Norman Granz (from the liner notes to Sunshine of Your Love) One side of this album is devoted to the permanent trio, led by Tommy Flanagan, that accompanies Ella on her forays throughout the world. Flanagan is not only the best pianist around for accompanying singers, but is in his own right a great soloist, certainly among the top half-dozen jazz pianists. This, I might add, is not only my opinion, but also the judgment of musicians who have worked with him. The rest of the trio consists of Ed Thigpen on drums, who for years was with the Oscar Peterson Trio, and a very promising newcomer from the West Coast, Frank de la Rosa, on bass. The big band charts have Ella accompanied by a band, the nucleus of which is the Ernie Heckscher Band, and Heckscher, who is a fixture at the Fairmont Hotel's Venetian Room is just about the best orchestra of that genre around. The orchestra was augmented by a fabulous lead trumpet player, Allen Smith, and the rhythm section remained the Tommy Flanagan Trio. Review by Scott Yanow (AMG) During her long career, every once in awhile Ella Fitzgerald would attempt to "get with it" and record contemporary pop tunes. In 1968 for a live concert with a big band and the Tommy Flanagan Trio, the First Lady of the American Song did what she could with such unsuitable material as "Hey Jude," "Sunshine of Your Love," "Watch What Happens" and "A House Is Not a Home." The results (despite her sincerity) sometime borders on the embarassing; there is no way anyone can swing "Hey Jude." A few of the other numbers (particularly "Give Me the Simple Life," "Old Devil Moon" and "Love You Madly") are of a higher quality but when Ella tries to turn "Alright, Okay, You Win" into funk, it is time to switch records. review by dustygroove Live In San Francisco -- Jazz Club (aka Sunshine Of Your Love) Very cool, very groovy, and one of Ella Fitzgerald's hippest albums of the 60s! The set was recorded in San Francisco in the late 60s, but was issued by MPS in Germany as proof that the label always had an ear for bringing something different out of a mainstream artist. And although live, the album's got a romping, hard grooving style that's filled with plenty of soul -- arranged surprisingly by Tommy Flanagan, with a bouncing, bottom-end groove that even gets a bit funky at times! The centerpiece of the album is Ella's funky cover of the title cut -- Cream's big hit "Sunshine Of Your Love" -- proof that even an old gal can get funky with the right material! Other tracks include "This Girl's In Love With You", "Watch What Happens", "House Is Not A Home", and "Hey Jude". wikipedia Sunshine of Your Love is a live 1969 (see 1969 in music) album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, with a Big Band arranged and conducted by Frank DeVol and Ernie Heckscher. This album is another keystone in Ella's many recorded attempts at more 'contemporary' material. Many discs that she cut from her Pre-Verve years were throwaway novelty singles, and her Verve years spent helping others acknowledge the Great American Songbook as a leading musical art form, but this album, recorded at the end of her tenure with Verve, represents the desire that Ella felt to still remain 'hip', in an ever changing musical landscape, ableit one in which she had always had a place.