In his 859-page monograph The Swing Era (1989), composer and historian Gunther Schuller skipped past Ella Fitzgerald. In 2011, when Judith Tick asked him about the omission, he responded that "there ...

There are few voices in jazz, and perhaps in all of music, that carry the warmth, depth and precision of Ella Fitzgerald's. Her effortless swing, her impeccable phrasing, her ability to transform even ...

The title of “Becoming Ella Fitzgerald,” Judith Tick’s incisive, doggedly researched new biography of the 20th century’s preeminent songstress, suggests action and movement. This is no accident. As ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Hugh McIntyre covers music, with a focus on the global charts. Ella Fitzgerald’s latest posthumous album, The Moment of Truth: ...

Tick (Ruth Crawford Seeger), a professor emerita of music history at Northeastern University, delivers a magisterial biography of singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917–1996), who “fearlessly explored ...

In early 1933, a 15-year-old Ella Fitzgerald spent many a day dancing for dimes and nickels on the sidewalks of Yonkers, N.Y. At least she did until a truant officer caught her and hauled her to ...

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today. Listen 46:17 Nearly thirty years ...

Editor’s note: This segment originally broadcast on March 17, 2023. How did Ella Fitzgerald become the legend she was? That’s the question author Judith Tick asks and answers in her new biography on ...

From Ella Fitzgerald’s floating vocals to Frank Sinatra’s iconic croon, jazz-infused pop artists produced some of the most enduring hits ever recorded. Whether you’re 20 or 80, you can at the very ...

Freda Payne’s name is forever associated with her 1970 classic hit song, ”Band of Gold.” But Payne says she was “bred as a jazz singer” and that’s why playing jazz icon Ella Fitzgerald felt natural to ...