Which jazz singer recorded the 1958 album Ella in Rome: The Birthday Concert?
Answer
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald recorded the 1958 album Ella in Rome: The Birthday Concert.
The live recording documents Fitzgerald performing in Rome during a concert connected with her 41st birthday. It captures her celebrated combination of precise diction, melodic invention, rhythmic flexibility, and scat-singing skill.
The album belongs to the period when Fitzgerald was recording extensively for Verve Records under producer Norman Granz. Her songbooks devoted to composers such as Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and Duke Ellington had made her one of the most influential American vocalists.
The title can cause confusion because Fitzgerald recorded many live birthday and European concert performances. Ella in Rome is specifically associated with the 1958 Rome concert, while her later live releases document other cities and dates.