Ella knocks 'em bandy in Berlin
Ella Fitzgerald never had a voice, she had an instrument which she used to her greatest potential. Together with the likes of Billie Holiday and Nina Simone, Ella was one of the greatest jazz singers to have graced the world. This recording is when she was at the zenith of her career and it is this album that contains the definitive recording of the great Gershwin song from Porgy and Bess - Summertime.

Ella also sings Mack the Knife an unusual song for a woman and she explains that she had only recently learned the song. It is quickly apparent that she has not had enough time to learn the song and forgets the words therefore improvising lyrics on the spot.

It is also very apparent that Ella loved to sing. She had great humour and enjoyed entertaining folk.

If you have to own one Ella album then it should be this. This is her Something Kind of Blue. A classic album from a bygone era.

One of the Best CD's ever
My mother had the vinyl album of this CD, and thoughout my childhood this was one of the records that she would play while doing housework. What great memories. However even if you did not grow up listening to Ella these songs are great. They are fun and her voice is just incredible.

Mack the Knife: The complete Ella in Berlin
Excellent purchase - It really brightens up myday and I've been listening to it daily ever since. Excellent high fidelity sound - you could be sitting in the front row of a truly wonderful concert - Ella at her absolute best. A must for Ella fans

Ella at Her Best
I happen to think that Ella was absolutely the best, and in this album she is at the top of her game. All the cuts are good, but the Mack the Knife cut alone is worth the price. I have several CD's of Ella Fitzgerald, and this one is second only to the "Best of the Songbooks" compilation.

top class Ella
yes, this is Ella at her peak, swinging hard and being very suggestive at the ballads.
I m not quite convinced that it is better than Ella in Rome album, but I think it deserves its status.

However, even Ella s critics, if they compare Berlin and Rome concert could point how her improvisational skills are actually not so magnificent< Fitzgerald even uses same musical phrases on different songs. But, if you don-t compare these two albums you might fall in love with her singing...

And even if she is not as good as Sarah Vaughan or Billie Holiday, Ella can still swing up a storm and, interestingly enough, appeal to non-jazz audiences even when she is not compromising with strings (or singing novelty tunes)...