Since UMG united Decca and Polygram, the issues of Ella's catalog have been an interesting mix of her Decca and Polygram recordings, something thought not possible a few years ago. This cd is not the first to put these two studio recordings together, however it's the first to present songs with a singular theme. Intimacy is the name of the game, this is a collection of the most intimate songs Ella's recorded. There are no strings here, this music is Ella with trio only, culled from all her albums including the songbooks. The mastering of this disc is excellent; Ella had a tendency to sing really close to the mike and it seems the producer of this disc chose only those songs with Ella up front. The Decca sides are presented here with the best sound to date; the songs are not too sanitized with noise reduction, so listening fatigue is avoided. Overall this is a great summary of her most emotional readings, something not usually associated with her.