Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald was an American jazz singer (1917–1996) renowned for her pure tone, impeccable phrasing, and mastery of scat singing.
Often called the First Lady of Song, she recorded landmark songbook albums devoted to composers like Cole Porter and Duke Ellington.
Her name evokes vocal excellence: She has an Ella Fitzgerald quality—effortless and precise.
Suspended recreational seat
- bebopFast, complex jazz style
- big bandLarge jazz ensemble
- standardsAccepted levels of quality
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
Duke Ellington · Count Basie · ballad · torch song · Great American Songbook · Cole Porter · Gershwin · Ellington
Composer-lyricist Broadway partnership
- standardsAccepted levels of quality
- definitiveSettling a question finally
- interpretationsExplanations of meaning
- anthologyCollected literary works volume
Irving Berlin · Duke Ellington · George Gershwin · canonical · recordings
Spontaneous, unplanned creation
- syllablesUnits of pronunciation
- riffingImprovising musical phrases
- vocaleseLyrics set to solos
- bebopFast, complex jazz style
nonsense · rhythmic · wordless · virtuosic · spontaneous · playful · Dizzy Gillespie
Pictorial screen symbol
- pioneerEarly explorer or settler
- trailblazerFirst to forge ahead
- GrammyRecording achievement trophy
- Kennedy CenterNational performing arts center
NAACP · civil rights · Apollo Theater · influence · timeless · enduring · masterful · groundbreaking
Sound's distinctive character
- purityUncontaminated quality
- clarityState of being understandable
- rangeExtent of variation
- intonationPitch variation in speech
diction · phrasing · pitch · tone · vibrato · articulation · mezzo-soprano · warm
swing
Suspended recreational seat
improvisation · Duke Ellington · Count Basie · ballad · torch song · Great American Songbook · Cole Porter · Gershwin · Ellington · arrangements
Rodgers and Hart
Composer-lyricist Broadway partnership
- standardsAccepted levels of quality
- definitiveSettling a question finally
- interpretationsExplanations of meaning
Irving Berlin · Duke Ellington · George Gershwin · anthology · canonical · recordings
improvisation
Spontaneous, unplanned creation
bebop · nonsense · rhythmic · wordless · virtuosic · spontaneous · playful · Dizzy Gillespie
icon
Pictorial screen symbol
- pioneerEarly explorer or settler
- trailblazerFirst to forge ahead
- GrammyRecording achievement trophy
Kennedy Center · NAACP · civil rights · Apollo Theater · influence · timeless · enduring · masterful · groundbreaking · Marilyn Monroe
timbre
Sound's distinctive character
intonation · diction · phrasing · pitch · tone · vibrato · articulation · mezzo-soprano · warm · smooth
- Jazz ArtistsMiles Davis, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie
- Female SingersAdele, Aretha Franklin, Beyonce, Celine Dion, Cher
- Black MusiciansAretha Franklin, Beyonce, James Brown, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder
- 1930sNew Deal, Hitler, Nazi Germany, Great Depression, appeasement
- Swing Erabig band, swing music, swing, swing era, big band era
- ComposersBach, Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Haydn
Ella FitzgeraldTom Waits
Louis Armstrong · Janis Joplin · Joe Cocker · Rod Stewart · Cookie Monster
Ella FitzgeraldSid Vicious
Johnny Rotten · John Cage · punk rock · noise music · industrial music
Ella FitzgeraldSid Vicious
Courtney Love · Marilyn Manson · Iggy Pop · Johnny Rotten · Madonna