Ella Fitzgerald – Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie! (1962/1989) [HDTracks FLAC 24bit/192kHz]

This early ’60s studio session captures Ella Fitzgerald moving toward the smaller, more pointedly jazz-inflected ensembles that would shape her career in her final decades.

Another typically wonderful reissue of Ella Fitzgerald in her prime, this set augments the original LP (which finds Ella joined by pianist Lou Levy, guitarist Herb Ellis, bassist Joe Mondragon, and drummer Stan Levey) with three previously unreleased selections from the same era (with Levey, bassist Wilfred Middlebrooks, and drummer Gus Johnson). Ella is in fine form on such numbers as “A Night in Tunisia,” an emotional “You’re My Thrill,” “Jersey Bounce,” “Clap Hands! Here Comes Charlie,” and an unissued “The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else).” Although not reaching the heights of her live performances, this is an excellent (and somewhat underrated) set.

Tracklist:
01 – A Night In Tunisia
02 – You’re My Thril
03 – My Reverie
04 – Stella By Starlight
05 – ‘Round Midnight
06 – Jersey Bounce
07 – Signing Off
08 – Cry Me A River
09 – This Year’s Kisses
10 – Good Morning Heartache
11 – (I Was) Born To Be Blue
12 – Clap Hands Here Comes Charlie!
13 – Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
14 – Music Goes Round And Around
15 – The One I Love Belongs To Somebody Else
16 – I Got A Guy
17 – This Could Be The Start Of Something Big