Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – Ella and Louis
Album
Pairing the greatest gravel-voiced horn player in history with the smoothest vocal improviser of all time could have been a gimmick, but Norman Granz had the genius to slow them down. Accompanied solely by the Oscar Peterson Quartet, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald trade verses on great American standards like Moonlight in Vermont and They Can't Take That Away from Me. Their effortless vocal contrast, gentle humor and radiant mutual respect make the recording feel like an intimate living-room conversation.