Jazz Articles about Ella Fitzgerald

Vocal Jazz: 1951-1968

by Mathew Bahl
April 20, 2015

These 17 years play out like the vocal jazz equivalent of the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. Much of the core body of work that makes up vocal jazz was recorded during this relatively short time span. These were the years that saw some of the greatest jazz singers working at the peak of their powers. In the late 1940s, American record companies stumbled upon two ideas that have since become the cornerstone of the ...

Ella and Basie!

by Thomas Carroll
February 19, 2012

In July 1963, singer Ella Fitzgerald and pianist Count Basie's orchestra entered the studio for their first full-length recording session as a collective. They produced a gem for both veteran jazz fans and novices. The album features both artists in top swinging form and it is concise enough to serve as an introduction to those just beginning to explore the Basie or Fitzgerald catalogs. Ella and Basie! presents the band in the role of accompanist and the group ...

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong: The Complete Studio Recorded Duets

by David Rickert
January 23, 2011

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis ArmstrongThe Complete Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong Studio Recorded DuetsAvid Records UK2011 Was there ever a match made in heaven like singer Ella Fitzgerald and singer/trumpeter Louis Armstrong? When Norman Granz had them together on the Verve label, the impulse to put them together in the studio had to be irresistible. And it was a terrific move, resulting in three terrific albums: Ella and Louis, Ella and ...

Ella Fitzgerald: Twelve Nights in Hollywood

by Ken Dryden
January 17, 2010

Ella Fitzgerald Twelve Nights in Hollywood Verve Music Group 2009

Ella Fitzgerald needs no introduction to most jazz fans because the “First Lady of Swing" had a remarkably productive recording and performing career that spanned from the mid '30s until around 1990, when multiple health problems forced her into retirement. Ella was 44 in 1961, recording several albums a year for Verve and managed by impresario Norman Granz, who was very interested ...

Ella Fitzgerald / Mildred Bailey: Ella Fitzgerald Mildred Bailey Legendary Radio Broadcasts

by Andrew Velez
August 2, 2009

Two vocalists supreme, Ella Fitzgerald and Mildred Bailey, can be heard in some rare sides on Legendary Radio Broadcasts. The former's broadcasts are from January 1940, only months after she had taken over leadership of her mentor Chick Webb's band. The intro is from her early signature novelty hit, “A Tisket A Tasket," and she is introduced in time capsule style as “Ella Fitzgerald and her famous orchestra, broadcasting from the home of happy feet, the Savoy Ballroom up here ...

Ella Fitzgerald: Love Letters From Ella

by David Rickert
August 13, 2007

People were up in arms when saxophonist Kenny G played with the great Louis Armstrong posthumously through the wonders of technology. Today people are using the same ability to resurrect old recordings for much more noble purposes such as this, which features Ella backed by the London Symphony Orchestra on several tracks. They never recorded together; rather, the music on this CD features Ella stripped of previous backing tracks with the orchestra dubbed in. So seamless is the end result ...

Ella Fitzgerald Live in '57 and '63

by Tom Pierce
September 28, 2006

Ella Fitzgerald LIVE in '57 and '63 Jazz Icons 2006

Ella Fitzgerald--Live in '57 and '63 is one of nine initial DVDs in record company Jazz Icons' series of previously unreleased concerts. All are primarily from the 1950s and '60s and feature, in addition to Fitzgerald, legends such as Louis Armstrong, Art Blakey, Count Basie, Quincy Jones, Thelonious Monk, Buddy Rich, Dizzy Gillespie, and Chet Baker.

Overall, the two concerts ...