Best of Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan

Try Etta's latest - "Blues to the Bone" At 67 (I think she was born in '38) she can sing the blues like nobody's business. All of her work is superior - try her first LP "At last", live from 1963 "Rocks the House", "Tell Mama" from 1968 with an amazing muscle shoals music section, and some of the later ones mentioned above. She is truly amazing.

For Sarah Vaughan try anything on the Pablo label (Ellington Songbooks, Copacabana, etc.) and stay away from her Roulette label material (more pop than jazz, but others may disagree). Also look out for her version of "September Song" with Clifford Brown, it's on several compilations.

For Ella Fitzgerald any of the Songbooks (Gershwin, Ellington, Rogers/Hart etc.) on Verve are great. "Let's Do It" with Louis Armstrong is also very good, as is "Clap Hands, Here Comes Charley".

Verve also has a multi-disc set featuring both Sarah and Ella in their 'Round Midnight series.

Ella Fitzgerald and Louie Armstrong duets are excellent. Especially Porky and Bess, which is also an excellent quality recording.

I have several of Ella's discs, but I prefer Sarah Vaughan. One of her later releases on the Pablo label is my favorite with a real all-star group of Joe Pass, Oscar Peterson, Louie Bellson, and others. I have a Japanese version of it, but know that it was released domestically. Not sure of the number, but title is "How Long How This Been Going On". Check it out. Sonics are okay, but the performances are great.

It's hard to go wrong with any of these fine women.... Personal favorites of mine are: Billie Holiday "Songs for Distingue Lovers (later) or basically any of her earlier Columbia small band stuff, Try the Ella/Ellington records (really cool stuff), and the Sarah Vaughan/Oscar Peterson stuff is amazing.

Chris