"Maybe" from Ella Fitzgerald's 1950 album Ella Sings Gershwin features a one-chorus piano solo from Ellis Larkins on this lesser-known George Gershwin composition. Performed in B-flat major with a 32-bar ABAC form at 117 BPM swing tempo, the track showcases Larkins's ability to create a complete, satisfying musical statement within a single chorus. His solo is melodically inventive and harmonically rich, reflecting his deep understanding of Gershwin's compositional language. The song, written for the 1926 musical Oh, Kay!, is one of the more obscure selections on an album that blends well-known standards with deeper cuts from the Gershwin catalog. Fitzgerald's decision to include such material demonstrated her scholarly approach to the songwriter's output, an approach she would amplify in her later comprehensive songbook recordings for Verve Records. The voice-and-piano duo format employed throughout Ella Sings Gershwin creates an intimate listening experience that draws the audience into the musical conversation between singer and pianist. Larkins's accompaniment is unfailingly supportive, his comping beneath Fitzgerald's vocals providing harmonic richness without crowding the vocal line. The album was released on Decca Records and represented an early milestone in the concept album approach that would come to define Fitzgerald's most celebrated work.
