Ella Fitzgerald: Improvisations on "Take the 'A' Train", 1 of 2

This essay and the next one make up a “master class” on improvisation: Five performances by Ella Fitzgerald of Billy Strayhorn’s “Take the ‘A’ Train,” all recorded during ten. nights at the Crescendo Club, Hollywood, California, May 11 through 21 (with one night off), 1961. Some of this material was issued back then on an LP. Much more material, not duplicating anything from the LP, was released in 2009 on four CDs under the title Twelve Nights in Hollywood. (The title comes from the fact that this boxed set included music from two more nights in 1962.) Today we will begin with one “‘A’ Train” that was never released, followed by two that were on albums.

The lesson to be learned from all of these renditions is that Ella was a true improvisor. You will notice that each performance is unique. Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking that Ella Fitzgerald used “set” routines, as many singers do. When she said “Now we’re just going to make something up,” she really meant that. Even when she performed the same songs night after night, her accompanists had to be constantly alert, because she would improvise the introduction, the middle and the ending. Her musicians have to work hard to keep up with her. They are: Lou Levy (p) Herb Ellis (g) Wilfred Middlebrooks (b) Gus Johnson (d). All of the releases listed Jim Hall on guitar, but that was an error. Hall had worked with her in 1960 and earlier, but in 1961 Ellis was her regular guitarist. She even announces him on the boxed set.

Before we begin, let’s note that every version uses the same basic arrangement: First, there’s an introductory “vamp” (repeated pattern) over which she improvises. Then she sings through the theme twice—the second time very loose, with more improvisation. That leads to her singing in scat for as long as she wishes. In all but one performance, towards the end of her vocal solo she goes into a “riff” together with the guitarist. That riff was possibly rehearsed, or it came up spontaneously onstage once and they decided to keep it. Then there’s the closing theme, and a brief improvised coda.

Fitzgerald doesn’t perform the words that Strayhorn published. She basically follows the lyrics that Betty Roché popularized while she was with Duke in 1942-44. (Roché returned to the band in 1951-3.) But Ella goes her own way as well. For example, the last line of the bridge on Strayhorn’s sheet music is “Listen to those rails a-thrumming.” Roché sang “Can’t you hear the rails go humming?,” or sometimes “a-humming?” But Ella sings “Can’t you hear those engines thrumming?” (“Thrumming” refers to a continuous rhythmic humming sound.) Often, she changes the last word to “strumming,” probably because it’s more natural to sing, while still retaining more of Strayhorn’s original sound than “humming” does.

Let’s begin now with a version from the Crescendo Club in 1961 that has never before been shared with the public. As usual, she throws in any number of quotations from other songs. For example, at 4:58 she even quotes the march known as The British Grenadiers (sometimes credited to Thomas Arne, but actually by an unknown composer). Enjoy this unheard gem:

Wow! Now, here is the version that was on the original LP, Ella in Hollywood, back in 1961. It’s easy to see why her producer, Norman Granz, chose it. She is truly inspired, and even though it’s the longest version, it sounds as though she doesn’t want to stop at the end. She brings in the riff with the guitarist at 3:40. And she follows that at 4:20 with a clever reference to another train, the “Chattanooga Choo Choo.” ENJOY!:

When the CD producer, Richard Seidel, selected material for a single CD “Best of Twelve Nights…,” there was still a lot of material unused, so he took the opportunity to include a previously unreleased version of “Take the 'A' Train." Probably many fans missed that one. So let’s listen. At the start, you can hear her tell the band, “‘A’ Train.” On this one she’s particularly free on the introduction. Her riff with the guitarist comes in at 4:00. Here we go:

Nice! The Crescendo and an attached club called Interlude were on the famous Sunset Strip at 8572 Sunset Boulevard from 1954 to 1964:

They were owned by concert and record producer Gene Norman. As was typical in those days, there were usually two artists on the bill. The Oscar Peterson Trio performed on every one of these nights as well. I believe both artists played two shows per night, but none of the ads specifies the number of sets or showtimes, except that one should order the “early bird” dinner before 8:30pm (other ads say 9pm):

(From the Los Angeles Mirror, May 19, 1961; Mort Sahl was performing his innovative comedy next door at the Interlude.)

If you want to read about the brilliant Ella Fitzgerald, the latest biography is by musicologist Judith Tick, who spent over ten years researching it. (Full disclosure: I answered questions for her now and then, uncredited.) Next time we’ll begin with another performance that was never released, then hear one that was issued, and finally, we’ll enjoy a televised performance. Until then,

All the best,
Lewis

P.S. Thank you to Richard Seidel and Ken Druker for assistance with this post.