Ella Fitzgerald: Essential Ella: Piano/Vocal/Chords Book

This collection gathers the standards that defined Ella's artistry in one practical volume. Your singers gain access to the exact melodies and chord progressions that shaped modern vocal jazz, arranged in a format that works equally well for solo study or small ensemble work.

Sophisticated, intimate, and absolutely conversational. These songs inhabit the emotional territory between romance and wit, longing and resilience. Every melody feels like it's been lived in.

Jazz singers at intermediate level and above who need reliable, readable lead sheets for standards work. This also serves musicians learning to comp for vocalists or developing their understanding of jazz harmony through Ella's repertoire.

• Listen to Ella's original recordings before rehearsal. Pay attention to where she places the melody slightly ahead of or behind the beat; that's not sloppy timing, it's jazz.
• The piano voicings in this edition are straightforward enough to allow singers room to breathe and shape the line. Resist the urge to add comping; let the voice lead.
• These songs live in the lyric. Have your singers speak the text first to understand the conversational tone Ella brought to ballads like 'The Man I Love' and 'My Funny Valentine.'

Feature one of these standards as a solo in a jazz or cabaret concert. They're also excellent for teaching jazz interpretation in a vocal jazz ensemble setting, or for building a vocalist's working repertoire of essential American songbook material.

• Reading and interpreting jazz chord symbols and reharmonization
• Phrasing over swing and straight-eighths rhythms
• Connecting lyrical content to melodic interpretation
• Understanding voice leading in jazz standards
• Building a working knowledge of the American songbook