Jazz and Pop Reviews : Mature Craftsmanship From Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald looked a bit small and frail as she slowly walked on stage at the Hollywood Bowl before 16,012 fans Wednesday night. But as soon as she was comfortably situated on a stool near Mike Wofford’s piano, with Keter Betts on bass and Bobby Durham on drums laying down a smooth and easy flow of rhythm, the 74-year-old Fitzgerald was transformed.

When she sang grooving up-tempo songs like “There Will Never Be Another You” and “Night in Tunisia” her still-youthful interpretations were as briskly energetic as ever.

Fitzgerald’s ballads were even better. If her voice occasionally failed her on a high note, if the flesh was weak and a tone wavered, her innate musical sense, her inner spirit and her blossoming imagination were impervious to aging. A superb rendering of “Good Morning, Heartache” would surely have drawn a smile of approval from Billie Holiday. And a small, carefully focused “How Long Has This Been Going On?,” followed by a lovely duet with the 84-year-old Benny Carter on “What Will I Tell My Heart” were masterful examples of mature craftsmanship.

The performance by Carter’s orchestra--a 16-piece collection of L.A.’s finest sidemen--had its problems, though it wasn’t the fault of the musicians.

As so often happens with jazz at the Bowl, the audio system delivered amplified piano, bass and drums at a level far out of proportion to the rest of the ensemble. Is it really too much to expect an audio mix that intelligently reproduces an accurate aural image of a big jazz band? Apparently so.