BURIED TREASURE
Ella Fitzgerald
★★★★
The Moment Of Truth: Ella At The Coliseum
VERVE. CD/DL/LP
The singer’s forgotten 1967 concert finally gets its day in the sun.
1967 was a significant time for the velour-voiced “First Lady of Song”. After 11 productive years at Verve Records, the label her manager Norman Granz established primarily to showcase her talent, she opened a new chapter at Capitol Records. She also celebrated her 50th birthday, following it with a performance at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena accompanied by stars from Duke Ellington’s band, including saxophone maestro Johnny Hodges. Recently discovered in Granz’s archives, the concert recording reminds us of Fitzgerald’s brilliance as a singer and reveals her delightfully warm and witty stage persona. From fizzy finger-clicking swingers (Bye Bye Blackbird) to silken pop ballads (Alfie) and sinuous Latin grooves (Só Danço Samba), she is never less than magisterial. Climaxing with a sassy, hard-swinging version of Mack The Knife, lit up by her hilarious Louis Armstrong impersonation, the concert is a glorious celebration of Fitzgerald’s genius.