A Duet of Genius
Geoffrey Mark Fidelman | Sherman Oaks, CA United States | 07/25/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass often dueted in live venues during the 1970s and 1980s. Whatever the quality of voice Ella might have been in on any given evening, something magical always happened when her trio or band would leave the stage and she and Joe would go it alone. I do not believe any two jazz performers had the sympatico musical understanding of one another as these two had. I was fortunate to have known Joe in his last years, and he himself marvelled at the chemistry between them. My only regret about this CD is that it is not a 2-CD set, as there are literally dozens of such live recordings available for release. The gem here is "I'm Beginning to See the Light." It was the most often repeated duet they did, yet the studio version (which Joe assured me happened more than once) was never released. Grab yourself a bit of jazz magic and buy this one!"