Artist:Ella Fitzgerald
Song:The Man I Love
Album:Gold
This is part of my series of Jazz for Beginners. The only requirements are a live performance clip and a CD for beginners. If you are going to talk about jazz singers, you need to start with the First Lady of Song Ella Fitzgerald. She didn't invent scat singing but she certainly perfected it. She started recording in the 30s and was active in the 80s. Mostly she recorded for Decca and Verve. She was born Apr. 25, 1917 in Newport News, VA. Her parents were never married. And then her mother moved in with a new partner and her family moved to Yonkers, NY. Ella first listened to Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby as a teen. She especially enjoyed The Boswell Sisters lead singer Connee Boswell. After Ella's mother died in 1932 after being in a car crash, Ella moved in with her aunt. Ella started skipping school and worked as a lookout for a bordello. This landed her in reform school. Then on Nov. 21, 1934, she sang at Amateur Night at The Apollo and won. Her career began when she was introduced to Savoy Ballroom drummer and bandleader Chick Webb. He was looking to add a female singer to his band. He tested her out and made her part of the band after getting positive audience response. While still in Webb's band, she had her first big hit in 1938 with her recording of the nursery rhyme A-Tisket A-Tasket. After Webb's 1939 death, the band was renamed Ella Fitzgerald and her Famous Orchestra. The band ended in 1942. It wasn't doing well financially. Another turning point was when Norman Granz became her manager and he made Ella the focal point of his Jazz at the Philharmonic concert series. This coincided with the rise of bebop. And Ella started scat singing while in Dizzy Gillespie's band. Ella moved from Decca to Granz' label Verve in 1956. Granz wanted her to sing more than bebop. He suggested she sing what is now known as The Great American Song Book. The first of eight albums was Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book in 1956. This was followed by Rodgers & Hart, Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern and Johnny Mercer. The Man I Love is from the 1959 album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book. The Man I Love was from the 1927 musical Strike Up the Band. Ella usually recorded the Song Book albums with an orchestra. In this case, Nelson Riddle was the arranger and conductor. This 2CD comp is a good intro to Ella's music and it's available at a reasonable price. After Granz sold Verve to MGM in 1960, Ella recorded for Capitol, Reprise and Atlantic until Granz started his new label Pablo in 1972. The band in this video is from the Pablo years featuring Tommy Flanagan on piano, Joe Pass on guitar, Keter Betts on bass and Bobby Durham on drums. For Ella, it was a welcome return to jazz. Ella recorded for Pablo for the rest of her career. Ella was diabetic and her health got progressively worse in the late 80s. She died of a stroke on June 19, 1996 at age 79. Here's Ella Fitzgerald with Tommy Flanagan on piano, Roy Eldredge on trumpet, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis on sax, Joe Pass on guitar, Keter Betts on bass and Bobby Durham on drums performing The Man I Love on German TV 1974.
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