Take Love Easy is a 1973 (see 1973 in music) studio album by Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by jazz guitarist Joe Pass.
History
This album is the first of four studio albums that Ella recorded with Pass, and it was the latest in a long line of duets for Ella with just one other instrument. Ella had previously recorded two albums with just piano accompianment, and prior to this, one had previously heard her with just a guitar on 'Wait Till You See Her' from the Rodgers & Hart Songbook (1956), on several of the intros to the Riddle arrangements from the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook (1959), and a few tracks on her 1957 album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook ('Solitude', 'In a Sentimental Mood', and 'Azure'. The compilation The First Lady of Song includes a couple of more previously unreleased duets, "Detour Ahead" and "Angel Eyes".)
Ella and Pass didn't only record in a studio environment however, Newport Jazz Festival: Live at Carnegie Hall (1973) and Digital III at Montreux (1979) are both live recordings.
The three later albums that Ella recorded with Pass were Fitzgerald and Pass... Again (1976), Speak Love (1983), and Easy Living (1986). In addition, Pass featured prominently on Fitzgerald's 1981 album of songs by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Ella Abraça Jobim.
Reception
In her Amazon review, Kristen Lindquist wrote, "Though I enjoy music of many different genres, this album transcends genre for me somehow. In these sessions, two astounding artists, who share an incredible chemistry, communicate the nuances of wit and tenderness with exquisitely sophisticated simplicity. It is a rare gem."
Track listing
- "Take Love Easy" (Duke Ellington, John Latouche) â€" 4:36
- "O Amor Em Paz" ("Once I Loved") (VinÃcius de Moraes, Ray Gilbert, Antônio Carlos Jobim) â€" 2:19
- "Don't Be That Way" (Benny Goodman, Mitchell Parish, Edgar Sampson) â€" 4:39
- "You're Blasé" (Ord Hamilton, Bruce Sievier) â€" 3:27
- "Lush Life" (Billy Strayhorn) â€" 3:34
- "A Foggy Day" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) â€" 6:10
- "Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You?" (Andy Razaf, Don Redman) â€" 4:04
- "You Go To My Head" (J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie) â€" 5:44
- "I Want to Talk About You" (Billy Eckstine) â€" 3:28
Personnel
Recorded August 28, 1973, at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio, Los Angeles
- Ella Fitzgerald - vocals
- Joe Pass - guitar
- Rafael Valentin - engineer
- Norman Granz - producer
References
