Ella Fitzgerald, arguably the greatest female jazz singer ever, was born on April 25, 1917, in Newport News, Virginia. In her 59-year recording career, she won 13 Grammy Awards and received both the National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.As jazz critic Scott Janow notes, Fitzgerald was "blessed with a beautiful voice and a wide range, … could outswing anyone, was a brilliant scat singer, and had near-perfect elocution." Len Lyons speaks of her "full-blown dynamic style," "rhythmic punch," "verve and imagination," and "energy and consistency."
In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Lyons recommends Ella's album, Mack the Knife (Verve), which is available on vinyl only. Jim Determan, who updated the Lyons book for CDs, recommends as an alternative Mack the Knife — The Complete Ella in Berlin (Verve), noting that "Some additional cuts, mostly standards of Ella's concert repertoire (not all actually from the Berlin concert), round out this set to make it an even better collection than it was." The CD is available from Amazon.com.
Fitzgerald sings "Mack the Knife" here:
Robert
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