Following on from releases by Sarah Vaughan, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson and Dave Brubeck, Live At The Concertgebouw continues Fondamenta’s remarkable series of Lost Recordings. This previously unreleased album of Ella Fitzgerald, recorded at Amsterdam’s legendary concert hall on 10 February 1961, found the singer at the height of her considerable powers – with the Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hart, Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin and Gershwin Songbooks already under her belt, the singer was in Europe as part of the long-standing ‘Jazz at the Philharmonic’ tour. Featuring the same bass and drums team that performed on the previous year’s Mack The Knife (Ella In Berlin), but with pianist Lou Levy and guitarist Herb Ellis replacing Paul Smith and Jim Hall, Fitzgerald is in blistering form from the get-go, with an ebullient reading of ‘Too Close For Comfort’. From the beautiful balladeering of ‘I’ve Got A Crush On You’ and the lyrical delights of ‘Lorelei’ (both from the Gershwin Songbook) to the breakneck tempo of ‘You’re Driving Me Crazy’, Fitzgerald brings the entire spectrum of her breathtaking virtuosity to bear. For vinyl fans, a 180gm limited edition (just 900 hand-numbered copies) might prove to be too great a temptation. The CD sound quality is extraordinarily good.