Various artists have gotten together in tribute to The First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald. The selections are among Ella's biggest hits - and singers with chops, we've got. Dianne Reeves providing a very nice Lady Be Good, and Queen Latifah contributes The Lady is a Tramp. Natalie Cole does a delightful A Tisket, A Tasket, and Chaka Khan does a great job on Lullaby of Birdland. But when the two combine their talents on Mr. Paganini, standing ovations are in order.

Relative new singer, Ledisi, brings the house down with a roaring interpretation of The Blues in the Night. Etta James' smoky version of Do Nuthin' Til You Hear From Me plays like a road map charting the long, winding journey of a "seasoned" woman in love. Gladys Knight steps in with a very nice version of Someone to Watch Over Me, and I love K.D. Lang's hauntingly subtle Angel Eyes.

I was awe-struck by the Ella-like scatting of Nikki Yanofsky on Airmail Special. My God, how I miss Ella - and it took this particular performance to remind me of how much we lost when Ella passed.

This is a 5-Star recording that throws in the bonus of Ella herself, singing a live version of Whatever Lola Wants. BRAVO! It's a definite GIT-IT

My memories of the late Ella Fitzgerald are sketchy at best. I certainly do recall her numerous appearances on the Ed Sullivan show in the 1960's and I do own a vinyl collection of her greatest hits. However, jazz has never been one of my favorite genres. Recently I came across the 2007 Verve release "We All Love Ella". I must say that this disc certainly piqued my curiosity. And after listening to "We All Love Ella" I find myself longing to hear more of this stuff.
A good many of the artists who appear on "We All Love Ella" are among the most versatile vocalists in the business today. The disc opens with a splendid rendition of Ella Fitzgerald's huge 1939 #1 hit "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" by Natalie Cole. Seems to me that Natalie just keeps getting better and better with age. Queen Latifah does an outstanding job on the venerable standard "The Lady Is A Tramp". From what little I have heard from her it appears that she is right at home with this kind of material. Among the younger artists whom I had never really heard of I was most impressed with Ledisi's sensational take on "Blues In The Night". Blue Note recording artist Dianne Reeves, who many consider to be the pre-eminent jazz vocalist on the scene today blew me away with "Oh, Lady Be Good". Perhaps my very favorite recording in this collection is Linda Ronstadt's "Miss Otis Regrets". Culled from her outstanding 2004 CD "Hummin' To Myself" this tune reminds us that Linda Ronstadt remains one of the most gifted and versatile vocalists on the planet! And I would be remiss if I failed to make mention of Diana Krall's moving take on "Dream A Little Dream of Me" backed by the terrific piano stylings of Hank Jones. It pains me to say this but one track that probably should not have made the cut is Gladys Knight's "Someone To Watch Over Me". I don't think I have ever heard a bad version of this tune....until now.
At the end of the day "We All Love Ella" has succeeded in making me want to hear more of this kind of music. Perhaps I will pull out my vinyl 2 LP set "The Best of Ella" and give it a listen for the first time in a long time. While there were a couple of tracks that I personally did not care for overall I found "We All Love Ella" to be an enjoyable and highly entertaining album. This is certainly a disc that I would listen to from time to time. I am confident that you will agree. Recommended!

Listening to Ella Fitzgerald is like sinking into a hot tub with a tray of chocolate-dipped strawberries next to you. Fitzgerald was brilliant at what she did, in the way she made her voice a blend of the warm, the rich and the knowing--she was seductive, but also smart. This CD, made with love and the best intentions, tries to match her, but just can't; it's like pygmies trying to match an Amazon goddess. Natalie Cole is in fine, silvery voice, but lack's Ella's velvety richness; Queen Latifah and Chaka Kahn both contribute respectable tracks, but there's no weight or snap to them. Buble swings enthusiastically and has a hint of mischief in his voice, but not Ella's joy. k.d. lang offers another of her dreamy sleepwalking tracks, while Linda Ronstad's "Miss Otis"--one of the few Ella tracks I'm really lukewarm on--is sweetly affecting but not one for the ages. (Bizarrely, Bette Midler's knockout Latin take, with lots of blaring horns and crackling electricity, is one of the very few versions of that song I've heard that really works.) And Stevie Wonder's track is irritating beyond belief--it's nice to hear Ella duet with someone, but why on "You Are the Sunshine of My Life?" of all things? (Her gushy tribute to Wonder is also odd, considering this CD is supposed to be about Ella; still, after hearing Wonder piledrive his way over Tony Bennett, I guess we should be grateful he's as restrained as he is here.) However, a few tracks really do just what they're supposed to. Diane Reeves, her voice like a perfectly aged Merlot, skips lightly through "Lady Be Good" with Ella-like dexterity; Lizz Wright croons "Waiting For the Moon" with appropriately moody seductiveness; and the final "scat track" is joyfully contagious. Best of all is a red-hot "Blues In The Night" by Ledisi--ah, Ledisi! She, apparently, didn't get the memo about restrained, bland good tastefulness, and she tears through the song like a triple-shot Mexican mocha with an aphrodisiac chaser; her final, yowling note on "Night" is a throw down challenge to every other diva (and wanna-be)in jazz: I Am The Future. Yay, and hooray; back to the hot tub, everyone, Ledisi's got the jets fired up!

This is one of the finest tribute albums I've ever heard. I'm usually skeptical about tribute albums and find many of them to be just commerical product capitalizing on the death of someone or mismatches of styles. This one is first class all the way. Artists like Natalie Cole, Queen Latifah, Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder, Michael Buble, Diana Krall and many others sound naturally comfortable with this album which sounds ideal for a Manhattan Martini get together. Sophisticated productions by Phil Ramone make this tribune to Ella one that she would be proud of. I enjoyed every single song on this CD, all from the classic Great American Songbook with the exception of "Reaching for the Moon", which I found slow and boring, but it's only because all the others are so uplifting. If you love jazz singing and scat singing with sophisticated arrangements, you'll love this CD. I betcha Ella is smiling upstairs.

We All Love Ella is a touching tribute to The First Lady Of Song. This album gives us a terrific fifteen classic Ella Fitzgerald ballads covered by some of the best artists currently in the business. Just one listen proves it!

The CD track set starts with a bouncy rendition of "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" by Natalie Cole. The bass works well and so do those horns and percussion! Natalie swings brightly on "A-Tisket, A-Tasket." Chaka Chan truly does prove her wide vocal range with a pretty awesome rendition of "Lullaby Of Birdland." The key changes between major and minor work well for "Lullaby Of Birdland." Chaka sings this passionately with all her heart and soul; her excellent diction bolsters her performance. Moreover, Queen Latifah turns in a rousing interpretation of "The Lady Is A Tramp." Queen Latifah never sounded better; and the arrangement for piano, horns, drums and percussion really shines!

"Dream A Little Dream Of Me" features Diana Krall and Hank Jones; although some may think that this interpretation runs a little too long I personally like it very much. Diana Krall and Hank Jones perform a marvelous version of "Dream A Little Dream Of Me." Listen also for a flawless performance of "(If You Can't Sing It) You'll Have To Swing It (a.k.a. Mr. Paganini)" by Natalie Cole and Chaka Khan.

Ledisi performs "Blues In The Night" with panache; and the big band style arrangement impresses me with its percussion and horns. Ella would be smiling! "Miss Otis Regrets" gets the royal treatment from Linda Ronstadt who sings this with excellent diction, sensitivity and style.

We get an excellent duet between Ella Fitzgerald herself and the great Stevie Wonder recorded live in concert; their electric chemistry is unmistakable. Together Ella and Stevie Wonder perform "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life." The crowd loves every minute of this duet; and Ella and Stevie never miss a beat! I predict that you will enjoy "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" very, very much.

The liner notes feature some pretty fine artwork; and we get a couple of excellent black and white photos of Ella as well. Excellent!

Ella Fitzgerald, The First Lady Of Song, will never be forgotten; and this CD is a wonderful tribute to her and her legacy. We are all remarkably better off for Ella sharing her artistry with us; and I assure you that her CDs will be available for ages to come.

Great job, everyone--and thank you, Ella!