Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald was a 15-year-old street kid when she won a talent contest in 1934 at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. Within months she was a star. Over the next six decades, her sublime voice would transform the tragedies of her own life and the troubles of her times into joy. JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS retraces this extraordinary journey.
The history of New York City's Apollo Theater in Harlem is given the full treatment.
Bing Crosby was, without a doubt, the most popular and influential multi-media star of the first half of the twentieth century, pulling audiences in with his intimate, laid-back voice and innate charm. Narrated by Stanley Tucci and directed by Robert Trachtenberg, this film explores the life and legend of this iconic performer, revealing a personality far more complex than the image the public had only thought they'd known.
The documentary tracks the diva's difficult progress as she emerges from the tough, testosterone-fuelled world of the big bands of the 30s and 40s, to fill nightclubs and saloons across the US in the 50s and early 60s as a force in her own right. Looking at the lives and careers of six individual singers (Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone and Annie Ross), the film not only talks to those who knew and worked with these queens of jazz, but also to contemporary singers who sit on the shoulders of these trailblazing talents without having to endure the pain and hardship it took for them to make their highly individual voices heard above the prejudice of mid-century America.
Ella and Louis found Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong accompanied by the Oscar Peterson Quartet. The studio album came out when both figures were at high points in their careers commercially. The recording sessions getting started in August 1956, the tracks specifically featured Oscar Peterson on piano, Buddy Rich on drums, Herb Ellis on guitar, and Ray Brown on bass. Seminal record producer Norman Granz masterminded the affair. Ella and Louis Again, which features nineteen songs, primarily consists as a collection of vocal duets like its predecessor. However, seven selections do involve either Armstrong or Fitzgerald singing without the other. The backing group remained the same except for Buddy Rich's role being taken by Louie Bellson; Bellson is regarded as one of the greatest drummers in history right alongside Rich by critics.
Half a century ago, Brazilian composer and musician Antonio Carlos "Tom" Jobim (1927-1994) introduced bossa nova to a worldwide audience with "The Girl from Ipanema." This relaxed, cool, sensuous music blended jazz and samba. After recording an album of songs by his friend Jobim, Frank Sinatra is reported to have said, "I haven't sung so quietly since I had laryngitis." Naturally, "The Girl from Ipanema" and Frank Sinatra are featured in this musical collage of countless seamlessly edited excerpts of concert footage that cover decades of events all over the world: from Rio de Janeiro to Lisbon, Paris, Copenhagen, Jerusalem, Tokyo, Montreal, New York and back to Rio.
BBC archivists recently unearthed a veritable treasure trove of Ella Fitzgerald shows recorded by the BBC. Featuring two shows from 1965, and a performance live at Ronnie Scott’s from 1974; this is the timeless Ella Fitzgerald.
Jazz Icons is doing for jazz what the Criterion Collection has done for classic and important films. This collection includes for the first time on commercial video Bill Evans renditions of the rarely performed or recorded Sareen Jurer, Blue Serge and Twelve Tone Tune Two. Bill Evans performs with four different rhythm sections - all of which are excellent - including the stunning duo of bassist Neils-Henning Orsted Pedersen and drummer Alan Dawson. Among the many surprises in this collection is a live performance of My Melancholy Baby by Bill Evans and saxophonist Lee Konitz.
Improvisational jazz performance filmed in 1950 by Gjon Mili plus additional performances filmed in 1977 and 1979, with introductions by Granz and jazz critic Nat Hentoff and also includes the 1944 short Jammin' the Blues.
A star-studded tribute (from the creators of That's Entertainment) to the contributions of Afro-Americans in film over the last century. Vanessa Williams traces the struggles and triumphs of the superstars of music and film. Among the many artists featured are: Whitney Houston, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Cab Calloway, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Little Richard, Also included are today's contemporary superstars: Snoop Dogg, Ice T, Quincy Jones, Spike Lee, Russell Simmons, and many, more! 80 minutes plus DVD bonus features.
This riveting music documentary traces the history of Jazz piano legend Oscar Peterson, from his early days as Montreal's teenage Boogie-Woogie sensation through his meteoric rise to international celebrity with Norman Granz and the ground-breaking Jazz at the Philharmonic and beyond. In this award-winning autobiographical portrait, legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson narrates his story, from his beginnings in smoke-filled Montreal clubs to hallmark performances with jazz greats. Concert footage includes an unforgettable combo -- Nat King Cole with Jazz at the Philharmonic and the Oscar Peterson Trio Wall reunion. Quincy Jones, Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie are interviewed, among others. - Ray Brown, Herb Ellis, Ella Fitzgerald
Celebrating Sammy Davis Jr 's 60th anniversary in show business, including musical,comic and dancing performers.
The First Lady of Jazz performing live in Cologne, Germany in 1974. Backed by a quartet led by Tommy Flanagan.
A truly memorable television event, the third annual special finds Frank joined by the dazzling Ella Fitzgerald in an historic pairing of the two preeminent vocal talents of the era.
President Kennedy's birthday celebration was held at the third Madison Square Garden on May 19, 1962, and more than 15,000 people attended, including numerous celebrities. The event was a fundraising gala for the Democratic Party. Features Marilyn Monroe singing to JFK.
Ella Fitzgerald visited Australia back in 1960. Gracefully stepping up to the microphone for the celebrated television event 'The BP Super Show', hosted by musician and entertainer Horrie Dargie, Fitzgerald delivered a mellifluous set of legendary songs in an intimate concert setting at The Embers Nightclub in Toorak Road, South Yarra Victoria. This rarely seen B&W television treat is considered to be one of the earliest audio-visual recordings of the 'First Lady of Song', backed by the smooth sounds of the Lou Levy Quartet. Beside Fitzgerald's performance of 14 memorable Jazz and Blues classics, the program also contains original BP musical interludes and jingles from the Horrie Dargie Quartet.
In this sequel to "Knock On Any Door", the residents of a Chicago tenement building band together to insure that the son of Nick Romano does not follow in his father's footsteps...to the electric chair.
Will Handy grows up in Memphis with his preacher father and his Aunt Hagar. His father intends for him to use his musical gifts only in church, but he can't stay away from the music of the streets and workers. After he writes a theme song for a local politician, Gogo, a speakeasy singer, convinces Will to be her accompanist. Will is estranged from his father for many years while he writes and publishes many blues songs. At last the family is reunited when Gogo brings them to New York to see Will's music played by a symphony orchestra.
In 1927, a Kansas City, Missouri cornet player and his band perform nightly at a seedy speakeasy until a racketeer tries to extort them in exchange for protection.
An improvised jazz session with some of the greats from the 1950s era including Ella Fitzgerald.
Two peanut vendors at a rodeo show get in trouble with their boss and hide out on a railroad train heading west. They get jobs as cowboys on a dude ranch, despite the fact that neither of them knows anything about cowboys, horses, or anything else.
