“I stole everything I ever heard, but mostly I stole from the horns.”
— Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996)
American jazz singer
Celebrate JAM! Not the fruity spread, but the Jazz Appreciation Month kind. From early Miles Davis to Louis Armstrong, the founding father of jazz, April is officially the month to honor one of America’s iconic art forms. I was blessed on one special night to share a dressing room with the First Lady of Song herself. Yes, Ella Fitzgerald. I was merely the emcee, and she was the headliner for a fundraiser put together by Robert Parrish of Boston Celtics fame. There was only one backstage space for women at this event, and she could not have been more gracious or kind to me. The honor was all mine. For National Jazz Appreciation Month, I recall the old adage – “Talent borrows; genius steals.” Ella rightfully stole every show.
(Photo by Nicole Bauer)
