From: Winslow Yerxa <76450.32~ompuServe.COM> Date: 17 Jun 96 10:28:44 EDT Subject: Ella Fitzgerald
TO: internet:harp~arply.com
Some of you will have by now heard read of the death of Ella Fitzgerald, the great jazz singer, who died Saturday at the age of 78. She had been in ill health for several years with diabetes, to which she had lost both her legs and several fingers.
You may know about her flawless diction and phrasing as a singer, and the deep musicianship that allowed her to scat sure-footedly with the best of the beboppers.
What you may not know is that she was also a closet harmonica player, and apparently quite good. She never made any commercial recordings, but private ones are said to exist. This came to light in a tribute to Ella last fall in Downbeat (I am indebted to Shoom Gupta for this information; he forwarded the relavent pages, which I do not presently have at hand). One of the many musicians quoted in the tribute mentioned her secret harmonica habit, and an accompanying photo shows her holding a Hohner 270 Super Chromonica.
