thing"
* "Sweethearts on Parade"
* "Body and Soul" (1932)
* "Hobo, You Can't Ride This Train" (1933)
* "I'm in the Mood for Love/You Are My Lucky Star" (1935)
* "Public Melody Number One" (1937)
* "When the Saints Go Marching In" (1939)
* "You Won't Be Satisfied (Until You Break My Heart)" (1946)
* "When We Are Dancing" (1951)
* "What a Wonderful World" (1968)

Albums|

* Satchmo at Pasadena (1951)
* Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy (1955)
* Louis Armstrong at the Crescendo, Vol. 1 (1955)
* Louis and the Angels (1957)
* Louis and the Good Book (1958)
* Satchmo In Style (1959)
* Hello, Dolly! (1964)
* Struttin' (1996)

With Ella
Fitzgerald|

* Armstrong-Fitzgerald history
* Ella and Louis (1956)
* Ella and Louis Again (1957)
* Porgy and Bess (1959)
* The Complete Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong on Verve

Other
collaborations|

* Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson (1957)
* Bing & Satchmo (1960)
* The Great Summit (1961)
* The Real Ambassadors (1961)

Songs|

* "Willie the Weeper"
* "West End Blues" (1928)
* "Ain't Misbehavin'"
* "When the Saints Go Marching In"
* "Mack the Knife" (1956)
* "Autumn in New York"
* "On My Way" (1959)
* "Uncle Satchmo's Lullaby" (1959)
* "Hello, Dolly!" (1964)
* "What a Wonderful World" (1967)
* "We Have All the Time in the World" (1969)

* "Alexander's Ragtime Band"
* "April in Paris"
* "Back Home Again in Indiana"
* "Basin Street Blues"
* "Big Butter and Egg Man"
* "Blue Turning Grey Over You"
* "Blueberry Hill"
* "C'est si bon"
* "Can't We Be Friends?"
* "Cheek to Cheek"
* "Cold, Cold Heart"
* "Cool Yule"
* "Dippermouth Blues"
* "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?"
* "Dream a Little Dream of Me"
* "East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)"
* "El Choclo"
* "Everybody Loves My Baby"
* "Frankie and Johnny"
* "Georgia on My Mind"
* "Get Together"
* "Gone Fishin'"
* "The Gypsy in My Soul"
* "Heebie Jeebies"
* "Hello, Dolly!"
* "Hey Lawdy Mama"
* "High Society Calypso"
* "I Get Ideas"
* "I Wonder"
* "I've Got the World on a String"
* "It's Been a Long, Long Time"
* "Jeepers Creepers"
* "A Kiss to Build a Dream On"
* "(Up A) Lazy River"
* "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off"
* "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love"
* "Moon River"
* "Moonlight in Vermont"
* "Muggles"
* "Muskrat Ramble"
* "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen"
* "Now You Has Jazz"
* "On a Little Bamboo Bridge"
* "On My Way"
* "On the Sunny Side of the Street"
* "Pennies from Heaven"
* "Potato Head Blues"
* "Red Sails in the Sunset"
* "Rockin' Chair"
* "Saint Louis Blues"
* "Shine"
* "Skokiaan"
* "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child"
* "St. James Infirmary Blues"
* "Standing on the Corner (Blue Yodel No. 9)"
* "Stardust"
* "Stars Fell on Alabama"
* "Takes Two to Tango"
* "That Lucky Old Sun"
* "That's My Desire"
* "There Must Be Somebody Else"
* "They All Laughed"
* "Uncle Satchmo's Lullaby"
* "La Vie en rose"
* "When It's Sleepy Time Down South"
* "When You're Smiling"
* "Willow Weep for Me"
* "Winter Wonderland"
* "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah"

Related|

* Louis Armstrong Hot Five and Hot Seven Sessions (1925–28)
* Louis Armstrong House
* Louis Armstrong Stadium
* Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
* Satchmo the Great

* Discography
* Jazz Portal

* v
* t
* e

Oscar Peterson

Years given are for the recording(s), not first release. Note: All-Star albums feature sideman who are not necessarily listed while titles which include "Oscar Peterson" or the OP Trio are usually shortened.

leader

co-leader|

| Plays
series|

* Duke Ellington (1952)
* George Gershwin (1952)
* Harold Arlen (1954)
* Count Basie (1955)

|

1955–58|

* In a Romantic Mood (with Russ Garcia, 1955)
* At the Stratford Shakespearean Festival (1956)
* At the Concertgebouw (1957)
* Soft Sands (with Buddy Bregman, 1957)
* Trio with Sonny Stitt, Roy Eldridge and Jo Jones at Newport (1957)
* My Fair Lady (1958)
* On the Town (1958)
* A Jazz Portrait of Frank Sinatra (1959)
* The Jazz Soul (1959)
* Swinging Brass (with Russ Garcia, 1959)
* Fiorello! (1960)

Plays the
Songbook
(1959)|

* Cole Porter
* Duke Ellington
* George Gershwin
* Harold Arlen
* Jerome Kern
* Richard Rodgers
* Porgy & Bess

The
London
House
Sessions
(1961)|

* Put On a Happy Face
* Something Warm
* The Sound of the Trio
* The Trio (Verve)

Trio

Guests|

* Very Tall (with Milt Jackson, 1961)
* Affinity (1962)
* Bursting Out with the All-Star Big Band! (1962)
* Night Train (1962)
* West Side Story (1962)
* And Nelson Riddle (1963)
* Canadiana Suite (1964)
* Plays (1964)
* \+ One (with Clark Terry, 1964)
* We Get Requests (1964)
* Eloquence (1965)
* I/We Had a Ball (multiple groups, 1965)
* With Respect to Nat (1965)
* Blues Etude (1966)
* Soul Español (1966)
* The Greatest Jazz Concert in the World (multiple groups, 1967)

Exclusively
for

Friends|

* Action (1963–64)
* Girl Talk (1965–68)
* The Way I Really Play (1967)
* The Lost Tapes (1967–68)
* Mellow Mood (1968)
* My Favorite Instrument (1968)
* Travelin' On (1968)

1969–79|

* Hello Herbie (1969)
* Motions and Emotions (with Claus Ogerman, 1969)
* Another Day (1970)
* Tracks (1970)
* Tristeza on Piano (1970)
* Walking the Line (1970)
* Great Connection (1971)
* In Tune (and The Singers Unlimited, 1971)
* Reunion Blues (and Milt Jackson, 1971)
* In Tokyo (1972)
* Solo (1972)
* The History of an Artist, Vol. 1 (1972)
* The History of an Artist, Vol. 2 (1972)
* The trio (Pablo, 1973)
* In Russia (1974)
* The Giants (1974)
* The Good Life (1974)
* Oscar Peterson et Joe Pass à Salle Pleyel (1975)
* Porgy and Bess (and Joe Pass, 1975)
* The Oscar Peterson Big 6 at Montreux (1975)
* The Tenor Giants (and Zoot Sims and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, 1975)
* And the Bassists – Montreux '77 (and Ray Brown & Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, 1977)
* Jam – Montreux '77 (1977)
* The London Concert (1978)
* The Paris Concert (1978)
* Digital at Montreux (1979)
* Night Child (1979)
* Skol (with Stéphane Grappelli, 1979)

With
The
Trumpet
Kings|

* Roy Eldridge (1974)
* Dizzy Gillespie (1974)
* Jousts (1974)
* Harry Edison (1974)
* Clark Terry (1975)
* Jon Faddis (1975)
* At Montreux '75 (Eldridge, Gillespie & Terry, 1975)
* The Trumpet Summit Meets the Oscar Peterson Big 4 (with Gillespie, Hubbard & Terry, 1980)
* The Alternate Blues (with Gillespie, Hubbard & Terry, 1980)

1980–2004|

* Live at the North Sea Jazz Festival, 1980 (1980)
* The Personal Touch (1980)
* A Royal Wedding Suite (1981)
* Nigerian Marketplace (1981)
* Face to Face (with Freddie Hubbard, 1982)
* Freedom Song (1982)
* A Tribute to My Friends (1983)
* If You Could See Me Now (1983)
* Jazz at the Philharmonic – Yoyogi National Stadium, Tokyo 1983: Return to Happiness (multiple groups, 1983)
* Two of the Few (with Milt Jackson, 1983)
* Live! (1986)
* Time After Time (1986)
* Live at the Blue Note (1990)
* Saturday Night at the Blue Note (1991)
* Last Call at the Blue Note (1992)
* Encore at the Blue Note (1993)
* Side by Side (with Itzhak Perlman, 1994)
* The More I See You (1995)
* An Oscar Peterson Christmas (1995)
* A Tribute to Oscar Peterson – Live at the Town Hall (1996)
* Oscar in Paris (1996)
* Meets Roy Hargrove and Ralph Moore (1996)
* Oscar and Benny (with Benny Green, 1998)
* Summer Night in Munich (1998)
* Trail of Dreams: A Canadian Suite (2000)
* A Night in Vienna (2004)

With
Count
Basie

alumni|

* Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio (1952)
* Basie Jazz (Count Basie, 1952)
* Pres and Sweets (Lester Young and Harry Edison, 1955)
* Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You (Harry Edison, 1957)
* Going for Myself (Lester Young & Harry Edison, 1957)
* Jazz Giants '58 (Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan & Harry Edison, 1958)
* Satch and Josh (and Count Basie, 1974)
* Satch and Josh...Again (and Count Basie, 1977)
* Night Rider (and Count Basie, 1978)
* The Timekeepers (and Count Basie, 1978)
* Yessir, That's My Baby (and Count Basie, 1978)
* Oscar Peterson + Harry Edison + Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (1986)

With
Benny
Carter|

* Alone Together (1952)
* Cosmopolite (1952–54)
* Plays Pretty (1954)
* New Jazz Sounds (with Bill Harris & Dizzy Gillespie, 1954)
* Benny Carter Meets Oscar Peterson (1986)

With
Roy
Eldridge|

* Rockin' Chair (with Roy Eldridge, 1951–52)
* Dale's Wail (Eldridge, 1953)
* Little Jazz (Eldridge, 1954)
* Roy and Diz (Eldridge and Dizzy Gillespie, 1954)
* Happy Time (Eldridge, 1974)
* Jazz Maturity...Where It's Coming From (and Gillespie, 1975)
* Roy Eldridge 4 – Montreux '77 (1977)

With
Ella
Fitzgerald|

* At the Opera House (1957)
* Ella and Louis (and Louis Armstrong, 1956)
* Ella and Louis Again (and Louis Armstrong, 1957)
* Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book (1957)
* Ella in Rome: The Birthday Concert (1958)
* Jazz at Santa Monica Civic '72 (1972)
* Ella and Oscar (1975)

Coleman
Hawkins
and/or Ben
Webster|

* Coleman Hawkins and Confrères (with Roy Eldridge & Webster, 1957)
* Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster (1957)
* The Genius of Coleman Hawkins (1957)
* Soulville (with Webster, 1957)
* Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson (with Webster, 1959)

With
Buddy
Rich|

* The Drum Battle (and Gene Krupa, 1952)
* Sing and Swing (1955)
* The Wailing Buddy Rich (1955)
* Krupa and Rich (1955)

With
others|

* The Astaire Story (Fred Astaire, 1952)
* Buddy DeFranco and Oscar Peterson Play George Gershwin (1954)
* Ellis in Wonderland (Herb Ellis, 1955–56)
* Toni (Toni Harper, 1955–56)
* Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson (1957)
* Anita Sings the Most (Anita O'Day, 1957)
* Only the Blues (Sonny Stitt, 1957)
* Stan Getz and J. J. Johnson at the Opera House (1957)
* Stan Getz and the Oscar Peterson Trio (1957)
* This Is Ray Brown (Roy Brown, 1958)
* Sonny Stitt Sits in (1959)
* Bill Henderson with (1963)
* Zoot Sims and the Gershwin Brothers (1975)
* The Milt Jackson Big 4 (1975)
* Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis 4 – Montreux '77 (1977)
* How Long Has This Been Going On? (Sarah Vaughan, 1978)
* Linger Awhile (Sarah Vaughan, 1978)
* Ain't Misbehavin' (Clark Terry, 1978)
* Ain't But a Few of Us Left (Milt Jackson, 1981)
* Hark (Buddy DeFranco, 1985)
* Some of My Best Friends Are...The Piano Players (Ray Brown, 1994)

Film
soundtracks|

* The Silent Partner (1978)

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

*[No.]: Number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template