Which jazz trumpeter led the 1956 album Ella and Louis?

Louis Armstrong led the 1956 album Ella and Louis with singer Ella Fitzgerald. The recording brought together two of the most recognizable voices in twentieth-century jazz.

The album was recorded for Verve Records with Oscar Peterson’s quartet and bassist Ray Brown. Armstrong sings and plays trumpet, while Fitzgerald provides the principal vocal counterpart. Their contrasting styles—Armstrong’s gravelly warmth and Fitzgerald’s precise, flexible phrasing—created an unusually relaxed and conversational partnership.

The repertoire consists largely of classic songs from the Great American Songbook, including “Moonlight in Vermont,” “Cheek to Cheek,” and “Tenderly.” Norman Granz produced the sessions, which emphasized the performers rather than elaborate arrangements.

The album is sometimes confused with Ella and Louis Again, a follow-up released in 1957, or Porgy and Bess, their later collaboration with a larger orchestral setting. Ella and Louis is the first of the two singers’ celebrated songbook albums and specifically dates from 1956.