A fine gem among the diamonds of
Ella Fitzgerald's late-'50s period with Verve,
Hello Love may not have approached the quality of her songbooks, but it did allow her to sing a few fine songs she'd missed the first time around. (And although none of the songbook giants are represented, the material is hardly second-rate.) Wrapped in the strings of
Frank DeVol's orchestra,
Fitzgerald is a bewitching presence singing these dreamy standards: "Tenderly," "You Go to My Head," "Willow Weep for Me," and "Stairway to the Stars."
DeVol's charts are dynamic as well, allowing space for expressive players such as trumpeters
Harry "Sweets" Edison and
Pete Candoli or tenor
Ben Webster. A few of the titles are solo versions of songs she had recently sung on her
Louis Armstrong duets. ~ John Bush