Recorded in concert at the Chautauqua Institute in Western New York on July 11, 1968 this release finds the “First Lady of Song” at her best. This is a master class in entertainment.
Fitzgerald takes the audience on a whirlwind tour of her career and then points to new vistas she will conquer. She brings life to the Songbooks of classic writers such as Porter, Ellington and Mercer. There is no singer in Fitzgerald’s league when she moves from up tempo to ballad to Bossa Nova. Her heartfelt and humorous interactions with the audience are met with thunderous applause. Backed by the fabulous Tee Carson Trio, the group had a tight knit report and fed off of each other joyously.