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Ella Fitzgerald ushered in 1967 with a new label affiliation; she had decamped Verve for the Capitol label where she would release two albums - one of hymns, and the other of traditional Christmas carols - that year. In concert, Ella was in a period of transition. While rewarding her audiences with the classic standards they expected, she was also experimenting with newer material from the pop-rock songbook. On February 28, Ella's once and future home of Verve will release The Moment of Truth: Ella at the Coliseum, preserving her June 30, 1967 show at the Oakland, California venue.
The original master tapes for The Moment of Truth: Ella at the Coliseum were recently discovered in the private tape archive of Verve founder Norman Granz; this release has been mixed from those multitrack tapes. (Granz founded Verve for Fitzgerald; though he continued to represent her for live appearances, they took a break from recording together after the 1966 album Whisper Not. They didn't work together again in the studio until 1972 at Atlantic Records; Ella would soon follow him to his new Pablo label.)
The nine-song concert (part of a much longer evening filled with jazz luminaries) found the singer between shows at the Hollywood Bowl. It featured Fitzgerald supported by members of The Duke Ellington Orchestra with whom she had been touring for a three-year period. (Alas, Ellington himself didn't appear.) Her trio - pianist Jimmy Jones, bassist Bob Cranshaw, and drummer Sam Woodyard - was joined by the Ellington contingent of Cat Anderson, Cootie Williams, Harry Carney, Paul Gonsalves, Jimmy Hamilton, Johnny Hodges, and Russell Procope.
The concert includes Ella's only documented performances of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's tender "Alfie" as well as the groovy "Music to Watch Girls By," a hit for both Andy Williams (in vocal form) and The Bob Crewe Generation (as an instrumental). The title song "The Moment of Truth" was introduced by Tony Bennett in 1963 and had previously been sung on television by Ella. Among the standards heard here are the Ellington-penned "In a Mellow Tone," Cole Porter's saucy "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)," and the melancholy "You've Changed." The concert concludes with a swinging "Mack the Knife," so famously sung by her longtime friend and collaborator Louis Armstrong as well as Bobby Darin.
The Moment of Truth: Ella at the Coliseum arrives on February 28 from Verve in CD, LP, and digital/streaming formats. You'll find the track listing and pre-order links below. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Ella Fitzgerald, The Moment of Truth: Ella at the Coliseum (Verve, 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
- The Moment of Truth - 2:52
- Don't Be That Way - 4:33
- You've Changed - 4:37
- Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love) - 4:43
- Bye Bye Blackbird - 5:02
- Alfie - 5:43
- In A Mellow Tone - 4:41
- Music To Watch Girls By - 3:56
- Mack The Knife - 4:53
Recorded at The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA on June 30, 1967
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Do you know why "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" and "So Danco Samba" from the concert are not included in this release?
Hi George, I'll see what we can find out. It could be for any number of reasons; perhaps it was felt by the label and/or estate that those performances weren't up to a releasable standard. Perhaps there was a technical problem on the tapes with those songs. Or - reflecting a scenario that has, sadly, become increasingly common - perhaps the label didn't want to exceed the timing restrictions of vinyl and therefore the two songs were cut. In the old days, those songs would likely have appeared on the CD as "bonus tracks," but labels seem much more reticent today to have a different, longer program on CD - since vinyl is the new driver of their physical sales. (Additional tracks also push the cost of a physical title up due to much-increased mechanical royalties.) In any event, I hope there's more archival Ella to come!