Grammy-winning vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater, Janis Siegel, and Al Jarreau are featured in this all-star celebration of the music of Ella Fitzgerald, with the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, Antonio Hart, music director.

Jan 24, 2010 at 7:00 PM
Concert Hall
1 hour, 45 minutes
$20.00 - $45.00

Ella!

Featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater, Janis Siegel, and Al Jarreau, The Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, Antonio Hart, Music Director One show only! Washington pays tribute to the “First Lady of Song," Ella Fitzgerald, with a night of her hidden gems and best-loved jazz hits, including “A-Tisket, A-Tasket," “Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You," and “Midnight Sun," plus special vocal duets--with world premiere arrangements by George Duke--harkening back to the Verve recordings of Ella and Louis Armstrong. For this concert, the Kennedy Center was granted permission to mine the Ella Fitzgerald Collection at the Library of Congress for Ella's original arrangements, some of which haven't been heard live in decades.

Performers include Grammy winner Dee Dee Bridgewater, whose Dear Ella was praised as a loving rendition of the songstress's music; Janis Siegel of The Manhattan Transfer, whose past Kennedy Center performances have been jazz faves; and Al Jarreau, a Kennedy Center Living Jazz Legend, Grammy-winning jazz vocalist, and R&B and pop crossover artist. All backed by the big sound of the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band with Antonio Hart, music director, and pianist Cyrus Chestnut, this is a night Ella herself would have been proud to witness.

Ella! is supported by Audi and the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation.