Ella Fitzgerald - Live At Chautauqua, Vol. 2 (2017)

Live at Chautauqua -Volume 2 is the second half of this sold out concert and features Tee Carson and his trio consisting of Keter Betts on bass and Joe Harris on drums. With these previously unreleased recordings we are blessed to hear her again in great voice while handling a fine set of standards and new material.

This recording stems from the Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater in Western New York near Lake Erie (built in 1893, the amphitheater has witnessed such varied programs as those presented by Booker T. Washington, Amelia Earhart, Marian Anderson, George Shearing and where FDR delivered his famous “I Hate War” speech). With this in mind you can only imagine how the audience felt hearing Ella's poignant tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King “He Had A Dream”. This song was written by Fitzgerald and dedicated to the man who preached peace to all peoples. It was just a little over 3 months after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King and when this was performed the terrible events during that year of unrest were still on everyone’s mind.

These previously unreleased recordings have quite a history. Gina Alley-Crook, who inherited the recording from her Father In Law stated: “I first came across this recording when my husband brought it back from his father’s collection of things from his early years as a musician. Having been a child of the late 60’s and early 70’s, I was thrilled to hold the reel to reel recording of Ella Fitzgerald. The Chautauqua Institute did not usually record their musical events only their lectures and occasional symphonic performances. The priest who was in charge of the sound engineering was given permission by Ella to record that evening’s performance. Later that year, my father-in-law who volunteered at the Institute from time to time, was gifted the reel to reel from the priest, who knew my father-in-laws passion for jazz. It has been in my family for more than 4 decades. One of my greatest passions is preserving history. I knew someday that someone would hear how special this recording was."