The Ella Fitzgerald Companion: 7 Decades of Commentary

by Leslie Gourse (Editor)

Book by

Genres: Music, Biography

217 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1998

Reviews

[Scott Vandrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderfully insightful compilation of magazine, newspaper, and jazz journal articles that weave the tale of Ella Fitzgerald’s extraordinary life and music. As the decades of Ella's life go by, it’s fascinating to read how the racial and gender bias toward her as a performer morphs and changes into legend in admiration and respect to her stunning talent and temperament. It's an interesting read, especially if you follow along with Ella Fitzgerald's sensational discography through the years.

[Jennifer Worrell]

Interesting information on Ella, culled from news articles, interviews, etc. However, a lot of the basics are repeated ad nauseum.