Ella Sings Songs from Let No Man Write My Epitaph

by Ken Dryden This album is a rare gem, a 1960 duo session featuring Ella Fitzgerald singing classic ballads, which she performed in the film Let No Man Write My Epitaph, with pianist Paul Smith as her sole accompanist. Unfortunately, this audiophile LP reissue by Classic omits seven of the 13 selections heard on the original record in order to release it as a pair of one-sided 12" 45-rpm discs. While the fidelity is superb, it seems like it would have been more intelligent to utilize both sides of each disc or the regular 33-rpm speed in order to include all of this valuable music. In any case, Ella's gift for capturing the essence of each melody is matched by Smith's flawless backing for her, especially in her powerful interpretation of "Angel Eyes" and the loping "One for My Baby (And One for the Road)." There's no doubt that the missing songs, which include "I Hadn't Anyone Till You," "Who's Sorry Now," and "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You," are every bit as good as the tracks on this abbreviated reissue.