Track Listing

1. A Tisket a Tasket - Natalie Cole
2. Lullaby Of Birdland - Chaka Khan
3. The Lady Is a Tramp - Queen Latifah
4. Dream a Little Dream Of Me - Diana Krall
5. (You'll Have To Swing It) Mr. Paganini - Natalie Cole
6. Oh Lady Be Good! - Dianne Reeves
7. Reaching For the Moon - Lizz Wright
8. Blues In the Night - Ledisi
9. Miss Otis Regrets - Linda Ronstadt
10. Someone To Watch Over Me - Gladys Knight
11. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me - Etta James
12. Angel Eyes - K.D. Lang
13. Too Close For Comfort - Michael Buble
14. You Are the Sunshine Of My Life - Stevie Wonder
15. Airmail Special - Nikki Yanofsky

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2885 in Music
• Brand: Verve
• Released on: 2007-06-05
• Number of discs: 1
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Album Description
A star-studded album from legendary producer Phil Ramone pays tribute to one of the most celebrated female vocalists of all time, Ella Fitzgerald.

This CD includes performers such as Stevie Wonder, Diana Krall, Michael Buble, Natalie Cole, Chaka Khan, Ledisi, Lizz Wright, Queen Latifah, Etta James, Gladys Knight, Linda Ronstadt, Dianne Reeves and more.

Amazon.com
Covering songs made famous by Ella Fitzgerald is a daunting endeavor, since only Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan challenge her place as the premier female jazz vocalist in history. But the late Fitzgerald inspired and influenced a wide array of talented acolytes--from Natalie Cole to k.d. lang to Dianne Reeves--many of whom gather on this spirited, Phil Ramone-produced tribute to partially benefit the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation. Cole, backed by an eager gaggle of call-and-response male worshippers, breathes fun new life into the swingy "A-Tisket, A-Tasket," while Chaka Khan, showcasing the breadth of her range, delivers a transporting rendition of the enchanting jazz blues "Lullaby of Birdland." (The two also team up for a delicious scat-fest on "Mr. Paganini.") If lang is equally transfixing on the ballad "Angel Eyes," it's newcomer Ledisi who steals the show with "Blues in the Night," her expansive soprano often mimicking a muted or full-tilt trumpet, one of Fitzgerald's hallmarks. Performances from Etta James and Nikki Yanofsky also rivet, even if Diana Krall and Hank Jones's "Dream a Little Dream of Me" comes across as a little too sleepy, and Gladys Knight is probably not the best singer for "Someone to Watch Over Me." The album surprises with a live duet ("You Are the Sunshine of My Life") between Fitzgerald and Stevie Wonder, recorded at the 1977 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Although it seems tacked on, it doesn't grate nearly as much as Michael Bublé's "Too Close for Comfort," so slick it would put an eel to shame. Skip over that transgression, and turn to the antidote of Lizz Wright's sultry take on the melancholy "Reaching for the Moon," which plumbs emotional depths not even the ever-joyous Great Lady managed to attain. --Alanna Nash

Customer Reviews

A fitting tribute to a true Lady of Song.
Wikipendia: "Ella Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 - June 15, 1996), also known as Lady Ella and the First Lady of Song, is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th Century.

With a vocal range spanning three octaves, she was noted for her purity of tone, near faultless phrasing and intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing. She is widely considered to have been one of the supreme interpreters of the Great American Songbook...."
This is a heartfelt, loving tribute to the great singer for which Verve Records has gathered a top-notch group of genre-spanning artists and a legendary producer to create an album that genuinely pays tribute to its original subject.
"We All Love Ella" is produced by hit maker Phil Ramone and filled with passionate performances of classics made famous by Ella and sung by world-renowned singers and break-out stars Michael Bublé, Natalie Cole, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Diana Krall, k.d. lang, Queen Latifah, Ledisi, Dianne Reeves, Linda Ronstadt and Lizz Wright.
Most of them are part of the so-called SERIAL COLLABORATORS, a new generation of musicians, who have all but abandoned their own musical endeavours in favour of hitching a ride in this kind of music projects, call them DUET or TRIBUTE albums.
Whether it's Diana Krall's tender "Dream A Little Dream", Natalie Cole's swingin' "A-Tisket, A-Tasket", k.d. lang's sultry "Angel Eyes" or the extraordinarily sassy and powerful "Blues in the Night" by newcomer Ledesi, the performances on "We All Love Ella" keenly display Fitzgerald's expansive musical range and show how her style influenced generations of musicians from all backgrounds
The woman herself, Ella, appears on the album.
In 1977, Stevie Wonder sat in with Ella during her performance at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. This impromptu collaboration yielded a charming duet on Stevie's classic "You are the Sunshine of my Life". This recording is released for the first time over on this tribute album!
Many are the guest musicians :Gerald Clayton (Piano), Billy Childs Trio (piano, arranger), Regina Carter (violin), Alan Broadbent(Piano), Christian McBride (bass), Dean Parks (Guitar), Tom Scott (Saxophone), Anthony Wilson (Guitar), just to name a few.
Genius Loves Company
A Tribute To Joni Mitchell
Duets: An American Classic
So Amazing...An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross
DuetsDuets II
To Grover, With Love
All in one world, a great homage to the Great Lady of Song.
Enjoy

We all love Ella; we sorta like this CD
Listening to Ella Fitzgerald is like sinking into a hot tub with a tray of chocolate-dipped strawberries next to you. Fitzgerald was brilliant at what she did, in the way she made her voice a blend of the warm, the rich and the knowing--she was seductive, but also smart. This CD, made with love and the best intentions, tries to match her, but just can't; it's like pygmies trying to match an Amazon goddess. Natalie Cole is in fine, silvery voice, but lack's Ella's velvety richness; Queen Latifah and Chaka Kahn both contribute respectable tracks, but there's no weight or snap to them. Buble swings enthusiastically and has a hint of mischief in his voice, but not Ella's joy. k.d. lang offers another of her dreamy sleepwalking tracks, while Linda Ronstad's "Miss Otis"--one of the few Ella tracks I'm really lukewarm on--is sweetly affecting but not one for the ages. (Bizarrely, Bette Midler's knockout Latin take, with lots of blaring horns and crackling electricity, is one of the very few versions of that song I've heard that really works.) And Stevie Wonder's track is irritating beyond belief--it's nice to hear Ella duet with someone, but why on "You Are the Sunshine of My Life?" of all things? (Her gushy tribute to Wonder is also odd, considering this CD is supposed to be about Ella; still, after hearing Wonder piledrive his way over Tony Bennett, I guess we should be grateful he's as restrained as he is here.) However, a few tracks really do just what they're supposed to. Diane Reeves, her voice like a perfectly aged Merlot, skips lightly through "Lady Be Good" with Ella-like dexterity; Lizz Wright croons "Waiting For the Moon" with appropriately moody seductiveness; and the final "scat track" is joyfully contagious. Best of all is a red-hot "Blues In The Night" by Ledisi--ah, Ledisi! She, apparently, didn't get the memo about restrained, bland good tastefulness, and she tears through the song like a triple-shot Mexican mocha with an aphrodisiac chaser; her final, yowling note on "Night" is a throw down challenge to every other diva (and wanna-be)in jazz: I Am The Future. Yay, and hooray; back to the hot tub, everyone, Ledisi's got the jets fired up!

fine tribute to the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald
We All Love Ella is a touching tribute to The First Lady Of Song. This album gives us a terrific fifteen classic Ella Fitzgerald ballads covered by some of the best artists currently in the business. Just one listen proves it!

The CD track set starts with a bouncy rendition of "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" by Natalie Cole. The bass works well and so do those horns and percussion! Natalie swings brightly on "A-Tisket, A-Tasket." Chaka Chan truly does prove her wide vocal range with a pretty awesome rendition of "Lullaby Of Birdland." The key changes between major and minor work well for "Lullaby Of Birdland." Chaka sings this passionately with all her heart and soul; her excellent diction bolsters her performance. Moreover, Queen Latifah turns in a rousing interpretation of "The Lady Is A Tramp." Queen Latifah never sounded better; and the arrangement for piano, horns, drums and percussion really shines!

"Dream A Little Dream Of Me" features Diana Krall and Hank Jones; although some may think that this interpretation runs a little too long I personally like it very much. Diana Krall and Hank Jones perform a marvelous version of "Dream A Little Dream Of Me." Listen also for a flawless performance of "(If You Can't Sing It) You'll Have To Swing It (a.k.a. Mr. Paganini)" by Natalie Cole and Chaka Khan.

Ledisi performs "Blues In The Night" with panache; and the big band style arrangement impresses me with its percussion and horns. Ella would be smiling! "Miss Otis Regrets" gets the royal treatment from Linda Ronstadt who sings this with excellent diction, sensitivity and style.

We get an excellent duet between Ella Fitzgerald herself and the great Stevie Wonder recorded live in concert; their electric chemistry is unmistakable. Together Ella and Stevie Wonder perform "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life." The crowd loves every minute of this duet; and Ella and Stevie never miss a beat! I predict that you will enjoy "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" very, very much.

The liner notes feature some pretty fine artwork; and we get a couple of excellent black and white photos of Ella as well. Excellent!

Ella Fitzgerald, The First Lady Of Song, will never be forgotten; and this CD is a wonderful tribute to her and her legacy. We are all remarkably better off for Ella sharing her artistry with us; and I assure you that her CDs will be available for ages to come.

Great job, everyone--and thank you, Ella!