On the 7th
of April, 1915 in Baltimore, Maryland a little girl was born.She was named Eleonora Fagan.At that time few people would ever have
expected that this child would go on to become one of the most famousas well as one of the most tragic, if not the
most tragic, of figures in the history of Jazz.
We start
this piece with two stories.Anecdotes
are important for getting a feel for an individual as opposed to just trotting
out a dry biography of someone.
The year is
1955. The place is Chicago, Illinois.A
young jazz musician, only 25 as a matter of fact, has moved to town from New
York.He has already established a name
for himself by playing and recording with Bud Powell (piano), Fats Navarro
(trumpet), and Miles Davis (trumpet).
“A World of Jazz” turns now to
Ella Fitzgerald,First Lady ofJazza.k.a.First Lady of Song andvocalist nonpareil.There have been many, many good ones in
terms of jazz singers and interpreters of American song.However, I believe I can say without
hesitation and after careful listening and consideration that Ella Fitzgerald's
was the voice of the twentieth century.