Joe Pass & Ella Fitzgerald

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Ella Fitzgerald and guitarist Joe Pass were such major talents that it almost seems as if they were not of this world.

Ella had been performing for nearly 40 years when she and Pass first teamed up in 1973, but it still sounded as if they were made for each other.

On this concert from Oct. 27, 1975, which was preceded by their duo recordings of Take Love Easy (1973) and Sophisticated Lady (1975), Joe Pass starts out playing solo versions of “Laura,” “Wave,” “My Funny Valentine,” an uptempo “You Stepped Out Of A Dream,” and “Darn That Dream”; very few other jazz guitarists (if any) could perform unaccompanied on this level, supplying melody, harmony, chords and basslines without a moment of hesitation.

Ella Fitzgerald, who at 58 was still in prime form, joins Pass for memorable versions of “You Turned The Tables On Me,” “Cry Me A River,” “Nature Boy,” “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life,” “Avalon,” “Stormy Weather,” a scat-filled “One Note Samba,” “The One I Love Belongs To Somebody Else,” and “How High The Moon.”

The music lives up to one’s high expectations.

-Scott Yanow

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