A Five Part Series: Free Stream or Download in HQ Audio
Each of the five parts of this program will be interspersed between the original album covers with track listings for each one. They are broken down into about half-hour segments, with about 15 minutes of music devoted to each recording, with the exception of Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook, which will be a half an hour by itself, to showcase her very special work with another Jazz legend.
Love to you all. Happy International Jazz Day 2019!
Ben “Bear” Brown Jr., owner
www.aospdx.com
“Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for 'fair use' for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."
A very special thank you to my Husbear Travis, Baby Boy Ron, Gypsy Girl and the staff of the Beaverton City Library for, well, everything.
Introduction
On this installment for my fourth annual UNESCO International Jazz Day Program, I am saluting The First Lady of Song, Ms. Ella Fitzgerald. These are the albums that were part of several firsts:
- First Woman to win a Grammy Award
- First Black artist to win multiple Grammy Awards
- First album ever to be released on Verve Records.
But awards are only part of the story. If you only knew Ella Fitzgerald from these recordings out the scores of albums and singles she recorded over her lifetime, you could not do much better. This music, with the exception of one release, is part of what is known as the Great American Songbook. These recordings are a testament to the power and versatility of Jazz music and what it can achieve, as many of the compositions were written by White or Jewish men and were originally Pop songs and Broadway show tunes.
In lesser hands, it could have been a total disaster. These recordings are also a testament to the gifts of our featured artist, who truly was in a class all her own. As an added bonus, one more unofficial selection into the Songbook Series, Ella Abraca Jobim, was recorded in 1981 and was her only bossa nova album.

The Rodgers and Hart Songbook - 1956
Part One
The Rodgers and Hart Songbook
- The Lady Is A Tramp
- It Never Entered My Mind
- Little Girl Blue
The George and Ira Gershwin Songbook
- Strike Up The Band
- Let's Kiss And Make Up
- Shall We Dance

The George and Ira Gershwin Songbook - 1959

The Cole Porter Songbook - 1956
Part Two
The Cole Porter Songbook
- Ridin' High
- Love For Sale
- Begin The Beguine
The Harold Arlen Songbook
- Stormy Weather
- The Man That Got Away
- It's Only A Paper Moon

The Harold Arlen Songbook - 1961

The Johnny Mercer Songbook - 1964
Part Three
The Johnny Mercer Songbook
- Something's Gotta Give
- Laura
- Skylark
Ella Abraca Jobim
- One Note Samba
- Useless Landscape
- The Girl From Ipanema

Ella Abraca Jobim - 1981

The Irving Berlin Songbook - 1958
Part Four
The Irving Berlin Songbook
- Blue Skies
- Heat Wave
- Alexander's Ragtime Band
The Jerome Kern Songbook
- The Way You Look Tonight
- I'll Be Hard To Handle
- Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man

The Jerome Kern Songbook - 1963
Part Five
The Duke Ellington Songbook
- Rockin' In Rhythm
- Take The 'A' Train
- Cotton Tail
- Azure
- Sophisticated Lady
- It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)

The Duke Ellington Songbook - 1957
For a free download the event poster as a PDF, please click here.
"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for ‘fair use’ for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.”