New York Times (11/28/93) - "...Along with Frank Sinatra's 1950s Capitol recordings, Ella Fitzgerald's `songbook' anthologies of pre-rock American music are one of the cornerstones of American pop on disk...."
Down Beat (2/94, p.56) - 5 Stars - Excellent - "...stand as perhaps the finest tribute to American popular song ever recorded....possessed with a pure timbre and a guileless approach to singing...she met her mentor in [Norman] Granz and her mettle in the songbook concept...."
Musician (4/94, p.91) - "...Has there ever been a great singer so willing to make herself invisible in the service of a song? The genius of these Norman Granz '50s sessions is that the songs here are almost uniformly unsurpassable...The Ellington collection is particularly wonderful to hear, as Ella becomes the great female voice Duke never had...."
Stereo Review (3/94, p. 102) - Performance: Handled With Care / Recording: Excellent Transfers - "...a monument to [Ella's] artistry, to American popular music, and to Norman Granz....ought to be offered on a layaway plan, because no discriminating pair of ears should be without it...."
Entertainment Weekly (12/24/93, p.61) - "...Jazz mogul Norman Granz's masterstroke of pre-rock-artist packaging...finally gets the CD-age packaging it deserves..." - Rating: A+
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