Miss Fitzgerald Biography Essay

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Growing up, I have always thought of Jazz as someone playing the saxophone. I never realized that there was more to it. The older I got, the thought stayed the same since it was never a subject that was approached, and I barely ever listened to it. Come Summer of 2018, realization finally came upon me. When I was told that I would have to pick a musician to report on, several people were presented to me, but one artist stood out, Ella Fitzgerald. Miss Fitzgerald won thirteen Grammy awards, sold over forty million albums, was the most popular female jazz singer in the United States for over half a century, and was known as The First Lady of Song (Universal Music Group, n.d.). On April 11, 1974, Miss Fitzgerald played in London, England, at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club. As Miss Fitzgerald entered the stage, there was non-stop applause. She was joined by a quartet that was led by Tommy Flanagan. The quartet also consisted of Joe Pass, guitarist, Keter Betts, Double Bass, and Bobby Durham, drummist. Miss Fitzgerald sang 9 songs total that night. The first song that she introduced …show more content…

I loved the rhythm of the song, especially when Joe Pass had a solo. You could tell that it was an improv and the song went great with it. It was slow, but very caring. Once the song was over, the rest of the band returned to the stage and went on with the show. Miss Fitzgerald continued with Lemon Drop and The Very Thought of You. They were two very upbeat songs that made the audience get up and start clapping. She sang them back to back, that I didn’t even realize that she changed songs. I thoroughly enjoyed them both though. Due to this song, Miss Fitzgerald and the band received a standing ovation as the band continued to play. This brought some tears to her face. She ended her show with Happy Blues, which was harmonizing and