Ella Fitzgerald – Dream Dancing
Dave Hjortland | Published on 6/1/2026
(Pablo, LP & CD, 1978)
Everyone knows at least something about Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996), the "First Lady of Song" and the "Queen of Jazz." Her numerous accolades, to mention only a few, included 14 Grammy Awards and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Her Songbook series, interpreting and celebrating the works of some of America’s greatest popular composers, remains a contribution to American culture that few other performing artists can even dream of achieving. Any one of that series would make a superb and easy recommendation for a review. However none of those will ever be in danger of being forgotten, so I’d rather call this much lesser-known but still very worthy album to your attention.
I have always admired Ella’s music, though I am not exactly a huge fan. Why not? As much as I appreciate those Songbooks (I have most of the eight albums of that marvelous series and a number of her other albums as well), her vocals have usually impressed me as being rather too perfect, too studied and controlled. As I’ve listened I’ve often shaken my head wishing for just a bit more feeling and heart, perhaps just a wee more soul. Just a personal take, I know. On the albums she did with Louis Armstrong she seems a bit more free, as perhaps she enjoyed herself more, playing off Satchmo’s joyful style as the pair created other classic albums.
Norman Granz had a long relationship with Fitzgerald, as friend and advisor, and he became her manager and producer in 1953. In 1956 he founded the Verve record label primarily to produce her albums. The very first release of that fledgling label was the 2-LP Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook, the first of Ella’s Songbook series. In the notes for the album I am lifting up here, Granz states that Porter told him that he found Fitzgerald’s to be “the definitive interpretation” of his songs. All of the subsequent Songbooks were released on the Verve label with Granz as the producer.
Besides the Songbook album of Cole Porter songs, Fitzgerald released another album of Porter songs in 1972 on Atlantic Records under the title, Ella Loves Cole. That album consisted of songs that Ella wished to re-record, as well as a few lesser-known, more neglected Porter songs. For some incomprehensible reason that album received a quite limited release. In 1978 Granz decided it really deserved another chance, and re-released it on his Pablo label. (He founded Pablo in 1973 – apparently he started a number of record companies...) He and Ella added a couple more songs, to total 15, including the new title cut, and the album became Dream Dancing.
In 1972 and in ’78, Ella’s voice is older, yes, but she conveys – at least to my ear – somewhat more feeling and soul than she does in much of her other work. The result – Ella with a touch more soul, plus music arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle, and songs written by one of the greatest ever American popular song writers... well, what I trying to tell you here is that this is nothing short of one heckuva wonderful album!
Ah, the great songs that are here! “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “I Concentrate On You,” Anything Goes,” and “At Long Last Love” are a few of those absolute classic, songbook numbers. They are joined by a few more obscure (at least to me) songs such as the title cut, “Down In the Depths,” and “After You.” Nelson Riddle’s orchestrations are up to his usual standard, which is to say that pretty much no one did it better. (The Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook was arranged and conducted by Buddy Bregman.)
I’ve owned my copy of this album since its original release (and yes, I confess to being rather old). It has a little light background hash here and there, but that does not detract from the engrossing convergence of talent that Ella and Riddle bring to the classic songs of Cole Porter. (I’m using that word “classic” a lot, I know, and there is good reason for it!) If you think you know Ella, and perhaps what you’ve heard doesn’t quite trip your trigger, you might give this album a try.
The LP of this is available on Discogs at very reasonable cost. The first CD release apparently came out in 1987, which Verve billed as “remastered,” and then it was reissued in 2002. I haven’t heard those, but Verve usually did fairly well with their CDs and they are probably pretty good. And for those of you who are sadly deprived of physical media, it seems to be available via streaming.