Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Song Book is a 1963 studio album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald accompanied by an orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle. The album focuses on the songs of the composer Jerome Kern.
This was the second of Fitzgerald's Song Book series to have been orchestrated by Riddle; their previous collaboration was her George and Ira Gershwin Song Book in 1959. Fitzgerald and Riddle also recorded two albums of standards, Ella Swings Brightly with Nelson and Ella Swings Gently with Nelson, in 1962.
This was the seventh and penultimate album in Fitzgerald's Song Book series of songs written by musical theater composers; it was preceded by 1961's Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Song Book and followed by Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Song Book in 1964.
Awarded four and a half stars by Down Beat magazine in 1963.
Track listing
For the 1963 Verve LP release; Verve V6-4060; Re-issued in 2005 on CD, Verve B0003933-02
Side One: "Let's Begin" (Otto Harbach) – 2:56 "A Fine Romance" (Dorothy Fields) – 3:36 "All the Things You Are" (Oscar Hammerstein II) – 3:15 "I'll Be Hard to Handle" (Bernard Dougall) – 3:47 "You Couldn't Be Cuter" (Fields) – 3:13 "She Didn't Say Yes" (Harbach) – 3:20 Side Two: "I'm Old Fashioned" (Johnny Mercer) – 3:27 "Remind Me" (Fields) – 3:50 "The Way You Look Tonight" (Fields) – 4:28 "Yesterdays" (Harbach) – 2:51 "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" (Hammerstein) – 3:54 "Why Was I Born?" (Hammerstein) – 3:44
All music written by Jerome Kern with lyricists as indicated.
Personnel
Recorded January 5–7, 1963 at Radio Recorders Studio 10H, Los Angeles:
Tracks 1,3,5-6 and 8
Ella Fitzgerald - Vocals
Don Fagerquist - Trumpet
Caroll Lewis
Dick Nash - Trombone
George Seaberg
Shorty Sherock
Tommy Pederson
Tommy Shepard
George Roberts
Plas Johnson - Tenor Saxophone
Harry Klee - Woodwind
Joe Koch
Wilbur Schwartz - woodwinds
Victor Arno - Violin
Israel Baker
Victor Bay
Alex Beller
Armand Kaproff - Cello
Ray Kramer
Dan Lube
Erno Neufeld
Lou Raderman
Nathan Ross
Alex Neimann - Viola
Paul Robyn
Barbara Simons
Eleanor Slatkin - Cello
Paul Smith - Piano
Sidney Sharp
Gerald Vinci
Champ Webb
Robert Bain - Guitar
Joe Comfort - Double bass
Frank Flynn - drums
Alvin Stoller - Drums
Nelson Riddle - Arranger, Conductor
On Tracks 2,4, and 7:
Personnel same as tracks 1,3,5-6, and 8 except Felix Slatkin and Marshall Sosson violin replace Don Lube and Sidney Sharp; Edgar Lustgarten cello replaces Ray Kramer; and add Ann Stockton on harp.