A TRIBUTE TO ELLA FITZGERALD

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College continues its 2013-14 season with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra’s A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, featuring vocalist Deloris King Williams, on Sunday, April 27, 2014 at 3:00pm. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased by phone at 718-951-4500 (Tues-Sat, 1pm-6pm) or online at BrooklynCenterOnline.org.

This special Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald program will present many of Ella’s original big band arrangements, graciously made available to Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild (MCG) by the Smithsonian Institution’s Jazz Program with the assistance of the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation. The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra (SJMO) will come together with regional musicians and will feature vocalist Deloris King Williams, paying tribute to Ella with her elegant style and vocal expertise. The repertoire centers on a special moment in American history by pulling original arrangements from the Smithsonian and Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation archives, some of which have not been heard by live audiences in over 40 years. Superstar arrangers such as Billy May, Count Basie, Van Alexander, Billy Strayhorn and Benny Carter make up the majority of the selections. Additionally, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra commissioned new arrangements for the band that keep in the spirit of the body of work represented from Ella’s songbook, adding a sense of contemporariness to round out this unique show.