Ella sings “Them There Eyes” December 19, 2007

From 1965, featuring Tommy Flanagan on piano, Tommy Potter on bass and Roy Haynes on drums.

“Them There Eyes” was written by Maceo Pinkard, William Tracy and Doris Tauber.

I’d love to have a copy of the montage that NBC aired shortly after her death, of Ella Fitzgerald singing songs that, let us charitably say, she would not normally have been associated with: “Ode To Billie Jo” and “Feelings” come to mind … The fact is, like many performers, she always did best with someone else picking her material, usually a good producer like Norman Granz.

For someone so associated with scat and up-tempo numbers she was equally at home with ballads. This song usually makes me think of Billie Holiday, but she more than pulls it off.

Technorati tags: Them There Eyes, Maceo Pinkard, William Tracy, Doris Tauber, Ella Fitzgerald, Tommy Flanagan, Tommy Potter, Roy Haynes