Artist: Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday
Album: Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday at Newport
Genre: Jazz
Release Date: 1958/2015
Audio Format:: FLAC (tracks) 24 bit, 192 kHz
Duration: 44:27
Total Tracks: 13
Total Size: 1,45 GB

Tracklist:

01. Ella Fitzgerald – This Can’t Be Love (01:45)
02. Ella Fitzgerald – I Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good) (04:29)
03. Ella Fitzgerald – Body And Soul (04:27)
04. Ella Fitzgerald – April In Paris (04:02)
05. Ella Fitzgerald – I’ve Got A Crush On You (02:30)
06. Ella Fitzgerald – Airmail Special (04:35)
07. Ella Fitzgerald – I Can’t Give You Anything But Love (05:08)
08. Billie Holiday – Nice Work If You Can Get It (02:38)
09. Billie Holiday – Willow Weep For Me (03:07)
10. Billie Holiday – My Man (03:28)
11. Billie Holiday – Lover, Come Back To Me (02:05)
12. Billie Holiday – Lady Sings The Blues (02:59)
13. Billie Holiday – What A Little Moonlight Can Do (03:11)

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A live album from the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival, this album combines individual performances recorded at separate shows two days apart from two of the most popular female singers of the era. Billie Holiday is backed by Mal Waldron on piano, Joe Benjamin on double bass and drummer Jo Jones; Ella Fitzgerald’s band includes Don Abney on piano, Wendell Marshall on double bass and Jones again on drums.Ella Fitzgerald & Billie Holiday at Newport presents the naturally intriguing results when Verve paired two sets recorded two days apart (over the 4th of July weekend, 1957) by the two best female singers of the 20th century. Unfortunately, circumstances weren’t in their favor, as the combined factors of an unsympathetic band (for Fitzgerald) and shaky health (for Holiday) make these sets just a step below the expected level of greatness. It’s unclear how much time Fitzgerald had spent with her trio, though she makes her unhappiness known while trying to jump-start them to a quicker tempo on “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter” and “April in Paris.” Finally, she gets the band in line, delivering crowd-pleasing renditions of “Lullaby of Birdland” and the terrific scat piece “Air Mail Special,” which must have set the park on fire. Holiday, though she would live for two more years, sounds as though she’s on death’s doorstep, croaking her standards “Willow Weep for Me,” “My Man,” “Lady Sings the Blues,” and “What a Little Moonlight Can Do.” Of course, any Billie Holiday appearance is worth hearing, and she brings her world-weary voice to task on the showpiece “Lady Sings the Blues.” Though it’s far from a perfect set for both singers, At Newport says more about their respective careers than any great show could. –John Bush