The Recording Academy Statement RE: Gerald Wilson

Dan Carlin, Honoree Gerald Wilson and Neil Portnow during 1st Annual GRAMMY Salute to Jazz at The Knitting Factory in Los Angeles, California. Photo Courtesy of The Recording Academy®/Wireimage.com © 2004. Photographed by: R. Diamond.

A musician, composer, arranger, and a 2004 Recording Academy President’s Merit Award recipient, Gerald Wilson had an extraordinary career that spanned eight decades. A pioneer of jazz, he played trumpet in big bands and worked with legendary artists including Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, and Bobby Darin, among many others.

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Seven for Saturday - 7 Ella Fitzgerald Videos

"Seven for Saturday" is a great way to see some of the legendary men and women of jazz in action.

Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 — June 15, 1996) also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist. With a vocal range spanning three octaves (Db3 to Db6), she was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing and intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing.

She is considered to be a notable interpreter of the Great American Songbook. Over a recording career that lasted 59 years, she was the winner of 14 Grammy Awards and was awarded the National Medal of Art by Ronald Reagan and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H. W. Bush. [wikipedia.org]

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