Broadcast on 25-Apr-2011

Ella Fitzgerald wasn't called "The First Lady of Song" for nothing. Her clear diction and faultless intonation and her rich mezzo-soprano voice to this day is unequaled. Also she should be called "The First Lady of Scat" because evn though she didn't invent the art of scat singing, she perfected it and to this day no singer can match her abilities in this direction. To celebrate Ella's 94th Birthday (she was born April 25, 1917)) we are presenting one of her finest performances called "Ella in Berlin". It was recorded before a rapt audience of 12,000 people in what was then West Berlin in February of 1960 with Miss Fitzgerald and her working band including her musical director, Paul Smith on piano, Jim Hall on guitar, Wilfred Middlebrooks on bass and Gus Johnson on drums. Ella sings a wide variety of great standard tunes and concludes the concert with a wild and wonderful scat version of the bop classic "How High The Moon". As a famous classical music critic said "Ella does everything and the only thing she doesn't do is anything wrong". Happy Birthday Lady Ella....you music is forever.