by Scott YanowIt seems strange that this is a fairly obscure Ella Fitzgerald record because the classic singer rarely sounded better. In fact on Take The 'A' Train she takes her longest (nearly 9 minutes) recorded scat vocal of her career. For chorus-after-chorus Ella comes up with consistently creative and swinging ideas that are quite exciting. The rest of the program (which includes I've Got the World on a String, You're Driving Me Crazy, Mr. Paganini and Air Mail Special) is not exactly anti-climatic and Ella (who is backed by pianist Lou Levy, guitarist Herb Ellis, bassist Wilfred Middlebrooks and drummer Gus Johnson) is heard throughout at the peak of her powers.