Wednesday, 13 May 2015

Cheek to Cheek, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

It's possible that you've heard this.  If you haven't, you probably think you have - you probably think you know exactly how this sounds.  And you'd be about half right.  
You'd be right when you thought about the strange singing voice of Louis Armstrong, his extraordinary trumpet skills, and the fact that actually he wasn't using his true vocal cords, but using what are known as your false vocal cords.  You can use them yourself, for about five seconds, before you have to cough and get a sore throat. 

You'd be right, too, when you thought about the liquid silk of Ella Fitzgerald's voice.  There can be few finer voices.  

What you might not have heard - because of the apparent familiarity - is the interaction between these two amazing musicians, where they sat down and recorded an entire album on one day in 1956.  What I particularly like is hearing the minor errors - not because they're true errors, but because, Louis in particular, is riffing on a theme and doesn't quite make the next intro.  The whole album is lovely and is full of these minor moments which tell you that it is two people having a ball with the music.  





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