Ella Fitzgerald Sings: The Duke Ellington Songbook (Expanded Edition)

This vivacious 1957 album marks the first of many collaborations between jazz icons Fitzgerald and Ellington, complete with the latter’s famously well-oiled band. But most of all it’s a showcase for Ella’s unmatched articulation, at its full potential on both the tongue-twisting scat of “Rockin’ in Rhythm” and her incredibly delicate rendering of the ballad “Solitude.” While a long, lively version of Duke’s signature “Take the ‘A’ Train” is indisputably the centerpiece, this expanded package also includes alternate takes, rehearsals, and an ambitious 16-minute medley.