Ella Fitzgerald & Joe Pass – Fitzgerald & Pass… Again

Two people, fourteen songs

Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass met at RCA Studios in Los Angeles in the winter of 1976. Sessions on January 29 and 30 and February 8 produced Fitzgerald and Pass… Again: fourteen tracks, one voice and one guitar, with Norman Granz producing. Following Take Love Easy in 1973, the pair continued a partnership in which each musical suggestion could reach the other directly.

Such a small ensemble asks for trust. With no additional accompaniment, melody, harmony and time are shared openly between two musicians. Pass can give his guitar several roles, while Fitzgerald has space to shape each phrase. The setting draws attention to choices that might be less apparent within a larger arrangement.

Ellington as an old acquaintance

Four selections lead back to Duke Ellington: “I Ain’t Got Nothin’ But The Blues”, “I Didn’t Know About You”, “All Too Soon” and “Solitude”. Fitzgerald had recorded all four for her 1957 Ellington songbook. On that earlier “Solitude”, a guitar was already her partner, played by Barney Kessel. Nineteen years later, she returns to the song with Joe Pass.

That connection adds another dimension to this record. The songs carry their histories, while the partnership opens different possibilities. Listeners familiar with Fitzgerald’s songbooks can encounter well-known material in an intimate setting. Newcomers meet a singer whose repertoire had developed over decades and still welcomed fresh musical conversation.

From blues to One Note Samba

The selection extends well beyond Ellington. “My Old Flame”, “That Old Feeling” and “I’ve Got The World On A String” trace paths through film and American popular song. “Nature Boy” recalls Nat King Cole, while “Tennessee Waltz” carries its country and pop associations. Antônio Carlos Jobim’s “One Note Samba” brings the album to its close.

Fourteen songs create a broad musical journey within this deliberately small ensemble. Fitzgerald won the 1977 Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for the album. The award is part of its history; the lasting invitation is to follow voice and guitar through an entire side and discover the individual character of each song.

Analogue Productions’ Pablo edition

AAPJ 160 contains the fourteen original tracks on one 180-gram LP at 33⅓ RPM. It is pressed at Quality Record Pressings and presented in a single-pocket tip-on jacket made by Stoughton Printing. This is the single-LP version from Analogue Productions’ Pablo series, an important distinction when comparing editions.

The documented lacquer cut is by Stan Ricker at AcousTech Mastering and is used through existing metalwork. Wider mastering credits differ between published descriptions, so the clearly identified cut is the reference here. Care in describing the edition seems particularly fitting for music that places such value on individual attention.

You order from Michael 45 in Germany. We arrange the US import and dispatch from Hilden.

Customer question: Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe

Series: Pablo – all 30 records, musicians and the session book

Musicians

Participants and documented credit status. Track references correspond to the tracklist.

• Ella FitzgeraldvocalsParticipation: Album personnel
• Joe PassguitarParticipation: Album personnel

Ella Fitzgerald (vocals), Joe Pass (guitar) — a duo, on all 14 tracks. Recorded January 29 and 30 and February 8, 1976, at RCA Studios, Los Angeles. Producer: Norman Granz. Recording engineer per later CD credits: Angel Balestier. Liner notes: Benny Green. Photography: Phil Stern. Design: Norman Granz, Gribbitt!. This edition: lacquer cut by Stan Ricker (AcousTech Mastering, from existing metal parts), plating by RTI, pressed at Quality Record Pressings. Sources disagree on the mastering credit (Stan Ricker or Doug Sax).