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Ella Fitzgerald

The Lost Berlin Tapes

Verve

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Mack The Knife (Live)
Taking A Chance On Love
Melissa Manchester & Ella Fitzgerald 1977 Memorex Commercial
1 Cheek To Cheek  
2 He's My Kind Of Boy  
3 Cry Me A River  
4 I Won't Dance  
5 Someone To Watch Over Me  
6 Jersey Bounce  
7 Angel Eyes  
8 Clap Hands, Here Come Charlie  
9 Taking A Chance On Love  
10 C'est Magnifique  
11 Good Morning Heartache  
12 Hallelujah, I Love Him So  
13 Hallelujah, I Love Him So (Reprise)  
14 Summertime  
15 Mr. Paganini  
16 Mack The Knife  
17 Wee Baby Blues  
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Verve Records announces the release of a never-before-heard stellar live recording from the First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald. 

The Lost Berlin Tapes were recorded – incredibly in both mono and stereo – at Berlin's Sportpalast on March 25, 1962 and finds Ella at the top of her game with a trio led by pianist Paul Smith, Wilfred Middlebrooks on bass, and Stan Levey on drums. 

There was just something about Berlin that brought out the best in Ella. In February of 1960, she gave a concert at the Deutschlandhalle, which became one of her best-known and best-selling records, Mack The Knife: Ella in Berlin. The album won her 2 Grammys, it went on to be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. 

Two years after that historic concert, Ella returned to the city at the height of her career, in the midst of her most extensive European tour to date. Flanked by her stalwart rhythm section including pianist Paul Smith, bassist Wilfred Middlebrooks and drummer Stan Levey, Ella delivers an energized, top-of-her-game set a month before her 45th birthday. 

  • Ella Fitzgerald's 'Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas' is the RTE lyric fm - Lorcan's Pick of the Week
    Posted At: December 12, 2023 12:00 AM
    Ringing in the 2023 holidays with a timeless seasonal classic, Verve Records announces a new edition of Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas, the legendary holiday album from Ella Fitzgerald. The collection of festive tunes—now on “ruby red” vinyl with a collectible cover that is unique to this color variant — is sure to enchant fans new and old. The new version also features the official visualizer for Ell...
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  • New biography sheds light on Ella Fitzgerald's humble beginnings and prolific career / The New York Times
    Posted At: December 4, 2023 12:00 AM
    Ella Fitzgerald, a Voice That Set the American Standard. The New York Times - Dwight Garner writes…..Ella Fitzgerald was born in 1917 in Newport News, Va.,  but spent most of her childhood in a poor section of Yonkers, N.Y. Her father, a longshoreman, left the family when she was young. Her mother did domestic work, and toiled in a commercial laundry.Ella didn’t make it past junior high. She worke...
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  • Verve Records shares new lyric video for Ella Fitzgerald's 'What Are You Doing New Years Eve?' / JAZZIZ
    Posted At: November 13, 2023 12:00 AM
    Ringing in the 2023 holidays with a timeless seasonal classic, Verve Records announces a new edition of Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas, the legendary holiday album from Ella Fitzgerald. The collection of festive tunes—now on “ruby red” vinyl with a collectible cover that is unique to this color variant — is sure to enchant fans new and old. The new version also features the official visualizer for Ell...
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  • Queen of jazz: Ella Fitzgerald honoured with upcoming rose-scented fragrance / COSMETICS BUSINESS
    Posted At: January 12, 2023 12:00 AM
    The fragrance is planned to be formulated with a rose scent, one of Fitzgerald’s favourite flowers COSMETICS BUSINESS - Alessandro Carrara writes….Nearly 30 years after her death, the music legacy of ‘queen of jazz’ Ella Fitzegerald will be honoured in a new fragrance designed by TurnKey Beauty.Founder and CEO Vincenzo Spinnato said the EDP aims to capture a rich, sultry, jazz club feel and will be for...
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  • Ella Fitzgerald takes much loved, and played George And Ira Gershwin songs and makes them sound fresh and alive / yahoo
    Posted At: January 5, 2023 12:00 AM
    udiscovermusic - Richard Havers writes….When Norman Granz started the Verve label in 1956 it was very much as a vehicle for the recording career of Ella Fitzgerald, who he had been managing for a number of years. Indeed, in 1955 Granz had wrestled away Ella’s recording contract from Decca Records. And, the following year, Granz produced two major projects for Ella, Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song...
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  • Limited edition vinyl boxset from Ella Fitzgerald set for release / udiscovermusic.
    Posted At: September 15, 2022 12:00 AM
    udiscovermusic. - Tim Peacock writes…..Limited edition vinyl box sets from legendary jazz vocalists Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald are set for release this fall. Never-before-released on vinyl, the four LP box collection, Billie Holiday: The Complete Decca Recordings is set for release on November 4 and the three LP box set Ella Fitzgerald: Jukebox Ella: The Complete Verve Singles, Vol.1 is slated for r...
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  • Anna Deavere Smith's new Ella Fitzgerald musical now being workshopped in NYC / 88.3WBGO
    Posted At: August 30, 2022 12:00 AM
    WBGO - Lee Mergner writes…..Noted writer, playwright and actress Anna Deavere Smith has written a new musical about the legendary Ella Fitzgerald. ELLA: An American Miracle features two actresses portraying the vocalist: Dee Dee Bridgewater as the ghost of Ms. Fitzgerald and Charity Angél Dawson as a young Ella. A work session for the production is being held in New York City during August 25-September 1, w...
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  • The blend of craft and esprit Ella Fitzgerald brought to this Hollywood Bowl show is euphoric / Lament For A Straight Line
    Posted At: August 28, 2022 12:00 AM
    On August 16, 1958, just a few months after Ella Fitzgerald recorded her now-classic album, Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Irving Berlin Songbook, The First Lady Of Song performed selections from that album live at the Hollywood Bowl to an adoring, sold-out crowd. Conducted and arranged by Paul Weston, who also arranged and conducted the studio sessions, this concert marked the only time that Ella performed thes...
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  • 'Ella at the Hollywood Bowl' is Jazz 88.3 - KCCK: Cedar Rapids 'Featured Album for August'
    Posted At: August 18, 2022 12:00 AM
    On August 16, 1958, just a few months after Ella Fitzgerald recorded her now-classic album, Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Irving Berlin Songbook, The First Lady Of Song performed selections from that album live at the Hollywood Bowl to an adoring, sold-out crowd. Conducted and arranged by Paul Weston, who also arranged and conducted the studio sessions, this concert marked the only time that Ella performed thes...
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  • With Ella At The Hollywood Bowl: The Irving Berlin Songbook, listeners get a little taste of absolute perfection / DOWNBEAT
    Posted At: August 17, 2022 12:00 AM
    On August 16, 1958, just a few months after Ella Fitzgerald recorded her now-classic album, Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Irving Berlin Songbook, The First Lady Of Song performed selections from that album live at the Hollywood Bowl to an adoring, sold-out crowd. Conducted and arranged by Paul Weston, who also arranged and conducted the studio sessions, this concert marked the only time that Ella performed thes...
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  • Buy 'Ella At The Hollywood Bowl' for your library. Another for yourself & three more as Christmas presents / CD Hotlist
    Posted At: August 17, 2022 12:00 AM
    On August 16, 1958, just a few months after Ella Fitzgerald recorded her now-classic album, Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Irving Berlin Songbook, The First Lady Of Song performed selections from that album live at the Hollywood Bowl to an adoring, sold-out crowd. Conducted and arranged by Paul Weston, who also arranged and conducted the studio sessions, this concert marked the only time that Ella performed thes...
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  • 'Ella At The Hollywood Bowl' - sound quality is pristine, Fitzgerald's voice is sumptuous / popMatters
    Posted At: July 27, 2022 12:00 AM
    Ella Fitzgerald mixed styles in a unique way while sticking to the work of one songwriter at a time. This recording shows how she could masterfully do this with a live orchestra.  popMatters - Steve Horowitz writes…..The conventional wisdom says that early white rock and rollers, such as Elvis Presley and Bill Haley, introduced mainstream audiences to black music which helped spur racial integration du...
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  • 'Ella At The Hollywood Bowl: The Irving Berlin Songbook' makes 'What's New on 90.9WDCB... with Paul Abella'
    Posted At: July 25, 2022 12:00 AM
    On August 16, 1958, just a few months after Ella Fitzgerald recorded her now-classic album, Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Irving Berlin Songbook, The First Lady Of Song performed selections from that album live at the Hollywood Bowl to an adoring, sold-out crowd. Conducted and arranged by Paul Weston, who also arranged and conducted the studio sessions, this concert marked the only time that Ella performed thes...
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  • Gregg Field discusses why Ella Fitzgerald is timeless / KCRW: Press Play
    Posted At: July 17, 2022 12:00 AM
    "When we got onstage, she turned into Frank Sinatra. She was hardcore, you better bring it," says Gregg Field, who played in Ella Fitzgerald's band.KCRW's Amy Ta writes….Ella Fitzgerald’s 1958 performance at the Hollywood Bowl is now released as an album called “Ella At The Hollywood Bowl: The Irving Berlin Songbook.” Gregg Field discovered recordings of her concert there and mixed the album. He’s a Grammy ...
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  • 'JAZZIZ Travel' with Verve's Ken Druker on 'Ella at the Hollywood Bowl'
    Posted At: July 7, 2022 12:00 AM
    On August 16, 1958, just a few months after Ella Fitzgerald recorded her now-classic album, Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Irving Berlin Songbook, The First Lady Of Song performed selections from that album live at the Hollywood Bowl to an adoring, sold-out crowd. Conducted and arranged by Paul Weston, who also arranged and conducted the studio sessions, this concert marked the only time that Ella performed thes...
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  • Ella At The Hollywood Bowl: The Irving Berlin Songbook, makes RTE - lyric: Lorcan's Pick of the Week
    Posted At: June 27, 2022 12:00 AM
    Widely considered her greatest achievement, Ella’s Songbook records, with peerless renditions of the best songs by America’s greatest composers, are the cornerstone of the Verve catalog and the undisputed standard for jazz vocal recordings. At the inaugural Grammy Awards, her Irving Berlin album won Ella her first Grammy for “Best Vocal Performance, Female,” and was also nominated for “Album Of The Year.” A...
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  • Relentlessly Magnificent, Ella Fitzgeralds 'Hollywood Bowl' album is out now / udiscovermusic.
    Posted At: June 26, 2022 12:00 AM
    The newly-discovered 1958 recording has won a series of five-star reviews.udiscovermusic. - Paul Sexton writes….The newly-released Ella Fitzgerald album Ella At The Hollywood Bowl: The Irving Berlin Songbook has won immediate acclaim from reviewers, including a five-star commendation from Mojo. Issued by Verve/UMe on Friday (24), the recording was discovered in the private collection of Verve Records founde...
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  • Ella Fitzgerald - Ella at the Hollywood Bowl: The Irving Berlin Songbook makes NPR: New Music Friday
    Posted At: June 24, 2022 12:00 AM
    On August 16, 1958, just a few months after Ella Fitzgerald recorded her now-classic album, Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Irving Berlin Songbook, The First Lady Of Song performed selections from that album live at the Hollywood Bowl to an adoring, sold-out crowd. Conducted and arranged by Paul Weston, who also arranged and conducted the studio sessions, this concert marked the only time that Ella performed thes...
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  • Ella Fitzgerald's 'Cheek to Cheek' makes JAZZIZ: New Release Cheat Sheet
    Posted At: June 10, 2022 12:00 AM
    The majesty and magic of Ella Fitzgerald performing live is brought to vivid life in the new animated video for the incredible, one-of-a-kind performance of her beloved tune, “Cheek To Cheek,” recorded live at the Hollywood Bowl on August 16, 1958 with a full orchestra, conducted and arranged by Paul Weston. Directed and animated by London-based artist Sharon Liu, the whimsical, beautifully hand drawn and p...
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  • There is much joy found in 'Puttin On The Ritz' from 'Ella At The Hollywood Bowl' / Mainly Piano
    Posted At: May 24, 2022 12:00 AM
    On August 16, 1958, just a few months after Ella Fitzgerald recorded her now-classic album, Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Irving Berlin Songbook, The First Lady Of Song performed selections from that album live at the Hollywood Bowl to an adoring, sold-out crowd. Conducted and arranged by Paul Weston, who also arranged and conducted the studio sessions, this concert marked the only time that Ella performed thes...
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  • Ella Fitzgerald's 'Puttin on the Ritz' from 'Ella at the Hollywood Bowl' makes JAZZIZ: Editors Choice
    Posted At: May 16, 2022 12:00 AM
    On August 16, 1958, just a few months after Ella Fitzgerald recorded her now-classic album, Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Irving Berlin Songbook, The First Lady Of Song performed selections from that album live at the Hollywood Bowl to an adoring, sold-out crowd. Conducted and arranged by Paul Weston, who also arranged and conducted the studio sessions, this concert marked the only time that Ella performed thes...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Ella Fitzgerald's 'Puttin on the Ritz' from 'Ella at the Hollywood Bowl' makes JAZZIZ: New Release Cheat Sheet
    Posted At: May 13, 2022 12:00 AM
    On August 16, 1958, just a few months after Ella Fitzgerald recorded her now-classic album, Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Irving Berlin Songbook, The First Lady Of Song performed selections from that album live at the Hollywood Bowl to an adoring, sold-out crowd. Conducted and arranged by Paul Weston, who also arranged and conducted the studio sessions, this concert marked the only time that Ella performed thes...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Ella Fitzgerald - The Berlin Lost Tapes is spectacular, as Ella sings and swings with joyous and infectious ease / PAPATAMUS
    Posted At: January 20, 2021 12:00 AM

    Verve Records recently released a never-before-heard stellar live recording from the First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald. The Lost Berlin Tapes were recorded – incredibly in both mono and stereo – at Berlin's Sportpalast on March 25, 1962 and finds Ella at the top of her game with a trio led by pianist Paul Smith, Wilfred Middlebrooks on bass, and Stan Levey on drums.  There...
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  • Ella Fitzgerald - The Berlin Lost Tapes makes 'makes 'JazzTimes: 10 Best of 2020'
    Posted At: January 4, 2021 12:00 AM

    JazzTimes writes.....For our 2020 Year in Review section, we calculated the top 40 new releases and top 10 historical/reissue recordings of 2020 based on year-end lists by our writers. They were asked to choose the 10 best new releases and five best historical titles-i.e., albums and box sets consisting primarily of music recorded 10 or more years ago. Albums and box sets released between Nov. 10, 2019 a...
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  • Ella Fitzgerald in top form on previously unknown 'Berlin Lost Tapes' / Jazz History Online
    Posted At: January 3, 2021 12:00 AM

    Jazz History Online's THOMAS CUNNIFFE writes.......As her numerous concert recordings reveal, Ella Fitzgerald would eagerly accept song requests-even for songs that weren't part of her repertoire. One such request was the basis of one of her greatest triumphs. Someone who attended Fitzgerald's Berlin concert in 1960 requested "Mack the Knife", and when she introduced the song on stage, she admitted t...
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  • Ella Fitzgerald - The Berlin Lost Tapes makes 88.7WNCW: Top 100 Albums of 2020
    Posted At: December 29, 2020 12:00 AM

    The Verve Records release of a never-before-heard stellar live recording from the First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald - The Lost Berlin Tapes was recorded – incredibly in both mono and stereo – at Berlin's Sportpalast on March 25, 1962. This recording finds Ella at the top of her game with a trio led by pianist Paul Smith, Wilfred Middlebrooks on bass, and Stan Levey on drums.  ...
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  • Ella Fitzgerald - The Berlin Lost Tapes makes 'CantonRep: 10 favorite albums from 2020 that are all over the place'
    Posted At: December 24, 2020 12:00 AM

    CantonRep - Dan Kane picked his favorite 10 albums from 2020 are as unpredictable and eclectic as the year itself. The list reflects Dan's idiosyncratic tastes, so maybe you'll find something here to enjoy yourself. Making the list was Ella Fitzgerald - The Berlin Lost Tapes. Someone unearthed this sublime radio recording of Ella and her fine piano-bass-drums trio in concert in Berl...
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  • Watch classic of Tom Jones singing 'I'll Be Home For Christmas' as Ella Fitzgerald looks on / Smooth Radio 97-108
    Posted At: December 22, 2020 12:00 AM

    Tom Jones was recording a special Christmas episode of his hugely successful TV series 'This Is Tom Jones' with guest Ella Fitzgerald in December of 1970, when the beautiful moment took place. How many people can casually say they've sung the entirely of 'I'll Be Home For Christmas' while sitting next to Ella Fitzgerald? The legend that is Tom Jones, that's who. The pair are s...
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  • Ella kills it, and the audience goes wild on 'The Berlin Lost Tapes' / CD Hotlist
    Posted At: December 10, 2020 12:00 AM

    Ella Fitzgerald, arguably the best jazz singer in history, had a moment in 1960 that defined so much about what made her great. She was singing "Mack the Knife" in front of an audience in Berlin, and after the second verse she forgot the words. An amateur might have stopped and tried again. Ella was a professional, and she persevered, improvising new lyrics as she went. But she was more than just a profe...
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  • More Berlin! from Ella Fitzgerald in new 'clear as a bell' Verve collection / StageandCinema
    Posted At: October 26, 2020 12:00 AM

    Ella Fitzgerald's feathery swinging touch is instantly recognizable: her acumen, heart, and technical finesse - that subtlety in deftness and taste - combined with her jazzy roots in bebop and novelty, and her skill in using her voice as if it were an instrument, made her the foremost jazz singer in the history of the genre. She also made her mark as one of the greatest scat singers in jazz. Now, she...
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  • New Ella and Monk recordings make 89.9KCRW's 'Rhythm Planet: October Suite'
    Posted At: October 20, 2020 12:00 AM

    As fall progresses alongside the ongoing pandemic, I've been spending time checking out new CDs as well as what catches my ear on the radio. I'm always listening, Shazam at the ready. We feature some new and old faves this week, beginning with a set of jazz releases that stood out for me.  Ella Fitzgerald performed a set of historic shows in Berlin in the early 60's. The first one was called "Ma...
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  • WBGO - Jazz United fondly reappraises the first lady of song / 88.3WBGO: Jazz United
    Posted At: October 12, 2020 12:00 AM

    By the early 1960s, Ella Fitzgerald was an established international artist, beginning to reap the fruits of a 25-year career. Onstage, her perfect combination of preparation and spontaneity yielded a nearly impossible virtuosity: the magic that shines on stellar live albums like 1960's Mack The Knife: Ella In Berlin. When we got word of another concert recording from Berlin - recorded two years ...
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  • Ella Fitzgerald - The Berlin Lost Tapes makes JAZZIZ '10 Albums You Need to Know for October 2020'
    Posted At: October 2, 2020 12:00 AM

    A long lost live album from the First Lady of Song; the return of an interplanetary ensemble; a record of kaleidoscopic music. All this and more on our list of jazz albums out this October 2020 that you need to know. A previously unheard live recording of Ella Fitzgerald in Berlin from 1962, in the midst of her most extensive European tour, two years after the release of her iconic Mack the Knife LP....
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  • 'The Lost Berlin Tapes' documents the first lady of song at the height of her popularity, and makes JAZZIZ 'The Week in Jazz'
    Posted At: October 2, 2020 12:00 AM

    The Week in Jazz is your roundup of new and noteworthy stories from the jazz world. It's a one-stop destination for the music news you need to know. Let's take it from the top. Ella Fitzgerald, The Berlin Lost Tapes on Verve, a previously unheard live recording of Ella Fitzgerald in Berlin from 1962, in the midst of her most extensive European tour, two years after the release of her iconic Mack the ...
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  • There was just something about Berlin that brought out the best in Ella / Grateful Web
    Posted At: September 15, 2020 12:00 AM

    Verve Records announces the release of a never-before-heard stellar live recording from the First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald. The Lost Berlin Tapes were recorded – incredibly in both mono and stereo – at Berlin's Sportpalast on March 25, 1962 and finds Ella at the top of her game with a trio led by pianist Paul Smith, Wilfred Middlebrooks on bass, and Stan Levey on drums. There was jus...
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  • Ella Fitzgerald tribute set for the Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra / LOCAL12
    Posted At: November 16, 2018 12:00 AM

    p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060; min-height: 14.0px} In the history of music, there have been many first ladies but only one is called "The First Lady of Song" and that's the great Ella Fitzgerald. The Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra featuring vocalist ...
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