****RINGER OF THE WEEK****THIS IS JAZZ VOCALS…Ella Fitzgerald: Live at Falkoner Theatre, Copenhagen 6th February 1966

Once in awhile, you remember why you first liked jazz. This is one of those records.

Back in the late 1960s, Ella Fitzgerald toured around with Duke Ellington’s orchestra, the result being a one lp in 1967, and later a 7cd collection from concerts at the Cote D’Zur. If it were possible, I would have worn out those discs, as they are the definition of what a jazz vocalist is supposed to sound like.

This single album finds the same combination in Copenhagen, with Ella backed either by the Jimmy Jones trio or Duke Ellington’s Orchestra. Both environments are delicious.

With roaring support from Duke, Jimmy Hamilton/cl, Cootie/cl, Johnny Hodges/as, Russell Procope /as and Paul Gonsalves/ts, Ella beats the daylights out of “Sweet Georgia Brown” and even digs into the world of R&B on a hip “Hey Little Girl”. In trio format, she’s in a classic Jobim m ood on “So Danco Samba” and glows on “I’m Just A Lucky So and So”, closing out with a high octane “Mack The Knife”. If you want to know what’s missing in music, listen to this about 5 times. In a row.