Itzhak Perlman Joins Legendary Voice of Ella Fitzgerald on New Recording of "Someone to Watch Over Me"

Itzhak Perlman releases a new recording of the George Gershwin classic "Someone to Watch Over Me," featuring the legendary voice of Ella Fitzgerald. Available now from Green Hill Music, the track is the second single from Perlman's forthcoming album, The Way We Were: My American Songbook, arriving Oct. 30.

Perlman has long held Fitzgerald's work in high regard and was particularly drawn to an early recording of "Someone to Watch Over Me." The new recording builds around that performance, pairing Fitzgerald's voice with Perlman's violin and a newly created orchestral arrangement.

"Ella Fitzgerald is a great, great singer and a great artist. I am such an admirer of hers," said Perlman. "She was incapable of doing a phrase that was not brilliant and perfect. For me, it's like a gift to be able to perform with an artist that I admire so much. I become a fan again and again."

"Someone to Watch Over Me" follows the album's first single, "Summertime," featuring GRAMMY Award winner Jon Batiste. Together, the two recordings offer an early look at Perlman's approach to The Way We Were: My American Songbook, a collection of melodies that have remained close to his heart throughout his life, with fresh interpretations of enduring works by George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Stephen Sondheim, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, Leonard Bernstein and others.

"This recording is different because it's a songbook. It's something I've never done before," Perlman said when announcing the album in August. "The repertoire I chose is very romantic, lyrical and poetic. Because so much of this music began as songs, I approached it as a singer would. The violin is a singing instrument, and this album became a natural way to let those melodies speak through it."

Produced by three-time GRAMMY Award-winning producer David Lai and co-produced and arranged by Or Matias and Natalie Tenenbaum, The Way We Were: My American Songbook pairs Perlman with a full orchestra, bringing warmth and romance to the collection's sweeping arrangements.. Special guest performances add another dimension to the album, with Josh Groban and Batiste joining the collection.

Across more than seven decades of recording and performance, Perlman has become one of the world's most admired musicians. A 16-time GRAMMY Award winner and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Perlman has reached generations of listeners through the warmth, humanity and unmistakable voice of his violin. The Way We Were: My American Songbook marks his first new album in more than a decade.