Joe Pass & Ella Fitzgerald - Duets in Hannover 1975 

When I was a boy of about 12 my father, a pianist, woke me at about 2 AM. Joe Pass and Oscar Peterson were on TV. Dad knew I was keen on the guitar and I always tried to participate in the Friday night jam sessions at our home. So, Dad got me up and the two of us sat in front of the B&W television and were mesmerized by the genius pouring from the tiny speaker. That was my intro to Joe Pass and now, nearly 50 years later his musicianship still astounds me. Thank you for posting this. I will watch it again and again. Whenever I see Joe Pass performing solo I am taken back to that night.

Can you imagine being there seeing these two legends sharing a stage? Beyond a dream.

I love Ella. She never took herself too seriously which allowed her to add a lot of fun into her music. When you have that much talent and soul you are just magical! 🥰

This video should be in a museum. This video IS a museum.

ahhh... I've seen Joe a bunch, particularly around this time. Never with Ella, though. Last time was especially unforgettable - with Sarah Vaughan at the Blue Note, Greenwich Village NYC, 1989. Was newlywed, my wife had been raised on classical music and ballet, and she was so blown away (she's a very accomplished classical pianist and ballerina). She loved that I turned her on to jazz... most memorable jazz evening was a table for 2 at the jazz café on the corner of our street and Broadway, practically at arm's length from McCoy Tyner... I saved up $ for a month for that - and wow, was it ever worth it! Changed her life! Music has given us all so much; we should never take it for granted, we are fortunate. Joe shares the top shelf with the greatest of the greats. I'm obviously a guitarist... 'nuff said. Peace and Alohas, y'all

I got to see Joe Pass for my 18th birthday present at the Philadelphia Academy of Music. Ella's, the Count Basie band, and Oscar Peterson. A life long memory.

This concert was my motivation to make a late in life decision to learning to play guitar. Joe and Ella are amazing.

This is amazing.....Joe Pass could simply play, and play and play. Saw him and Ella in WDC in....1985-86.....hands down one of the best performances I've been to....EVER! To top it off, lost my wallet that night and someone actually tracked me down (PRE-cell, PRE-internet) and returned it....in the mail...every penny and was in it. Joe and Ella brought me good karma.

i play the guitar for 35 years now ... and I think i must live for 300 years more to play like joe and to anticipate his musicaltiy, i love what he plays for the rest of my days, i am very very impressed, he is a genious!

Wow, look! No autotune, no DJ, no flashing lights, no backup dancers, no BS... just talent, soul + top shelf musicianship.

There are guitarists, there are jazz guitarists, then there's Joe Pass, add Ms. Fitzgerald & it's Ella mental...

thank you Ella for visit the Earth.

In 1978 my girl asked me what I wanted for my birthday. Joe Pass was in town. Got tickets, it was amazing!

The talent this man has brings me to tears. Those progressions are so golden.

What do you get when you take the greatist guitarist and the greatest vocalist? This is a treasure

One voice, one guitar. That's all they needed.

Dang 84 dislikes, those people don't understand the soul in this music, unlike today's. I wish I could have met Joe, or even played with him. So sad we've lost all these good musicians in the past, and for so many to be ignorant of their presence.

Ella Fitzgerald had every tool in the bag.... i adore this woman.

I enjoyed every second if this performance.... could not help to get misty eyed with the Cry me a River... Priceless... Joe should get a speeding ticket for playing Avalon... : ) Unbelievable....

Being a complete Jazz Combo in ONE Instrument: Joe Pass is just amazing! The Greatest!

I love the way that Joe knows when to be The Soloist and when to be the accompanist. When he's accompanying Ella he stays in the background dropping in those beautiful chords exactly where they should be. Two people Joe and Ella at the top of their craft making the extremely difficult look so very easy.

OMG I Love this Guitarsound .. I Play Hendrix , Cream Clapton etc. But sometimes i dont wanna Learn or Play , Just Listen , and Joe Pass is REALLY one of my ALL Time Favs in Jazz I LOVE that sound ...

That performance. A gem a treasure in the archives of great music. Many thanks to all who made it possible for me to experience it.RU-vid rocks.

can't get enough, keep coming back. So much class and talent - Ella's scat is mind boggling and Joe...saw him 4 or 5 times and had to talk to him - gracious, kind and wonderful

what a glorious treat.... us being able to enjoy gems like these !

i'm just crying because this is so beautiful!! This refresh the soul.

They are just playing. Playing with music. Playing with human voice. Two geniuses at play. Amazing.

such a big soul this woman had. Opened her mouth and it just poured out like a burst dam. Can't listen to her without crying for joy.

I could listen to Joe Pass all night and day.

Music doesn't get much better than this. Ella could make the happy birthday song sound elegant, and Joe Pass is like an entire orchestra all on his own. What a great pair they make.

No pitch control needed, naturally perfect, God gifted

Joe Pass - was amazing musician! The best from the bests! Unforgettable!

I wasnt born yet but i sooooo glad someone video recorded alot of her performance ....her genius bring tears to my eyes ...

Been playing drums/percussion for 40 years, tried to teach my son to follow my footsteps, but no, he plays guitar; his favorite Joe Pass, ain't got a problem with that

Ella has got to be the greatest female vocalist I've ever heard! Just perfect elocution! Phenomenal! The voice control is incredible, of course love joe pass!!!!

I was listening to this while my friend gave me a back message, thank you :)

Forgive them Father, for the dislikers know not what they do...

I went to see Ella one year when I was in Memphis, TN. She was the only performer listed on the bill, but out comes Joe Pass to play solo guitar, then he and Ella do some duets, then bass and drums were added for the rest of the concert. Man, that was a wonderful night!

🥇watching during covid - 19 2020 lockdown

a true master of jazz guitar, so smooth and effortless!

"Sunshine of my life" has left me in tears.

I had the good fortune to see Joe and Ella at the Westchester Theater in '75(?), Oscar Peterson and The Count Basie Orchestra where also on the bill, I watched Joe Pass from the 7th row with opera glasses. His blistering speed and amazing phrasing mesmerized me. I have to say after these 40 years and watching these videos I might have thought to look at his right hand.

I have mentioned to people.........."Imagine an artist of Ella's magnitude traveling the world with just this unassuming , little man and His guitar to provide musical back-up ". How bloody GOOD do you have to be?????? Wow ..........!

His playing is sublime. It calls to something deeply human in me.

The combination of Ella's vocals and Joe's accompaniement is exquisite. This is some of the greatest music ever recorded. My thanks to whoever downloaded this session.

I graduated from high school in '75. I only started to get how good stuff like this really was. However, even a few years later, NOBODY I knew would have gone to a jazz concert with me. I lost out on so much. I should have called my older cousin in St. Louis - he was aware of everything that had to do with great jazz and blues. This is too good for words.; so was he.

THE IMMORTAL, JOE PASS, Lucky to hav seen him in santa monica ca in 1989.

Joe and Ella, a perfect couple. Great sound....Love! :D

class, talent, warmth, genius chops and deep humility - what a combo..

This is the epitome of perfection... All the duets Pass & Fitzgerald recorded... The perfect match ...

When you play and sing at this level there may be different players/singers but there is no one better. Two absolute masters at their best enjoying each others art and making beautiful art together.

Holy shit that rendition of one note samba was KILLER

The BEST BEST BEST Single Jazz Guitar i EVER hear ..and i know Them ALL !!! Joe Pass ..SUCH a JAZZ MASTER!!

He chords faster than most pickers PICK! Love the post thank you. Imagine maintaining your concentration with 2 TV cameras rolling around between you and the audience and stuck in your face,What a PRO!

Joe Pass knows how to lay down those chord melodies, wow! Ella Fitzgerald adds the cherry on top that voice just melts me. You turn the table on me and cry me a river is just beautiful coming from these two. Joe and Ella shine on You are the Sunshine of my life.

I now believe some kind of perfection is possible in this world. Ella's voice, Joe's guitar ..... What else ??

This is as good as it gets, true strangeness, Ella and Joe, taking us well far out beyond whatever your beliefs are. This is divine partnership. True love and COMPLEX. So pristine. So joyous!

This is my first time hearing Ella Fitzgerald, and she has such an amazing voice!

Noooooooooooow you sayyy you're sorry. Oh man that's the best voice iv'e ever heard.

Joe's guitar caresses the soul and transports one to a completely new dimension.

I love it at 2:53. Check this out-- After "Virtuoso Joe" dazzles us, as usual, with his incredible, fluid, bebop, saxophone-like lines with ease, WITH HIS EYES CLOSED! He gets surprised by the camera close-up but, like a true and rare pro, doesn't miss a beat, or a chord, or a lick, and he cracks a sweet, warm smile and just keeps WAILING, folks --Whoa! Joe, we sure miss you, and thanks for everything you did for music and art. Your legacy will live FOREVER. Most of all, thanks for your courageous example of conquering your heroin addiction to deliver us "the goods" (as in, excellent and timeless music) for many, many years while you were around on this here planet Earth. Thanks, Joe, for giving me your precious time and energy after your live solo concert performance to answer my question about which chord you used on your composition, "Two Track Trip", from the obscure Guitar Player Magazine record you recorded a half a decade earlier at that point. I could tell, Joe, were tired after the performance giving it your all --and, most of all, of the usual, "You're great, Joe!" fawning fan stuff by all the people who mobbed you on stage after the gig because you could have told me to "Get lost!" But NO! Joe, you calmly thought for a moment, --and I'll never forget this, --you told me the EXACT chord, so I could understand, --being a novice at that point, --in how to figure out what it was by your straight forward explanation of Jazz Music theory in a just a few minutes. WOW! People, I stand before all of YOU, --past, present and future to say, NO money could buy, and, NOTHING, could compare to those few minutes with the sadly late, but great Joe Pass. Joe Pass, may you be firing up that ole Jazz bandstand where ever you are! We LOVE you, Joe, and always will! ;_; [then wipes tears from eyes] Peace.

Joe you have got style, Ella, you have everything......

Joe's guitar and Ella's voice is the miracle combination ever found in music.

Hard to find adequate words to describe the genius in technique, the improve that seems to be effortless.

So exquisite... can't get any better than this ♥

I saw this in Germany on TV, and its one of the greatest concerts I've ever seen. Thanks firstly for finding this, and secondly uploading it.

Chanced upon this performance here, and what good fortune that was for me!

man joe pass’ playing is from another planet

Eli Fitzgerald "extreme sophistication "

have been listening to this legend since child hood , and never get bored with his music,such depth and feeling!

No comment I put here could ever do justice to either of these two legends; I was very young during their time...thank God for recordings and You Tube!! What world class musicians.

Watching these two great artists making music together is a very humbling experience.

Joe Pass. He wows and dazzles when playing solo and woos and beguiles when comping.

HOW COULD ANY ONE NOT LOVE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS. BILL

Joe Pass and Ella Fitzgerald...Man! The incredible, melodic music that they made together back in ‘75 was absolutely heavenly!

Joe pass was born old with a guitar in his hands. The best.

Greatest guitarist of all time.no contest.

She's almost 60 here. Her voice still sounds like it's woven from silk.

Good God...listen to that voice. 😍

Effortless brilliance, spaced and timed to perfection!

This video is a gem. Enjoy the connection among two great lovers of harmony,perfect tuning from Ella, great improvisation of Joe Pass. Amazing !!!

One of the most outstanding aspects of Joe's playing is how great his time is. Guitar is already a very rhythmically challenging instrument, because it's dynamic range is so limited and finicky. Playing alone, accompanying a singer is especially hard, because singers have a tendency to push and pull on the beat to add expression, tension, etc. Joe has really good time-keeping AND a very tasteful, seasoned feel in his rubato playing. He struggled with heroin and spent a great deal of time in prison in the 50s on drug-related charges, but his determination and commitment towards the guitar won the race in the long run. Even among so many amazing guitar players that have come around since him, he's still unmatched--NO ONE has "Joe's thing".

Simply beautiful!! Wow.

His guitar work is effortlessly beautiful and she is the greatest singer ever, the most beautiful voice. A wonderful combination.

Joe and Ella are the peanut-butter and jelly of jazz. Thanks for the upload!

For me Joe is the best will ever be

Pure art from masters ❤️🤩🎶 the best era of real artists and musicians 🍸👏

less is so much more. I have never stopped enjoying Joe Pass.

The unsurpassable Joe Pass. THE maestro of the guitar.

just let me say: WOOOOW!!!

Joe plays guitar like a piano, with ease.

Bravo! Hats off to the undeteriorating voice of Madame Ella, and the matching dexterity of Sir Joe pass!

There are so many awesome guitar players out there, but I'll bet damn near every one of them will say "Joe's the man. Plain and simple."

40 years ago thanks to YT without it I would may have never seen JP and EF performing… I enjoyed it….

two great musicians! Admirations from Brazil. 🟨🟩🟨🟩

I could watch this ALL DAY!!!

Lifts the heart and soul! How beautiful!

man... could listen all day long

These are the best musicians in the world

Incredible. Immense.