If I had to choose only one recording that would accompany me to a desert island, it would be this two disc set. I first heard it when I was a teenager and am still loyally playing it many years later. I have been through two sets on vinyl, three cassette versions and I now own one CD set for my house and one CD set for my car. Do I sound obsessed? Guilty! This is simply superb music making on every level. Ella was in her prime and her voice has, perhaps, sounded this sweet on other recordings but certainly never any sweeter. If she, as usual, gives some of the lyrics short shrift, this is undoubtedly made up for by the way she sounds: pure and sassy and loaded with charm and sophistication. The arrangements are clever and/or romantic and lush and lift Ella to an even higher level. Porter was, of course, one of the 3 or 4 finest lyricists/composers that the American theatre has ever known and all of his songs in this album sound as if they were written for Ella and not for the Broadway stage. If you can only buy one CD set this year or can only afford to give one gift this coming holiday season, believe me this is the set to buy.

Nostalgia is an annoying emotion, and irritating to hear about, because there are always worthy artists working, and there will always be the potential for sublime music. But an album likes this really makes you yearn for older days - I don't particularly like the idea of missing out everything that followed this album, in the 60's etc., but where can you find a voice like Ella's today, and a musical supremo like Louis?

I believe that Ella Fitzgerald has the greatest voice in jazz...I hesitate to say in ANY music, because it is difficult to compare classically trained singers with jazz ones, but hers in any case is so warm and beautiful as to touch your soul. In this album, it is allowed to express itself fully, and since no voice can be perfect, is even enhanced by the harmonies it engages in with Louis'.

His trumpet playing is excellent, though singing is given the main emphasis, where his extraordinary sense of rhythm, and his sheer enjoyment of the music make him more than a match for Ella. The instrumental section performs a little backing masterpiece of its own, with the supreme Oscar Peterson trio plus drummer doing that great musical trick of making themselves pretty much unnoticeable UNLESS you take them out.

Every song here is a delight, bringing plenty of smiles and sighs. The album works because of the constant craftsmanship, and I am sure the remastering people deserve some credit, because the sound quality is very high.

It would be very difficult not to enjoy this album...and a special note to people in the northern hemisphere - this is a great summer album. Get buying!

I am a HUGE Ella fan & I like most of what she recorded, but this set is one of my favorites. Cole Porter's music is pretty near perfect & the lyrics are wonderfully cheeky. Ella's voice is at it's peak here-- pure and clear as a bell. I love the way she sings songs like "Let's do it" with her seemingly "innocent" style..... this recording also has some great ballads, like my all time favorite, "Easy to Love." If you like Ella, you'll like this one!

You could not have more of a contrast between two voices between Ella and Louis. Ella's: like a glass of warm milk, silky and smooth. Louis': like a bear hug, rough and tumble. Who would think this combination would work? Both artists had such huge successes singing on their own and have such distinct styles, that you would think that their voices would conflict with each other in an egomaniacal disaster.

And yet there is a convergence without compromise. Their voices play off of each other, complementing each other's features, and yet nothing is lost in each's distinctness. They both bring everything they have to the table, and magically somehow, the table is big enough to fit everything.

And then there is Louis' trumpet, with such tone that you'd think there was a third voice on this album. Such raw emotion, it almost speaks to the listener.

This might sound like the most pretentious statement of the week, I must admit. Yet listen to the interplay of voices in "Cheek to Cheek", the trumpet solo in "Moonlight in Vermont", the tranquility of "The Nearness of You", the subtle swing of "They Can't Take That Away From Me" and you will see that what I said doesn't even come close to encapsulating what this record is.

I don't feel this way about too many albums, jazz or not. I don't go out and make statements like this frequently; I am almost ashamed at how culture-snobbish it sounds. But it's sincere. Listen to this album, and you'll see what I mean.

So count your blessings. They don't make records like this any more.