One of my favorite things to do is to get Mitchell talking about Ella Fitzgerald. He’s one of those people who knows how to describe WHY she was able to do what she did … what is special about her (although her special-ness is obvious to the unschooled listener like myself) … and why she’s one of the all-time greats.<\/p>\n
I was not aware of this small factoid<\/a>, which just gives me goosebumps:<\/p>\n Marilyn Monroe was one of Ella’s biggest fans. Fitzgerald said, “I owe Marilyn a real debt. It was because of her that I played the Mocambo, a very popular nightclub in the ’50s. She personally called the owner of the Mocambo, and told him she wanted me booked immediately, and if he would do it, she would take a front table every night. The owner said yes, and Marilyn was there, front table, every night. The press went overboard. After that, I never had to play a small jazz club again.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n sniff … sniff …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of my favorite things to do is to get Mitchell talking about Ella Fitzgerald. He’s one of those people who knows how to describe WHY she was able to do what she did … what is special about her … Continue reading