Ella Fitzgerald

vocals, piano · 1917–1996 · Newport News

"First Lady of Song," virtuoso scat, Songbooks at Verve.

Contribution to jazz

Ella Fitzgerald is the most technical voice in jazz: clear diction, flawless intonation, and virtuoso scat. Discovered at 17 at an amateur contest at the Apollo in Harlem, she sings with Chick Webb's orchestra before becoming a star. At Verve, from 1956, her Songbooks devote to each great composer of the American repertoire (Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin) a series of reference records.

Key dates

• 1917: Born in Newport News.
• 1934: Wins the amateur contest at the Apollo Theater.
• 1938: A-Tisket, A-Tasket, her first big hit.
• 1956: Cole Porter Song Book and Ella and Louis, on Verve.
• 1996: Died.

How to listen

Listen first to her diction: every word of the lyric stays audible, even at high speed. Then listen to her scat: she improvises like an instrumentalist, with the same freedoms of rhythm and melody. In the Songbooks, it is the opposite: she sings the melody straight, with a simplicity that brings out the lyric.

Where to start

Jazzency has only one Ella Fitzgerald track available for free: the Verve albums remain the best way into her work.

• A-Tisket, A-Tasket (1938, Easy): A nursery rhyme that became a hit in 1938: the easiest first contact.
• Cole Porter Song Book (album, 1956, Verve): The start of the Songbooks series (1956).
• Ella and Louis (album, 1956, Verve): Her duet with Louis Armstrong (1956), more relaxed.

Styles

• Vocal jazz, scat, vocalese
• Swing, big bands

Landmark albums

• Cole Porter Song Book (1956, Verve)
• Ella and Louis (1956, Verve)

What to hear next

• Louis Armstrong: Her partner in Ella and Louis (1956).
• Billie Holiday: The other great voice of swing, opposite in style.
• Count Basie: They record together in the early 1960s.
• Duke Ellington: She devotes a Song Book to him in 1957.

Landmark tracks

• A-Tisket, A-Tasket (1938)
• How High the Moon (1947)
• Mack the Knife (Berlin, 1960) (1960)

Cited in 7 radio episodes

• Dedicated episode · Nov 1, 2020: Ella Fitzgerald, la scène est son jardin (59 Rue des Archives, TSF Jazz, in French)
• Sep 13, 2026: Ella Fitzgerald nous réserve encore des surprises (Jazzlive : album souvenir, TSF Jazz, in French)
• Jun 15, 2026: MACK THE KNIFE, ELLA IN BERLIN, LE CONCERT DE LÉGENDE (Pour qui sonne le jazz, TSF Jazz, in French)
• Jun 15, 2026: Ella Fitzgerald : j'aimerais écrire un livre pour montrer mon autre visage. (Les Matins Jazz, TSF Jazz, in French)
• Jun 1, 2026: Happy Birthday, Marilyn Monroe (Les Matins Jazz, TSF Jazz, in French)
• Apr 23, 2026: Ella Fitzgerald in Berlin - 1960 (Jazzlive, TSF Jazz, in French)
• Sep 13, 2026: ELLA FITZGERALD NOUS RÉSERVE ENCORE DES SURPRISES (Jazzlive, TSF Jazz, in French)

Sources

• EN : Ella Fitzgerald

Facts checked against these pages (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA). Method and licenses

The editorial sections of this page (how to listen, where to start, landmarks) are written by Jazzency and are being proofread.