Ella Fitzgerald.

Format:

Video

Series:

RTBF Archives

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jazz.

United States and Canada.

African Americans.

Local Subjects:

Jazz.

United States and Canada.

African Americans.

Genre:

Performance

Physical Description:

1 online resource (41 minutes)

Place of Publication:

Paris, Ile-de-France : Qwest TV, 2016.

Language Note:

In English.

Original language in English.

System Details:

video file

Summary:

Ella Fitzgerald and an all-star combo swing, sway and scat in Brussels. By the late 1950’s, the incomparable vocalist Ella Fitzgerald was at the pinnacle of her powers. Riding high on the success of her "songbook" series, Fitzgerald, accompanied by her manager/producer Norman Granz and a brilliant array of musicians including pianist Oscar Peterson, bassist Ray Brown, drummer Jo Jones and trumpeter Roy Eldridge, embarked on a 1957 European tour as part of Granz’s iconic Jazz at the Philharmonic contingent. This joyful Brussels concert, captured by Belgian television, finds Ella and her crew in top form, giving their all to an appreciative crowd. Fitzgerald was as enchanting and persuasive an interpreter of ballads as she was a hard swinging improviser. Here, she displays both sides of her unparalleled artistry. The luminous ballads "Angel Eyes", "Love for Sale," and "Tenderly" are set off against swinging renditions of "Lullaby of Birdland", "April In Paris", "Just One of Those Things", "I Can’t Give You Anything But Love" (complete with Ella’s affectionate nods to other current singers including a dead-on Louis Armstrong impersonation!) And when she digs into her celebrated scatting numbers, she turns the house upside down. Oscar Peterson, fronting a quartet that includes his regular trio mates Ray Brown and Herb Ellis, is also joined by Jo Jones, the innovative drummer who revolutionized the role of his instrument with the Count Basie band. And when the ensemble is joined by the great trumpeter Roy Eldridge on the concluding numbers, the excitement only intensifies. If there are any doubts that Ella Fitzgerald was the greatest jazz singer of her era, this concert will erase them all.

Notes:

Performed Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels

Title from resource description page (viewed July 15, 2024).