Mourad Benhammou

Funky Ella: I Put a Spell on You

by Jack Bowers
November 18, 2021

Although singer Leslie Lewis and her husband, pianist Gerard Hagen, have been making beautiful music together for some years and recorded five earlier CDs together, I Put a Spell on You is the first under the group name Funky Ella (which represents a deep bow to another jazz singer of note). The album was recorded in Paris, France, the ensemble's home base, with guitarist Nicolas Peslier, bassist Peter Giron, drummer Mourad Benhammou and percussionist Jean-Philippe Naeder completing the lineup.