great pictures from Ella FItzgerald EPs 

great pictures from Ella FItzgerald EPs 

great pictures from Ella FItzgerald EPs 

great pictures from Ella FItzgerald EPs 

great pictures from Ella FItzgerald EPs 

great pictures from Ella FItzgerald EPs 

Always Ella on my mind.... 

Shirley Horn

One of Shirley's best friends, singer Gail Marten says:

"I don't know if you know that Shirley Horn is quite ill. She has been moved from hospital critical care to Spellman Nursing Home in DC. She is conscious, but as yet unable to speak. She is on dialysis, breathing assistance and feeding tube. We are hoping for the best."

I checked with Gail -- Shirley most definitely would appreciate flowers, cards, prayers, etc. Here is her contact information and where cards and flowers can be sent:

Shirley Horn
Gladys Spellman Specialty Hospital and Nursing Center
2900 Mercy Lane
Cheverly, MD 20785

Shirley's music has probably touched most of us. If you have a chance, don't hesitate to reach out to her. You'll be giving something back.

Oscar Peterson to be honored with Canadian postage stamp

Mr. Peterson might have only a slight history as a vocalist, but he
has certainly earned this honor through his work as a composer,
instrumentalist and accompanist to many great singers (Louis, Ella,
Sarah, Anita, etc.)

JOHN STEWART
THE MISSISSAUGA NEWS
Aug 10, 2005

The new Canadian postage stamp honouring Oscar Peterson will be
unveiled in the presence of the jazz giant himself, on his 80th
birthday.

Canada Post, Universal Music Canada (Peterson's record label) and HMV
Canada are throwing a birthday bash for the king of the keys, the day
the long-time Mississauga resident turns 80.

The birthday party, which includes a "special musical tribute" by a
so-far unnamed guest, will be held Monday, Aug. 15 at the HMV
Superstore at 333 Yonge St. in downtown Toronto beginning at 12:15
p.m.

"This is the first time we've ever been quite so secretive about a
(stamp) design," Cindy Daoust of Canada Post media relations, said
from Ottawa Friday. "We're keeping it pretty close to our hearts until
the 15th."

Daoust said the stamp, which was created by veteran designer Tiit
Telmet, is spectacular. "In my opinion, it's stunning," she told The
News. "It captures the essence of the man and the essence of the
music, and that's hard to do on such an extremely small canvas."

The event will be relatively short with speeches from officials of the
post office, Universal and HMV, the secret musical performer and
comments by Peterson.

He has been the recipient of numerous national and international
awards including the Order of Canada and a Lifetime Grammy Achievement
Award.

Canada Post announced earlier this year that Peterson would become the
first living Canadian ever honoured on a stamp for his lifetime works.

There have been four million stamps printed, and they will be
available Aug. 15.

Keter Betts R.I.P.

Legendary jazz bassist William Thomas "Keter" Betts was born July 25, 1928, in Port Chester, New York. While running an errand for his mother while in the fifth grade, Betts came across a parade. Instead of continuing on his way, he followed the parade all over town, entranced by the music. That incident marked the beginning of his love affair with music.

Starting out on the drums, Betts tired of carrying the set up and down the four floors to his family apartment, and in 1946, he switched to the bass. When Betts was only nineteen, he landed his first professional gig, playing for thirteen weeks in Washington, D.C., with saxophonist Carmen Leggio. After touring the country from 1949 to 1951, Betts met jazz singer Dinah Washington and toured with her from 1951 until 1956. The next five years found Betts working in the hottest clubs in the country and touring Europe and South America with Charlie Byrd and Woody Herman. In 1964, Betts joined up with Ella Fitzgerald for a short tour. He would rejoin her several more times, and their career together would span twenty-four years.

Betts has been an instructor of music at Howard University in Washington, D.C., since 1963, and he also instructs young adults through various programs, including the Washington Performing Arts Society's Concerts in Schools and Prince George's County's Arts Alive. Despite appearing in more than 100 recordings, it was not until 1998 that Betts released his first solo album, Bass, Buddies & Blues, and followed it up a year late with Bass, Buddies, Blues Beauty Too.

Betts has been a member of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Big Band and has been inducted into the Washington Area Music Association Hall of Fame. Since 2000, Betts has performed annually at the All-Star Christmas Jazz Jam on Millennium Stage. Betts is widely considered the most respected journeyman bassist in jazz music, and his career continues strong today.

Biography

Legendary jazz bassist William Thomas "Keter" Betts was born July 25, 1928, in Port Chester, New York. While running an errand for his mother while in the fifth grade, Betts came across a parade. Instead of continuing on his way, he followed the parade all over town, entranced by the music. That incident marked the beginning of his love affair with music.

Starting out on the drums, Betts tired of carrying the set up and down the four floors to his family apartment, and in 1946, he switched to the bass. When Betts was only nineteen, he landed his first professional gig, playing for thirteen weeks in Washington, D.C., with saxophonist Carmen Leggio. After touring the country from 1949 to 1951, Betts met jazz singer Dinah Washington and toured with her from 1951 until 1956. The next five years found Betts working in the hottest clubs in the country and touring Europe and South America with Charlie Byrd and Woody Herman. In 1964, Betts joined up with Ella Fitzgerald for a short tour. He would rejoin her several more times, and their career together would span twenty-four years.

Betts has been an instructor of music at Howard University in Washington, D.C., since 1963, and he also instructs young adults through various programs, including the Washington Performing Arts Society's Concerts in Schools and Prince George's County's Arts Alive. Despite appearing in more than 100 recordings, it was not until 1998 that Betts released his first solo album, Bass, Buddies & Blues, and followed it up a year late with Bass, Buddies, Blues Beauty Too.

Betts has been a member of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Big Band and has been inducted into the Washington Area Music Association Hall of Fame. Since 2000, Betts has performed annually at the All-Star Christmas Jazz Jam on Millennium Stage. Betts is widely considered the most respected journeyman bassist in jazz music, and his career continues strong today.

Which of the two original covers of Hello Dolly do you prefer????? 

Un'altra estate...CALDA! E sono sempre a Firenze...ma quando lo trovo un lavoro???? 

Here is the proud owner of the Japanese reissue of Hello Dolly! 

Here I am, on my PC.... 

Ella posponed

On Verve Release Schedule, Ella's Volume 2 of singles, is marcked as this:

TBS - Ella Fitzgerald - Jukebox Ella: The Complete Verve Singles Vol. 2 - Catalog Reissue - Verve Reissues

Ella Fitzgerald 21st of July 1975, before the Antibes Festival 

Anne Bancroft -- she sang, too.

Anne Bancroft -- she sang, too.
Anne Bancroft was indeed a wonderful singer as well as an irreplaceable actress.

When she was just another movie starlet in the early 50's she played a nightclub singer in 'Don't Bother to Knock' and was dubbed by Eve Marlee. The movie starlet thing eventually fizzled out and she went to NY, got serious about acting and became a surprise star on Broadway in 'Two for the Seesaw' and 'The Miracle Worker'. During this period she started showing up on Jack Paar's talk shows on which she was sharp, funny and thoroughly delightful. She once casually mentioned to Paar that she was studying singing and he made her promise that when she was ready she'd make her singing debut on his show. Which she did (6/7/63), in a regal Grecian gown no less, singing (and very well) a torchy medley of 'Where Are You?' and 'These Foolish Things' in front of a teddibly sophisticated Manhattan penthouse set. Her voice was throaty and strong and her phrasing and pitch were perfect

She then co-starred with Dick Shawn in a two-character ABC Stage 67 musical special titled 'I'm Getting Married' (3/16/67) in which she sang four original Betty Comden-Adolph Green songs - 'Venezia', 'Getting Married', 'Forbidden Fruit' and 'Love Is Our Umbrella', the latter two duets with Shawn.

She then guested on the Kraft Music Hall on NBC (4/30/69) singing a most peculiar pair of tunes - 'Limehouse Blues' and, in a trio with Mel Torme and Dudley Moore, 'Scarborough Fair'.

Her sublime hour was her Emmy-winning CBS special titled 'Annie, the Women in the Life of a Man' (12/18/70). It was a semi-revue format with a half-dozen or so male guest stars appearing in only one sequence apiece. Lee J. Cobb's was as a posh Park Avenue psychiatris"

Upcoming CD releases from Japan

Japan Reissues: On June 15, 2005

Vivid Sound VSCD 9317 (New) Coltrane, Alice / Eternity 2415
Vivid Sound VSCD 9318 (New) Coltrane, Alice / Transcendence 2415

On July 15, 2005

P Vine PCD 22214 (New) Cobb, Arnett / Chittlin' Shout 2310
P Vine PCD 22215 (New) Bama / Ghettos Of The Wind 2310
P Vine PCD 22216 (New) Humphrey, Paul / And The Cool...aid Chemists 2310
P Vine PCD 22217 (New) Humphrey, Paul / Supermellow 2310
P Vine PCD 22218 (New) Humphrey, Paul / America Wake Up 2310

On July 20, 2005

Sony SICP 867 (New) Dombasle, Arielle / Amor Amor 2520
Sony VRCL 18826 (New) New Sound Quartet, The / Summertime 2835
Universal UCGJ 7005 (New) Ozone, Makoto / Real 3000
BMG Funhous BVCJ 37432 (New) 24 Bit Rich, Buddy / Different Drummer 1890
BMG Funhous BVCJ 37433 (New) 24 Bit Rich, Buddy / Buddy Rich In London 1890
BMG Funhous BVCJ 37434 (New) 24 Bit Rich, Buddy / Stick It 1890
BMG Funhous BVCJ 37435 (New) 24 Bit Rich, Buddy / Plays And Plays And Plays 1890


On July 21, 2005

Victor VICJ 61279 (New) Frank & Joe Show, The / 33 1 / 3 2520
Victor VICJ 61280 (New) Palmieri, Eddie / Listen Here - 50th Anniversary Edition 2520
Victor VICJ 61281 (New) Weckl, Dave / Multiplicity 2520
King ABCJ 357 (New) Burton, Ann / Misty 2500
King ABCJ 358 (New) Burton, Ann / Thats All 2500
King ABCJ 359 (New) Merrill, Helen / Deep In A Dream 2500
King ABCJ 360 (New) Merrill, Helen / Love Is Song 2500
King KICJ 489 (New) Cohen, Avishai / At Home 2500
King KICJ 490 (New) York, Jennifer / Transtions 2800
King KICJ 491 (New) Wooten, Victor / Soul Cir"

HELLO, DOLLY! (Cardboard Sleeve)/ Ella Fitzgerald

HELLO, DOLLY! (Cardboard Sleeve)/ Ella Fitzgerald

R.I.P. -- Monica Zetterlund

Swedish Jazz Star Monica Zetterlund Dies in Fire

Agence France Presse, May 13, 2005

STOCKHOLM -- Swedish jazz singer Monica Zetterlund, who recorded with
the legendary Bill Evans among others, has died in a fire that
ravaged her Stockholm apartment, police said on Friday.

Zetterlund, 67, was best known for her 1964 recording of "Waltz for
Debbie" with the Bill Evans trio.

In addition to several solo records, she also sang with jazz greats
Arne Domnerus, Zoot Sims, Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, and more recently
toured with fellow Swedish jazz singer Lisa Ekdahl.

Police confirmed that the body found after a fire in Zetterlund's
apartment on Thursday was that of the singer.

"Unfortunately, it was Monica Zetterlund," police spokesman Kjell
Lindgren said.

According to media reports, Zetterlund, who had difficulty moving
around due to debilitating scoliosis, was smoking in bed when the
fire started.
_________________________________________

Jazz Singer Monica Zetterlund Dies in Fire

Reuters, May 13, 2005

STOCKHOLM -- Swedish jazz singer and actress Monica Zetterlund, who
performed and recorded with piano legend Bill Evans in the 1960s, has
died in a fire in her flat in Stockholm, police said on Friday.

The artist, whose acting performances included the 1972 movie "The
Emigrants" alongside Scandinavian stars Liv Ullman and Max von Sydow,
died when her flat in central Stockholm caught fire late on Thursday.
The cause was unknown.

Born in 1937 as Monica Nilsson, her first popular hit at home was a
cover of "Walking My Baby Back Home" in Swedish, but her pure, sultry
voice soon became known to jazz fans around the world.

Zetterlund gave up performing in 1999 and later told one
interviewer: "Now I don't even sing in the shower."

Jazz bassist Percy Heath dies at 81

The Seattle Times: Nation & World: Jazz bassist Percy Heath dies at 81
"Percy Heath, the superb bassist who for more than 40 years provided the sublime underpinnings for the Modern Jazz Quartet, died Thursday of bone cancer at a hospital in Southampton, N.Y. He was 81.
Mr. Heath was the last surviving member of the quartet he helped found that became known simply as the MJQ. Mr. Heath joined with pianist John Lewis, drummer Connie Kay and vibraphonist Milt Jackson, to create a restrained bop style that was considered the epitome of sophistication.
He and his brothers, saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert 'Tootie' Heath, made up one of the great families in jazz.
Percy Heath was born April 30, 1923, in Wilmington, N.C.
He was drafted into the Army in 1944, and learned to fly P-4s and P-47s as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen. His class graduated in early 1945. He saw no combat. After the war, he decided to go into music, so he took part of his military separation money and bought a stand-up bass.
Mr. Heath and his brother Jimmy moved to New York in the late 1940s. By 1950, they had found steady work with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.
The MJQ had its genesis in the Gillespie big band. As Lewis told critic Leonard Feather some years ago, he and three other band members � drummer Kenny Clarke, bassist Ray Brown and Jackson � decided to form a group to try to create a sound that was not based on the standard themes of the day.
The group originally was called the Milt Jackson Quartet. Mr. Heath joined the group when Brown left to play in his wife Ella Fitzgerald's band.
The Modern Jazz Quartet officially was born in 1952. After a well-received European tour, it returned home and slowly caught on with American fans. Kay joined the group in 1955 when Clarke moved to Europe.
The group "

Marilyn Maye is highlight of UMSL jazz festival

Marilyn Maye is highlight of UMSL jazz festival - The Current - Arts and Entertainment

Maye has just returned from a run at the famed "Birdland" music club and opens at a new Kansas City club called Jardine's on Monday, so she is very busy.

Marilyn Maye lives partly in Texas and partly in Kansas City. Despite being in the same state, Maye had not performed in St. Louis for 20 years. However, she may be back before too long. She had high praise for Jim Widner, who directs both the festival and UM-St. Louis' own Jazz Ensemble. "Jim worked with me years ago on the road and in Las Vegas, playing bass in my band," she said "He is a very good musician.

Widner joined her on stage as part of her band again for the Friday night performance, along with the three other musicians, Rob Fleeman, Jimmy Eklof, and Billy Stritch, who make up her regular band.

Marilyn Maye's style harkens back to the late big band era of Ella Fitzgerald and Mel Torme, both of whom she counts among her own favorite singers. She also cited Jack Jones and Joe Williams as favorites.

"Mostly I listened to male singers," she said. "That is better for female singers, otherwise you risk picking up the style of other women singers. You want to develop your own style, to have a distinctive voice."

Marilyn Maye has that distinctive voice. She and Mel Torme are the only singers who have been invited twice to perform with the famous Philly Pops.

Maye says that when she sings on stage, she loves to connect with the audience.

"Don't sing for yourself; do a presentation," she said, talking about making that link with the listeners. She said that too many singers today look like they are singing for themselves, not for the audience. Singers, she said, are not thinking as much about the audience and are entertaining themselves.

"Don't take it too lightly," she advised new singers. "It is fun, but it is serious fun."

DRUMMER STAN LEVEY DIES AT 79

DRUMMER STAN LEVEY DIES AT 79



By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pioneering be-bop jazz drummer Stan Levey, who kept time for such musical greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, and the Stan Kenton orchestra, has died at age 79, friends said on Friday.

Levey, who ended a 30-year music career in 1973 to become a photographer, died on Tuesday at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Los Angeles, about two months after undergoing cancer surgery, said friend and business partner Arthur Pritz.

The self-taught Levey was just a 16-year-old upstart without his own drum kit when he first played with Gillespie in 1942 at a hometown Philadelphia club, where he talked his way into sitting in with the famed trumpeter's band.

After moving to New York, Levey fell in with the group of musicians -- among them Gillespie, Parker, Miles Davis, Coleman Hawkins and Dexter Gordon -- who founded the be-bop sound that revolutionized jazz.

Levey soon joined the Gillespie-Parker quintet, a mid-'40s ensemble that Los Angeles Times jazz critic Leonard Feather called "the first genuine all-be-bop group to play on 52nd Street, the famed block in midtown Manhattan where clubs lined both sides of the street." Pianist Al Haig and bassist Curly Russell rounded out the lineup.

"He sat back there and gave you that good time to where you can go anywhere you want to go rhythmically and musically," vibe player Terry Gibbs told the Times, describing Levey's style.

Levey's pioneering be-bop work behind the drums prompted Gillespie to dub him "the original original."

As Parker's roommate during those years, Levey had a front-row seat to the saxophonist's creative process. One of his favorite stories, according to Pritz, was seeing "Bird" wake up from a sound sleep one night to compose and play his seminal work "Confirmation," then go back to bed.

Levey also played big-band stints with such legends as Woody Herman and Benny Goodman before gaining wide prominence with a two-year gig as drummer for the Stan Kenton orchestra.

Besides his collaboration with most of the leading jazz instrumentalists of his era, Levey worked with such vocal giants as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand.

Settling in Los Angeles in the mid-1950s, Levey spent five years as a regular at the Lighthouse nightclub in Hermosa Beach, where he played with Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars. It was there that he became a major influence in the "West Coast," or "cool school" movement of modern jazz.

Levey appeared on more than 2,000 recordings during his career -- his drum work can be heard on such hits as Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife" and Peggy Lee's "Fever." And he played for numerous TV shows during the 1960s, including "Batman," "Mission: Impossible" and "The Munsters."

Featured prominently in Ken Burns' documentary "Jazz," Levey also recounts his career in a newly released documentary he produced with Pritz, "Stan Levy: 'The Original Original."'

Matrimoni gay, la Spagna dice ...

l'Unit� online-Matrimoni gay, la Spagna dice ...

A rare shot of Ella and Nelson 

Remember that the 25th of april is Ella's birthday! 

Mi raccomando, ricordatevelo, il 25 aprile non è solo la festa della liberazione ma anche l'anniversario della nascita di Ella Fitzgerald! 

ELLA @ The National Museum of

Ella's exhibit will be at The National Museum of
American History in Washington, D.C. Displays on Ella Fitzgerald, Duke
Ellington, and women in jazz are on view on the 3rd floor, west end.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/

(quoting from Matthew's post)

Terrific Blog, Michele!

Great blog! Thanks for the invitation--I am happy to be invited! I already have been here and left a comment on some post here yesterday, I believe! Take care, your buddy Matt

A portrait of Ella

Hi,
I guess you'll recognize the photo I used for this portrait! It's one I always liked, and so I decided to use it...I hope you like it!

A bit of fun!

ELLA FITZGERALD IN MONTREUX 1969

ELLA FITZGERALD IN MONTREUX 1969
Tracklisting:
1) Give Me The Simple Life
2) This Girl’s In Love With You
3) I Won’t Dance
4) A Place For Lovers
5) That Old Black Magic
6) Useless Landscape
7) I Love You Madly
8) Trouble Is A Man
9) A Man And A Woman
10) Sunshine Of Your Love
11) Well Alright, Okay, You Win
12) Hey Jude
13) Scat Medley
14) A House Is Not A Home

HELLO DOLLY COMING IN JULY

Ella's Hello Dolly album is coming in july, though it doesn't appear on Verve's schedule for that month!

Miky

Jimmy Smith died

This morning I was notified that organ player/legend Jimmy Smith has died, at the age of 78 if I'm right.
Only 2 or 3 years ago he recorded 'Dot com blues' for Verve, of which I know some tunes.
Of course he's not a jazz vocalist, but anyway, he was a jazz great.

ELLA FITZGERALD SINGS THE JEROME KERN SONGBOOK

Finally reissued on Verve Master Edition Series the last Songbook missing. A MASTERPIECE!!!!!!!!

VERVE REISSUE SCHEDULE

The Verve Music Group Release Schedule
Updated 1/26/2005

2/1/05
Chiara Civello - Last Quarter Moon - New Release - Verve Records
Brazilian Girls - Brazilian Girls - New Release - Verve Forecast

2/8/05
Various Artists - Get Happy: The Arlene Centennial Celebration - Reissue - Verve Records

2/15/05
Ella Fitzgerald - Sings the Jerome Kern Songbook (VME) - Reissue - Verve Records
Wes Montgomery - Smokin at the Half Note (VME) - Reissue - Verve Records

3/1/05
Kurt Rosenwinkel - Deep Song - New Release - Verve Records

3/15/05
Art Ensemble of Chicago - Certain Blacks - Reissue - Verve Int'l
Art Ensemble of Chicago - Phase One - Reissue - Verve Int'l
Art Ensemble of Chicago - With Fontella Bass - Reissue - Verve Int'l
Paul Bley - Improvisie - Reissue - Verve Int'l
Anthony Braxton - Donna Lee - Reissue - Verve Int'l
Anthony Braxton - Saxaphone Improvisation - Reissue - Verve Int'l
Dave Burell - After Love - Reissue - Verve Int'l
Emergency - Homepage to Peace - Reissue - Verve Int'l
Steve Lacy - The Gap - Reissue - Verve Int'l
Steve Lacy and Mal Waldron - Mal Waldron With The Steve Lacy Quintet - Reissue - Verve Int'l
Roswell Rudd - Roswell Rudd - Reissue - Verve Int'l
Archie Shepp - Black Gypsy - Reissue - Verve Int'l
Alan Shorter - Tes Esat - Reissue - Verve Int'l
Clifford Thornton - The Painter and The Lash - Reissue - Verve Int'l
Frank Wright - Uhuru Na Umga - Reissue - Verve Int'l

3/22/05
Dizzy Gillespie - Dizzy: The Music of John Birks Gillespie - Reissue - Verve Records
Jamie Cullum - Coast to Coast - New Release - Verve Records

4/5/05
Various Artists - Jazz in Paris-Champs Elysess - Box Set - Verve Int'l
Various Artists - Jazz in Paris-Montmartre - Box Set - Verve Int'l
Various Artists - Jazz in Paris-Rive Gauche, Rive Droite - Box Set - Verve Int'l
Various Artists - Jazz in Paris-Saint Germain Des-Pres - Box Set - Verve Int'l
Various Artists - Verve Remixed 3 - New Release - Verve Records
Various Artists - Verve Unmixed 3 - Catalog/Reissue- Verve Records

4/12/05
Jackie Greene - TBD - New Release - Verve Records
Al Cohn - Al Cohn Quintet Featuring Bob Brookmeyer - Reissue - GRP Records
Harry 'Sweets' Edison - 'Sweets' (LPR) - Reissue - Verve Records
Dizzy Gillespie - Sittin' In (LPR) - Reissue - Verve Records
Joe Newman - Joe Newman Quintet At Count Basie's (LPR) - Reissue - Verve Records
Various Artists - Vote Verve - Reissue - Verve Records

4/26/05
Xavier Cugat - Cugi's Cocktails (LPR) - Reissue - Verve Records
Gene Krupa - Plays Gerrry Mulligan Arrangements (LPR) - Reissue - Verve Records
Buddy Rich - Blues Caravan (LPR) - Reissue - Verve Records
Max Roach - Jazz in 3/4 Time (LPR) - Reissue - Verve Records
Papillon - Dance of the Infidel - New Release - Verve Records

5/10/05
George Howard - The Very Best of George Howard - Reissue - GRP Records
John Klemmer - The Very Best of John Klemmer - Reissue - GRP Records
Various Artists - Con Mucho Ritmo! The Very Best of Tropi Jazz - Reissue - Tropi Jazz

5/17/05
Count Basie - The Complete Clef, Mercury, and Verve Studio Recordings (1952-1957) - Box Set - Verve Records

5/24/05
Ella Fitzgerald - Jukebox Ella: The Complete Verve Single Vol - Reissue - Verve Records
Various Artists - Burlesque Compliation - Reissue - Verve Records
Shirley Horn - Live at Le Jazz au Bar - New Release - Verve Records

6/2/05
Acoustic Alchemy - Best Kept Secret (DVD) - Reissue - Verve Records
Sammy Davis Jr. and Carmen McRae - Boy Meets Girl: The Complete Sammy Davis Jr. and Carmeb McRae on Decca - Reissue - Verve Records

6/7/05
Michael Brecker - The Very Best Of Michael Brecker - Reissue - Verve Records
Bill Evans - Montreux Jazz Festival (SACD) - Reissue - Verve Records
Ella Fitzgerald - Mack the Knife - Ella in Berlin (SACD) - Reissue - Verve Records
Antonio Carlos Jobim - The Composer of Desafinado Plays (SACD) - Reissue - Verve Records
Wes Montgomery - California Dreaming (SACD) - Reissue - Verve Records
Oscar Peterson - We Get Request (SACD) - Reissue - Verve Records
John Scofield - That's What I Say - New Release - Verve Records
Various Artists - Deff Jazz - New Release - Verve Records

6/14/05
Wayne Shorter - Breaking the Sound Barrier - New Release - Verve Records

6/21/05
Lizz Wright - TBD - New Release - Verve Records

6/28/05
Brian Culbertson - TBD - New Release - GRP Records

7/12/05
Albert Ayler - New Grass (LPR) - Reissue - Impulse Records
Yuseff Lateef - Psychicemotus (LPR) - Reissue - Impulse Records
Freda Payne - After the Lights Go Down (LPR) - Reissue - Impluse Records
Gabor Szabo - Spellfinder (LPR) - Reissue - Impulse Records
Various Artists - We Get a Kick Out of Jazz - New Release - Verve Records
Bernie Williams - TBD - New Releases - Verve Records

7/19/05
Paul Brown - TBD - New Release - GRP Records

7/26/05
Gato Barbieri - Chapter 4 Alive in New York (LPR) - Reissue - Impulse Records
Oliver Nelson - Live From Los Angeles - Reissue - Impulse Records
Pharoah Sanders - Elevation - Reissue - Impulse Records
Michael White - The Land of Spirit and Light (LPR) - Reissue - Impulse Records

8/2/05
Herbie Hancock - TBD - New Release - Verve Records

8/9/05
Larry Carlton - The Very Best of Larry Carlton - Reissue - GRP Records
Lee Ritenour - World of Brazil - Reissue - Verve Records
Will Downing - TBD - New Release - GRP Records

8/30/05
Charlie Haden - Liberation Music Orchestra TBD - New Release - Verve Int'l

9/13/05
Billie Holiday - The Complete Verve Studio Master Takes - Box Set - Verve Records

9/15/05
Thievery Corporation - Sounds From The Vevre Hi-Fi 2 - New Release - Verve Records
Thievery Corporation - Sounds From The Verve Hi-Fi 2 (Vinyl) - New Release - Verve Records

9/20/05
John Coltrane - Live at the Half Note - Reissue - Impluse Records
Roy Hargrove - TBD - New Release - Verve Records
Susan Tedeschi - TBD - New Release - Verve Forecast

9/27/05
Jimmy Witherspoon/Brother Jack McDuff - The Blues Is Now (LPR) - Reissue - Verve Records

TBS
Various Artists - Billy Crystal Presents The Milt Gabler Story - Reissue - Verve Records
Teddy Thompson - TBD - NewRelease - Verve Forecast
1/4/2005

Verve release

On http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/buzz.aspx?bid=37, a complete release schedule is published, including Jukebox Ella vol. 2 and a Verve Master Edition of ELla's Jerome Kern Songbook.

Diana Krall in Amsterdam's Concertgebouw - review from NRC Handelsblad, November 30, 2004

Pianist Diana Krall knows how to handle pop music

Concert: Diana Krall (piano, vocals), with Anthony Wilson (guitar), Robert Hurst (bass), and Peter Erskine (drums).

Heard: October 29, 2004 at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.

By Bart Jippes

There is a yawning gap in pop music left by artists like Dusty Springfield, Joni Mitchell, and Carole King. And this gap is filled, horrifying to jazz purists, by old stars like Tony Bennett, by popjazz-musicians like Norah Jones and Jamie Cullum and by the thirty-something Diana Krall. Her repertoire used to consist of standards, but since she married rock chameleon Elvis Costello last year, she has adopted material from the ‘Great American Rockbook’. Last night this resulted in a wonderful cover of Tom Wait’s Temptation, including a beautiful, subtle guitar solo from Anthony Wilson. Krall’s interpretation of this temptation was an unreachable phenomenon, like that of a girl in an attic room dreaming that it will happen to her once.

“I was born in British Columbia, where it rains all the time,” told Diana Krall her audience in the pause between two songs last night, “and I love it”. Krall might have moved from that Canadian province, British Columbia never left Krall. Her voice has, in spite of the light hoarseness, something standoffish, which inclines to smoothness on the records, but there was no sign of that whatsoever in the Concertgebouw. This was even more striking, because the hall amplifier was awful. Opposed to the usual situation at pop concerts, where the artist doesn’t have the problems of monitor speakers and can hear himself clearly due to wireless invisible boxes, here the situation was as follows: each musician had a monitor in front of him, and the audience was expected to hear the music through a couple of midway placed hanging boxes. Therefore, the public heard the original sounds from the band, together with the echoing sounds from the monitors, with on top of that the music from the hanging boxes. Even worse, the s-sounds were so awfully hissing that the audience doubled up because the ears felt like they were being sandblasted. And in the more loud passages, the grand piano sounded like the felt was replaced by metal.

Happily, all these cons were compensated by the pros, for example by the (with the exception of the first few bars) wonderfully tight playing band. Erskine and Wilson starred on Devil May Care, and Krall played a marvellous solo on On The Sunny Side Of The Street.

As a jazz singer, Krall can’t mach with her great predecessors, but her pop songs made an impression last night. Much better than on her latest record she played Joni Mitchell’s Black Crow, with nice guitar playing by Wilson, and most of all on the song which Costello once wrote for Chet Baker, Almost Blue.

It was beautiful as well to see how Krall’s past as a bar pianist came through when she hit a last note at the right end of the baby-Steinway and grasped with her hand a bottle of water on the ground in the same movement.

<<>>

DIANA KRALL - Live At The Montreal Jazz Festival

Live At The Montreal Jazz Festival [DVD]
Catalog #B000378009
DVD-Video
release date 11/23/2004
Verve Records

TRACKS

1. Sometimes I Just Freak Out
2. All Or Nothing At All
3. Stop This World
4. The Girl In The Other Room
5. Abandoned Masquerade
6. I'm Coming Through
7. Temptation
8. East Of The Sun (And West Of The Moon)
9. Devil May Care
10. Black Crow
11. Narrow Daylight
12. Love Me Like A Man
13. Departure Bay
14. Narrow Daylight

Lou Levy Takes You Behind the Scenes with Ella and Peggy

Melody Maker, June 16, 1962

[Pianist] Lou Levy Takes You Behind the Scenes with Ella and Peggy


by Lou Levy


I don’t know of two more generous and understanding singers to work for than Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee. Peggy presents more of a thoroughly planned act, usually doing the same show during an entire engagement. Ella’s concert or nightclub performance is carefully planned, but she makes certain changes while on stage.


Working with Ella is more of a jazz job. There’s more room for variations. I guess the best way to describe it would be to say it’s like working with a horn player. Peggy creates a very strong feeling, but it’s not strictly because of the jazz phrasing she brings to her singing, but because of the way she projects the lyrics and creates a mood as she sings. Ella sings with less dramatic qualities overall. Despite the fact that Peggy works strictly non-jazz nightclubs, she still maintains a jazz feeling in her singing.


The customers come to see Peggy thinking of her as a pop singer, but then discover how she is in reality a jazz artist as well. On the other hand, Ella is known as a jazz singer, but she has become part of the pop music world to the public through her songbook albums. Harmonically they’re both perfect, with never any time or pitch problems. They both have the talent of a complete musician, being able to handle all types of songs at any given tempo.


They both read music well because of their common Big Band background. This kind of training probably helped them in the ease with which they can sight-read a song at first glance. When rehearsing with Peggy, she pre-sets everything including all the piano parts. Ella, however, lets the accompanist set the introduction, the ending and certain interludes. And while Ella uses more material on stage, she takes less time to rehearse with, due to the fact that Peggy does basically one set show while working in a club.


Of course, Ella has always been a true jazz singer, since her beginnings with Chick Webb. Peggy started in the jazz field with Benny Goodman, but she’s worked somewhat away from it. Ella enjoys working with jazz musicians in their groove – trading fours, improvising, joining in on ensembles with the group, and singing harmony parts just as the horns do. The experience of working with great jazz musicians like Oscar Peterson, Lester Young, Ray Brown, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker has really helped define her singing style.


Her years in jazz have made her ear so attuned to a complete jazz concept that hers is even better than that of the normal jazz musicians. One day at her house, while listening to the tape of "Take the A Train" from the album Ella in Hollywood, Ella began singing a second harmony part. She said that someday she wanted to record four different harmony parts in a song and have them dubbed one on top of the other.


Peggy hasn’t realy exploited the jazz field lately. She enjoys using the arrangings of jazz composers – people like Bill Holman, one of my own favorite arrangers, as well as charts by Marty Paich, Al Cohn and Quincy Jones. I really think she would enjoy working more in a jazz groove, like doing a jazz concert tour of major colleges and cities. We did a week of such concerts in San Francisco a couple of years ago which was a big success.


This is the only field of singing in which she hasn’t sustained a real impact. She certainly has all the vocal equipment to do so. In Peggy’s singing you can hear the Billie Holiday influence, even when not doing a tribute medley. Ella outwardly is not influenced by any particular jazz singer, but I know she greatly admired Billie’s singing.


While working nightclub engagements with them, I noticed that Ella occasionally might hit the audience harder earlier with a fast-tempoed tune. On the other hand, Peggy’s show gathers momentum, and received the same tremendous impact. It’s been a sincere pleasure to work with both of them from an artistic as well as personal standpoint.

The Complete Roulette Dinah Washington Recordings

GO TO THE DISCOGRAPHY - CLICK HERE

DINAH WASHINGTON. THE LAST CHAPTER OF A GREAT PERFORMER”S STORY INCLUDES A NEWLY-DISCOVERED SURPRISE.

If your goal is to broaden your collection of the truly distinctive voices in music, you have got to own Dinah Washington. And if you want to understand what the composers meant -- REALLY meant – when they wrote songs you think you know, you have got to own this collection – The Complete Roulette Dinah Washington Sessions.

This music, from the final stage of Dinah Washington’s short and turbulent life, is a perfect snapshot of all she was in performance – the brash belter, claiming and proclaiming her measure of fun and gaiety; the spurned lover, earnestly searching for one more chance, or determinedly wiping the slate clean of all romance; the wry commentator, knowingly chronicling the world’s troubles as only she could observe them; and the optimistic dreamer, surrendering to the beauties of life.

Eight tracks appear for the first time ever, including one astonishing medley of songs, informally presented with just piano and flute accompaniment, that lasts more than 20 minutes – probably the closest thing on record to what it was like to hear her perform after hours.

The Complete Norman Granz Jam Sessions

The Complete Norman Granz Jam Sessions
Catalog #B000325202
5-CD set
reissue release date 11/9/2004
original releasing label Clef Records



TRACK LIST

Disc 1
1. Jam Blues
2. Medley
3. What Is This Thing Called Love?
4. Funky Blues
Disc 2
1. Apple Jam
2. Medley
3. Oh Lady Be Good
4. Blues For The Count
Disc 3
1. Jamming For Clef
2. Rose Room
3. Stompin' At The Savoy - Part 1
4. Stompin' At The Savoy - Part 2
Disc 4
1. Blue Lou
2. Just You, Just Me
3. Jam Blues
4. Medley (Ballad)
Disc 5
1. Funky Blues
2. Lullaby In Rhythm

PERSONNEL

Count Basie Piano, Organ
Ray Brown Bass
Buddy DeFranco Clarinet
Benny Carter Trumpet, Arranger, Alto Saxophone, Composer
Harry "Sweets" Edison Trumpet
Roy Eldridge Trumpet
Herb Ellis Guitar
Stan Getz Tenor Saxophone
Dizzy Gillespie Trumpet
Wardell Gray Tenor Saxophone
Freddie Green Guitar
Lionel Hampton Piano, Drums, Vibraphone
Bill Harris Trombone
J.C. Heard Drums
Johnny Hodges Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone
Illinois Jacquet Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone
Barney Kessel Guitar
Oscar Peterson Piano
Charlie Parker Alto Saxophone
Flip Phillips Tenor Saxophone
Buddy Rich Drums, Vocal
Arnold Ross Piano
Charlie Shavers Trumpet, Arranger
John Simmons Bass
Willie Smith Alto Saxophone
Ben Webster Tenor Saxophone

NEW PEGGY LEE'S CD

Black Coffee
Catalog #B000309302
Album Length Compact Disc
reissue release date 10/26/2004
original releasing label Decca Records

1. Black Coffee
2. I've Got You Under My Skin
3. Easy Living
4. My Heart Belongs To Daddy
5. It Ain't Necessarily So
6. Gee Baby (Ain't I Good To You)
7. A Woman Alone With The Blues
8. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
9. When The World Was Young
10. Love Me Or Leave Me
11. You're My Thrill
12. There's A Small Hotel


Peggy Lee Vocal
Pete Candoli (1-4, 7-10) Trumpet
Jimmy Rowles (1-4, 7-10) Piano
Max Wayne (1-4, 7-10) Bass
Ed Shaughnessey (1-4, 7-10) Drums
Stella Castellucci (5-6, 11, 12) Harp
Lou Levy (5-6, 11, 12) Piano
Bill Pitman (5-6, 11, 12) Guitar
Buddy Clark (5-6, 11, 12) Bass
Larry Bunker (5-6, 11, 12) Percussion, Drums, Vibraphone

ANITA O'DAY's NEW CD

Anita O'Day And Billy May Swing Rodgers And Hart
Catalog #B000235302
Album Length Compact Disc
reissue release date 10/26/2004
original releasing label Verve Records

1. Johnny One Note
2. Little Girl Blue
3. Falling In Love With Love
4. Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered
5. I Could Write A Book
6. Have You Met Miss Jones
7. Lover
8. It Never Entered My Mind
9. Ten Cents A Dance
10. I've Got Five Dollars
11. To Keep My Love Alive
12. Spring Is Here


Anita O'Day Vocal
Billy May Arranger, Conductor
Pete Candoli Trumpet
Conrad Gozzo Trumpet
Uan Rasey Trumpet
Ed Kusby Trombone
Murray McEachern Trumpet
Tommy Pederson Trombone
Bill Schaefer Trombone
Tommy Shepard Trombone
Ted Nash Alto Saxophone
Wilbur Schwartz Alto Saxophone
Fred Fallensby Tenor Saxophone
Justin Gordon Tenor Saxophone
Chuck Gentry Baritone Saxophone
Unknown Strings
Joe Castro Piano
Al Hendrickson Guitar
Ralph Pena Bass
Irv Cotter Drums
Stan Levey Drums
Russell Garcia Producer

New albums available for download at Verve

The Verve Music Group has been digitally releasing Out Of Print titles for download! Here is your chance to re-acquaint yourself with some of the rare treasures of jazz!
CLICK HERE TO KNOW MORE

Diana Krall's concerts tour

10/23/2004 Diana Krall Casino Espinho
Oporto, Portugal

10/25/2004 Diana Krall ICC
Berlin, Germany

10/27/2004 Diana Krall Kongresshaus [(+41) 1 206 36 36]
Zurich, Switzerland

10/28/2004 Diana Krall Teatro Smeraldo
Milan, ITALY

10/30/2004 Diana Krall Zenith [03.83.93.27.00]
Nancy, France

10/31/2004 Diana Krall Zenith
Lille, France

11/2/2004 Diana Krall M.E.N.
Manchester, UK

11/4/2004 Diana Krall Royal Albert Hall
London, United Kingdom

11/5/2004 Diana Krall Royal Albert Hall
London, United Kingdom

11/7/2004 Diana Krall Royal Albert Hall
London, United Kingdom

11/9/2004 Diana Krall NIA Academy
Birmingham, UK

11/11/2004 Diana Krall Musikteatret
Vejile, Denmark

11/12/2004 Diana Krall Falconer
Copenhagen, Denmark

11/14/2004 Diana Krall Concert House
Oslo, Norway

11/18/2004 Diana Krall Concert House
Stavanger, Norway

11/19/2004 Diana Krall Lisaberg
Gothenburg, Sweden

11/20/2004 Diana Krall Hovet
Stockholm, Sweden

11/23/2004 Diana Krall Konzerthaus
Vienna, Austria

11/24/2004 Diana Krall Konzerthaus
Vienna, Austria

11/25/2004 Diana Krall Salzburg Arena
Salzburg, Austria

11/27/2004 Diana Krall Casino
Divonne-les-Bains, FRANCE

11/29/2004 Diana Krall Concertgebouw
Amsterdam, Holland

11/30/2004 Diana Krall Forest National
Brussels, Belgium

12/2/2004 Diana Krall Philharmonie
Munich, GERMANY

12/3/2004 Diana Krall Jahrhunderthalle
Frankfurt, Germany

12/4/2004 Diana Krall Grugahalle
Essen, GERMANY

12/5/2004 Diana Krall CCH
Hamburg, GERMANY

12/7/2004 Diana Krall Congress Hall
Warsaw, Poland

12/8/2004 Diana Krall Lucerna
Prague, Czech Republic

12/9/2004 Diana Krall Congress Center
Budapest, Hungary

12/13/2004 Diana Krall Auditorio
Tenerife, Canary Islands

12/14/2004 Diana Krall Auditorio Alfredo Kraus
Gran Canaria, Spain

Hello, Love on CD

Here we have the USA and European reissue of Fitzgerald’s 1960 album release Hello, Love. This is the first time that this album is brought out on CD, except for a 1990s Japanese issue, which was the only chance for us to get hold of the music. A few tracks, however, were issued as bonus tracks on the CD issue of Like Someone In Love.

The track list is familiar to all of us; Fitzgerald sings You Go To My Head, Willow Weep For Me, I’m Through With Love, Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year, Everything Happens To Me, Lost In A Fog, I’ve Grown Accustomed To His Face, I’ll Never Be The Same, So Rare, Tenderly, Stairway To The Stars, and Moonlight In Vermont.

<>These songs were recorded during multiple sessions. On July 24, 1957 and on October 28, 1957 Ella recorded songs with Frank DeVol, some issued on Like Someone In Love, and the album was completed on March 25, 1959.

During this 1959 recording set, Ella sang I’m Through With Love. Together with the July 1957 recorded Stairway To The Stars this song was issued on a 45rpm single. This record was advertised with the following advertisement of April 20, 1959 (from The Billboard). It says “Ella Fitzgerald – the hottest vocalist of them all sings the two hottest tunes… from the hottest motion picture ‘Some Like It Hot’.”

<>

This is not totally coincidental. Billy Wilder was making his film Some Like It Hot in 1958 and 1959, starring Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon as two musicians who have to escape for the mafia and disguise themselves as women to work in the orchestra of which Marilyn Monroe is the girl singer. And indeed, Monroe sings I’m Through With Love, but the other song on Ella’s single, Stairway To The Stars, is only used as instrumental background music in the picture.

While Billy Wilders film was very successful, Ella released this single with ‘songs from the picture’, which don’t have anything to do with the picture after all, in fact, these two songs are just songs which were still in stock for Ella. A commercial move.

<>So far the technical details. Now it’s time for the music – it’s Ella at the height of her career, with a top-notch orchestra led by Frank DeVol, issued in a time in which this music was not old-fashioned. During the sixties, in the public opinion this music became out-dated, as we can see when we look at the more temporary recordings of ‘Misty Blue’. It is quite surprising that the newer ‘Misty Blue’ album is seen as old-fashioned these days, while ‘Hello, Love’ is regarded as timeless…

Still, this album remains not too well-known. In my view that is because this album only confirms what fans already knew; that Ella was the best singer of popular music and jazz. This album is not really something new after the Songbooks, or after Like Someone In Love, which also mainly contained standards, so after all it doesn’t add anything to what people knew about Ella’s abilities.

<>To get to the point: this album is, even 45 years after it’s recording, still not really out of date. Ella sings in her best voice the most beautiful arranged songs, just ballads, and moves me every time I hear her sing I’m Through With Love and makes me swing very lightly when I listen to her singing Willow Weep For Me.

It is not spectacular like Ella’s live recordings, but it is stunning all the same.

I'm Thru With Love / Stairway To The Stars

Verve Singles Vol. 2 for 2005

According to Bryan Koniartz, the producer of the forthcoming, but retired, second volume of Verve Singles of Ella, the new set will be out in 2005, though he couldn't tell me a precise date...

Hello Love by ELLA FITZGERALD reissued

Hello Love by ELLA FITZGERALD has been reissued in USA and Europe on CD.

Verve's Release Schedule

8/24/04
Dinah Washington - Queen: The Music Of Dinah Washington - Reissue - Verve Records
Bill Evans - Bill Evans for Lovers - Reissue - Verve Records
Oscar Peterson - Oscar Peterson For Lovers - Reissue - Verve Records

8/31/04
Charlie Haden - The Land Of The Sun - New Release - Verve Int'l Records

9/7/04
Bill Evans - California, Here I Come (LPR) - Reissue - Verve Records
Ahmad Jamal - Chamber Music of the New Jazz (LPR) - Reissue - GRP Records
Ramsey Lewis - Another Voyage (LPR) - Reissue - GRP Records
Oscar Peterson - A Jazz Portrait Of Frank Sinatra (LPR) - Reissue - Verve Records
Jimmy Smith - The Boss (LPR) - Reissue - Verve Records

9/14/04
Alice Coltrane - Title To Be Determined - New Release - Impulse! Records
Mindi Abair - Come As You Are - New Release - GRP Records

9/21/04
Alexandria Lorez - Alexandria the Great (LPR) - Reissue - Impulse! Records
Freddy Cole - Waiter, Ask the Man to Play the Blues - Reissue - GRP Records
Blossom Dearie - Sings Broadway Hit Songs (LPR) - Reissue - Verve Records
Ella Fitzgerald - Hello Love (LPR) - Reissue - Verve Records
Ella Fitzgerald - Jukebox Ella: The Complete Verve Singles Vol. 1 - Reissue - Verve Records
Sergio Mendes - The Fool On The Hill (LPR) - Reissue - A&M Jazz
Chiara Civello - Last Quarter Moon - New Release - Verve Records

10/5/04
Norman Granz - The Complete Jam Sessions Box Set - Box Set - Verve Records
Peggy Lee - Black Coffee (VME) - Reissue - Verve Records
Anita O'Day - Swings Cole Porter (VME) - Reissue - Verve Records

10/19/04
Ahmad Jamal - Sound of Christmas (LPR) - Reissue - GRP Records
Jimmy Smith - Christmas Cookin' (LPR) - Reissue - Verve Records
Linda Ronstadt - Hummin' To Myself - New Release - Verve Records

Harry Connick, Jr.
Is Gearing Up For The Release
Of His New DVD
ONLY YOU -- IN CONCERT

Harry Connick, Jr.'s PBS "Great Performances" special was shot in high definition video, recorded in high resolution audio, and is currently being aired on PBS stations across the country. This DVD contains an additional 30 minutes of performance not seen during the original PBS broadcast, plus bonus material including interviews with Harry, his band, photo gallery, and behind-the-scenes footage!

In this concert version of material from Only You, his Columbia Records GOLD album of classic romantic standards from the '50s and '60s, Harry Connick, Jr. remakes as his own classics like "Crazy," "For Once In My Life," "The Very Thought Of You," "My Blue Heaven," and the title track, "Only You." ONLY YOU -- IN CONCERT arrives in stores everywhere Tuesday, March 23! Order your copy on-line here for delivery right to your doorstep!

Enter To Win The Only You CD, & A Net MD Walkman Recorder & A Gift Certificate From Amazon.com -- courtesy of Harry Connick Jr.! Get signed up here!

Live Chat & TV Appearances!
Harry will do an interview on Charlie Rose on Monday, March 22
and a performance on The View on Tuesday, March 23.
Check your local listings and mark your calendars to be sure and tune in!

Harry will also log on for a live chat with fans on Wednesday, March 24 at 8PM ET!
Get registered now and bookmark the chat link at MSN.com.

Get tour dates and all the rest on Harry Connick, Jr.:

www.hconnickjr.com

Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book. (1956) was among the second group of 50 recordings chosen to be digitally
preserved by the Library of Congress in an annual program similar to the library's more-established registry of films.

The new single of Diana Krall

'Ella' Focuses on Singer's Life, Music

by Teresa Annas
Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, February 24, 2004

On a Sunday afternoon in mid-February, Gary Spell and Norma Bass
drove south to put together the pieces of "Ella," a one-woman show
premiering this week.

For months Bass had been singing to Spell's keyboard accompaniment in
Virginia Beach and telling stories to windows and walls as if she
were the great Ella Fitzgerald.

In Greensboro, N.C., Steve Haines' 18-piece jazz band had been
rehearsing without benefit of the woman out front. Now they would
finally get to hear what they sounded like in concert.

The Sunday night practice was exhilarating, Spell said. "Really,
without a bump. I went down there prepared for the worst, thinking
that it could be troublesome to put together.

"It was a big, loud, musical lovefest." But Spell, the show's
producer and creator, was a little worried about the scatting.
Fitzgerald, who died in 1996 at age 79, was famous for her ability to
mimic instruments with her voice. Three-quarters through the show, a
horn player might perform a complicated riff, and Bass would have to
copy it, note for note, just like Fitzgerald did.

Spell calls it "dueling solos."

The dueling rehearsal was set for the next afternoon. Bass stood
before the band and took on every player they gave her. A tenor
saxman taunted her with a challenging run. No problem. Bass came
right back with it.

An alto sax player tried to trip her up. Forget it. Bass was in the
pocket. Next came a trombonist, then a trumpeter. Bass held her own.

"We just had the most fun with it," Spell said. "Norma caught on very
naturally to it. And we'd never done that."

The North Carolina rehearsal came less than two weeks before "Ella --
The Life and Music of Ella Fitzgerald" was scheduled to premiere in
Virginia Beach. The full-length musical runs Thursday through Sunday
at Regent University Theater.

It's not like Spell whipped up the show on short notice; he's been
working with the material for three years. Bobby Melatti, program
director for Beachevents, which provides entertainment at the
Oceanfront, was behind the creation of the new Virginia Legends Walk
and had challenged Spell to concoct a show.

The Walk was finished in 1999. The first 24 honorees included Thomas
Jefferson, Arthur Ashe, Pocahontas, Patsy Cline and Fitzgerald. Spell
spent time at the site, pondering the various legends, seeking
inspiration.

It quickly came down to Cline and Fitzgerald. Spell envisioned a
singer with a combo, set up by the Walk, at 13th Street and Atlantic
Avenue. He knew Cline was popular, but Fitzgerald won out.

"With Ella, we have music that is even more timeless," Spell
said. "And Ella has this riveting backstory, this life of abject
poverty and abuse. There was nothing in her pedigree that suggested
she would become the icon she became."

She rose to fame in an era of racial segregation, when black
performers rarely appeared in white clubs, he said.

"She obliterated every barrier placed before her, just with the sheer
force of her talent.

"To me, that was ringing with natural pathos and drama, in a way that
Patsy's story was not."

He spent the first two months of 2001 immersed in Fitzgerald. He read
books, listened to CDs, watched videos. He settled on a form: He
would place Fitzgerald in concert and have her alternate monologues
with music.

He wrote stories the performer could tell to convey Fitzgerald's
journey -- about her birth in 1917 in Newport News and her family's
move a few years later to Yonkers, N.Y. He wrote about her first
performance, in 1934 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem , and how she
toured, starting the next year, with Chick Webb's big band.

Spell spliced those stories with songs: "A-Tisket A-Tasket." "I'm in
the Mood for Love." "How High the Moon." "I Got Rhythm."

Then he held auditions. Bass showed up, even though her performance
experience consisted mostly of singing in her church choir. Spell saw
a woman who looked a lot like Fitzgerald; he heard a clear, strong
voice that ranged 3½ octaves. She wasn't trained in theater, but she
had a warm, appealing stage presence.

Bass had never sung jazz, hadn't even heard Fitzgerald's music. But
Spell sensed she felt an instant connection with the music. When she
accepted the role, he was thrilled he wouldn't have to compromise the
music to accommodate a voice with less range than Fitzgerald's.

From the start, tourists and locals heard the band and Bass' voice
and moved toward the half-hour concert. When all the folding chairs
were full, folks would stand and listen.

Even as the show premiered at the Oceanfront, Spell began imagining a
full-scale musical. He had directed and performed enough of them to
have a feel for the genre.

He's best known locally for running the Dinner Theater at Founders
Inn, from 1991 until it closed in 1999, when Christian Broadcasting
Network, owner of the facility, turned the theater into a conference
room. Spell staged around 25 musicals there.

Since then he has patched a living by designing and engineering audio
for theaters and by composing, arranging and orchestrating music for
businesses and educational groups. He is music director, executive
pastor and interim youth pastor for Glad Tidings Church in Norfolk.
He also mounted and performed in shows like "Forever Plaid" at the
Oceanfront for Beachevents.

Spell, 37, lives in Virginia Beach with his wife, Jen , and their 2-
year-old daughter, Grace.

He is a fan of jazz but wasn't deep into the music. He brought up-and-
coming jazz bassist Steve Haines into the project during the summer
of 2002. Haines lived in Virginia Beach in the mid-1990s and worked
on a few of Spell's shows. The jazz bassist left to become director
of the Miles Davis Program in Jazz Studies at the University of North
Carolina at Greensboro.

Spell lured him back to play in the "Ella" trio for a month or so.
They backed Bass in the evenings then worked on new material to try
out on stage the next night. Bass floated well with the daily
changes, Spell recalled.

Haines committed to arranging and orchestrating the music and got the
OK to commit the UNC big band he directs to the gig. Meanwhile, Spell
finagled permission from Fitzgerald's estate to produce the show.

"Ella" ended up much like the street version, just 75 minutes longer,
Spell said last week.

Along the way, he got clear on his goals. "This is not an expose. Its
first and primary purpose is to entertain." "I have intentionally
steered away from gory details."

Spell uses a light hand on the saddest phases of Fitzgerald's
history. She was around 14 when her mother died and soon left home to
escape her stepfather. Out on the streets, she made money in sordid
ways, such as being a lookout for speakeasies. She ended up in a
reformatory, where she was beaten. While suggesting her troubles,
Spell felt that "in more detail, it seemed lurid."

Spell's monologues don't mention her first, annulled marriage or the
Norwegian cad she fell for who was jailed for stealing from a former
girlfriend. She met jazz bassist Ray Brown in 1946, wed him and was
divorced by 1952.

"That's gone right now," he said. "It could come back."

Spell has an eye on Broadway but knows the odds are tough. He plans
to put a performance on DVD and shop it around to New York producers
and potential investors.

He can only guess what will happen next.

"The important thing is that, coming out of next weekend, we will
know for sure what we have," Spell said. "And that's a big deal. We
will have seen it, been able to tweak it."

Area audiences might see the only performances of Spell's big
project. Or they might see the first staging of a new hit.

"This music is so great, and this band is on fire," he said. "If they
come and see this show and do not jiggle in their seats, I want to
check their pulse."
_____

Photo of Norma Bass as Ella:

1. Stop This World
2. The Girl In The Other Room
3. Temptation
4. Almost Blue
5. I've Changed My Address
6. Love Me Like A Man
7. I'm Pulling Through
8. Black Crow
9. Narrow Daylight
10. Abandoned Masquerade
11. I'm Coming Through
12. Departure Bay

1. Stop This World
2. The Girl In The Other Room
3. Temptation
4. Almost Blue
5. I've Changed My Address
6. Love Me Like A Man
7. I'm Pulling Through
8. Black Crow
9. Narrow Daylight
10. Abandoned Masquerade
11. I'm Coming Through
12. Departure Bay

Diana Krall Sold Out benefit Show - Tics Left At eBay only!
VANCOUVER - There is only one pair of tickets left for Diana Krall's benefit performance with Elton John and Elvis Costello. And there is only one way to get them. The seats, worth $1,100, will be put up for auction on eBay by the Vancouver General Hospital and the UBC Hospital Foundation.

Bids will be accepted Feb. 16 to Feb. 23 with proceeds going to the Vancouver General Hospital's leukemia/bone marrow transplantation program. The winner will get access to the intimate show, which quickly sold out, and an exclusive photo opportunity with Krall. The offer to pose for special photos is different for the typically shy Krall, said Michelle Welygan, a spokeswoman for the event. "She's just so passionate about this cause she's willing to do just about anything," she said. The jazz diva is hosting the benefit as a way of thanking leukemia program workers who cared for her late mother, Adella, who died in May 2002. Since 1998, Krall has held concerts raising over $500,000 for the program. The money has gone towards medical equipment and assisting out-of-town patients. Over the last 10 years the leukemia program has become internationally recognized as a leading centre for treatment and clinical research. This latest blockbuster concert will be held March 5 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. There are only 600 seats, sold exclusively to patrons of the leukemia program, giving fans a chance to see the performers up close.

NEW IRENE KRAL CD

Recorded live in 1975 and unreleased until now, this moving session by
jazz singer Irene Kral offers up some of her most heartfelt renditions
of many tunes associated with Irene over the years, plus a few surprises
not recorded before. This wonderful live recording was performed at The
Catamaran Hotel in San Diego, California and features Irene Kral with
Mike Wofford on piano, Bob Magnusson on bass, and Tony Marillo on drums:

Featuring:
Irene Kral, Vocals
Mike Wofford, Piano
Bob Magnusson, Bass
Tony Marillo, Drums

CD availability scheduled for March 14, 2004

Issued by arrangement with the Irene Kral estate

Track listing on website:

http://www.jazzedmedia.com/cds.cfm?p=158&page=product&product_id=143

Columbia/Legacy Remembers Duke

United Press International, February 14, 2004

Columbia/Legacy is paying homage to Duke Ellington 30 years after his
death with the issue of expanded editions of three of his classic
1950s recordings.

Today's CD format has enabled the label to issue interrupted and
expanded versions of material originally released on 10-inch, 33 1/3
rpm records. The composer and bandleader died on May 24, 1974. His
recording affiliation with Columbia ran from 1927 to 1962.

The homage package, to be released next Tuesday, includes 1951's
"Masterpieces by Ellington" with concert length arrangements of "Mood
Indigo" and "Sophisticated Lady" plus three bonus tracks; 1952's
"Ellington Uptown," with extended versions of "Take the 'A' Train,"
"The Mooche" and "Perdido" plus "The Controversial Suite" and "The
Liberian Suite;" and 1959's "Festival Session" with "V.I.P's Boogie"
and "Jam with Sam," two previously unissued bonus tracks from the
session.

The package is part of the label's Columbia/Legacy Jazz Masterpiece
Series.

http://www.duke-ellington.com/

Concord's upcoming releases include the following, according to a
new article on JazzTimes.com:

March 23
Rosemary Clooney: "Songs from the Classic Television Series"
(Intended to coincide, perhaps, with an upcoming PBS special on
Rosie that uses extensive clips from her 1956 TV series? Might
this include duets with her guests?)

April 27
Various Artists: "Live at Caesars Palace" (Neon Tonic)
Sammy Davis, Jr: "Live at Caesars Palace" (Neon Tonic)

This "Neon Tonic" imprint series was announced several years ago;
if memory serves it got tied up in some messy litigation and changed
hands once or twice? I think most of the material -- recorded without
the performers' knowledge? -- dates from the late 1960s and early
1970s? Jazz Times describes the various-artist disc as follows:

"Las Vegas ain't exactly the place you go to hear great music these
days, but back in the day, let me tell you... On April 27 Concord
will release 'Live at Caesars Palace,' a collection of never-before-
heard live performances by artists like Frank Sinatra, Keely Smith,
Lena Horne and even Duke Ellington, all recorded at the famous
casino."

NEW JAPANESE RELEASES

On March 10,2004
Warne Music WPCR 11808(New) Mehldau,Brad/Anything Goes 2520

On March 17,2004
Pony Canyon MYCJ 30255(Alfa)New Wonsey,Anthoney/Another Perspective 2200
Pony Canyon MYCJ 30256(Alfa)New Great Jazz Trio,The/Flowers for Lady
Day 2200
Pony Canyon MYCJ 30257(Alfa)New Harris,Barry/I'm Old Fashioned 2200
Pony Canyon MYCJ 30258(Alfa)New Martin,Peter/Parabola 2200
Pony Canyon MYCJ 30259(Alfa)New Hubbard,Freddie/Topsy 2200

On March 24,2004
Warner Music WPCL 10079(New) Akiyoshi,Toshiko/Last Live in Blue
Note Tokyo 3059
Toshiba TOCJ 9006(Blue Note 4195)New(24 Bit) Hancock,Herbie/Maiden
Voyage* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9101(Blue Note 4209)New(24 Bit) Mobley,Hank/Dippin'* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9102(Blue Note 4279)New(24 Bit) Hancock,Herbie/Speak
Like A Child* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9103(Blue Note 4263)New(24 Bit)
Donaldson,Lou/Alligator Bogaloo* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9104(Blue Note 4205)New(24 Bit) LaRoca,Pete/Basra* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9105(Blue Note 1515)New(24 Bit) Hipp,Jutta/At the
Hickory House Vol.1* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9108(Blue Note 1541)New(24 Bit) Morgan,Lee/ Vol.2* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9110(Blue Note 1558)New(24 Bit) Rollins,Sonny/ Vol.2* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9111(Blue Note 4154)New(24 Bit) Green,Grant/Idle
Moments* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9112(Blue Note 4345)New(24 Bit) McLean,Jackie/Demons
Dance* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9115(Blue Note 4204)New(24 Bit) Gordon,Dexter/Gettin'
Around* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9117(Blue Note 4097)New(24 Bit) Blakey,Art/The
African Beat* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9118(Blue Note 4091)New(24 Bit) Clark,Sonny/Leapin'
and Lopin'* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9119(Blue Note 1559)New(24 Bit) Griffin,Johnny/A
Blowing Session* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9121(Blue Note 1542)New(24 Bit) Rollins,Sonny/ Vol.1* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9125(Blue Note 4051)New(24 Bit)
McLean,Jackie/Jackie's Bag* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9130(Blue Note 4042)New(24 Bit) Silver,Horace/Horace
Scope* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9131(Blue Note 4149)New(24 Bit) Mobley,Hank/No Room
for Squares* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9132(Blue Note 4202)New(24 Bit) Green,Grant/I Want to
Hold Your Hand* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9133(Blue Note 4264)New(24 Bit) Tyner,McCoy/The Real
McCoy* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9134(Blue Note 1538)New(24 Bit) Morgan,Lee/Indeed* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9135(Blue Note 1531)New(24 Bit) Navarro,Fats/The
Fabulous Vol.1* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9136(Blue Note 1532)New(24 Bit) Navarro,Fats/The
Fabulous Vol.2* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9139(Blue Note 4021)New(24 Bit) Burrell,Kenny/At the
Five Spot Cafe* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9140(Blue Note 4107)New(24 Bit) Wilkerson,Don/Preach
Brother* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9141(Blue Note 1518)New(24 Bit) Silver,Horace/And The
Jazz Messengers* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9142(Blue Note 1520)New(24 Bit) Silver,Horace/Trio &
A.Blakey,Sabu* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9147(Blue Note 4126)New(24 Bit) Hancock,Herbie/My
Point Of View* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9148(Blue Note 4056)New(24 Bit) Hubbard,Freddie/Goin'
Up* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9150(Blue Note 1573)New(24 Bit) Jenkins,John/With
K.Burrell* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9151(Blue Note 4270)New(24 Bit) Wilson,Jack/Easterly
Wind* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9156(Blue Note 4038)New(24 Bit)
McLean,Jackie/Capuchin Swing* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9157(Blue Note 4101)New(24 Bit) Byrd,Doanld/Royal
Flash* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9159(Blue Note 4062)New(24 Bit) Parlan,Horace/Headin'
South* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9160(Blue Note 4194)New(24 Bit) Shorter,Wayne/Speak
No Evil* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9161(Blue Note 4224)New(24 Bit) Coleman,Ornett/At The
Golden Circle Vol.1* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9162(Blue Note 4225)New(24 Bit) Coleman,Ornett/At The
Golden Circle Vol.2* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9163(Blue Note 4025)New(24 Bit) Donaldson,Lou/The
Time Is Right* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9165(Blue Note 4231)New(24 Bit)
Hutcherson,Bobby/Happenings* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9168(Blue Note 4243)New(24 Bit)
Morgan,Lee/Delightfulee* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9170(Blue Note 4147)New(24 Bit)
Hancock,Herbie/Inventions And Dimensions* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9173(Blue Note 1564)New(24 Bit) Chambers,Paul/Quintet* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9181(Blue Note 4006)New(24 Bit) Reece,Dizzy/Blues In
Trinity* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9182(Blue Note 4221)New(24 Bit) Young,Larry/Unity* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9183(Blue Note 1596)New(24 Bit) Burrell,Kenny/Blue
Lights Vol.1* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9185(Blue Note 1560)New(24 Bit) Mobley,Hank/Hank* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9186(Blue Note 4134)New(24 Bit) Parlan,Horace/Happy
Frame Of Mind* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9187(Blue Note 4088)New(24 Bit) Three Sounds,The/Here
We Come* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9188(Blue Note 4098)New(24 Bit) Quebec,Ike/Blue &
Sentimental* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9189(Blue Note 1551)New(24 Bit) Smith,Jimmy/At The
Organ Vol.1* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9191(Blue Note 4181)New(24 Bit) Dorham,Kenny/Trompeta
Toccata* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9225(Blue Note 5042)New (24 Bit) Farlow,Tal/Quartet* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9232(Blue Note 4184)New(24 Bit) Rivers,Sam/Fuchsia
Swing Song* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9233(Blue Note 4216)New(24 Bit)
Williams,Anthony/Spring* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9238(Blue Note 4282)New(24 Bit) Jones,Elvin/Puttin'
It Together* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9239(Blue Note 4332)New(24 Bit) Shorter,Wayne/Super
Nova* 2500
Toshiba TOCJ 9240-41(Blue Note LA 015)New(24 Bit,2CDs)
Jones,Elvin/Live At The Lighthouse 3700
Toshiba TOCJ 9242(Blue Note 4030)New(24 Bit) Smith,Jimmy/Crazy Baby* 2500