EDITOR’S CHOICE: ELLA FITZGERALD

Like every month, Editor’s Choice presents a hand-picked favorite of Stingray DJAZZ's editor-in-chief, Karen van der Stal. This month's choice fell on the “First Lady of Song” Ella Fitzgerald, who enthralled the audience at Olympia in Paris on March 22, 1963 once again. Fitzgerald, arguable the most popular jazz singer to have ever lived, is praised for her pure tone, pitch perfect intonation, and uncanny improvisational ability. Here she is accompanied by Tommy Flanagan (piano), Les Spann (guitar), Gus Johnson (drums), and Jim Hughart (double bass). The American jazz singer performs her only recorded version of "A Lot of Livin' to do", as well as "A Fine Romance" in promotion of her 1963 album 'Sings the Jerome Kern Song Book'. The concert also includes a vocal performance of Erroll Garner's jazz classic "Misty", and of course Ella's perennial crowd-pleaser, "Mack The Knife", originally from Kurt Weill's ‘The Threepenny Opera’.