Ella and Dizzy Revisited

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:00:00. > :00:15.Tonight we serve up music by two greats of the jazz world,

:00:16. > :00:17.the 'First Lady of Song' Ella Fitzgerald and one

:00:18. > :00:20.of the greatest ever jazz trumpeters - John Birks Gillespie ? I'm sure

:00:21. > :00:22.you'll know him better as 'Dizzy' Gillespie.

:00:23. > :00:48.This evening's Proms celebrates the centenary year

:00:49. > :00:54.of the births of Dizzy Gillespie and Ella Fitzgerald,

:00:55. > :00:56.two of the most ground-breaking and enduring Jazz greats.

:00:57. > :01:00.Stepping into their shoes is not going to be easy,

:01:01. > :01:04.but we have two of the biggest names in Jazz today to take up

:01:05. > :01:08.the challenge - Grammy-winning American singer Dianne Reeves

:01:09. > :01:12.and Australian multi-instrumentalist and trumpet virtuoso James Morrison.

:01:13. > :01:15.They'll be joining the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted

:01:16. > :01:33.Hello, and welcome. I am Yolanda Brown. I grew up listening to their

:01:34. > :01:38.music and as a saxophonist, I've been massively influenced by both of

:01:39. > :01:42.them. Alla's singing was like listening to a leading judgment

:01:43. > :01:48.itself, her tone was so pure and her phrasing had a unique rhythm.

:01:49. > :01:51.Dizzy's combination of styles was pioneering and his improvisation was

:01:52. > :01:56.a rhythmic thrill. I love how he dared to be different and in doing

:01:57. > :02:03.so, inspired and gave to so many. What cannot be denied is dizzy and

:02:04. > :02:07.Ella's stellar careers changed the course of jazz history. They both

:02:08. > :02:13.served their musical print ships in the late 30s and early 40s when big

:02:14. > :02:20.band dominated in the United States. Dizzy would go on to carve a new

:02:21. > :02:25.path for jazz, and be one of the first musicians to fuse Afro, Cuban,

:02:26. > :02:33.and Brazilian rhythms with jazz. This would also mark a turning point

:02:34. > :02:37.in the career of Ella Fitzgerald. She started including scat singing

:02:38. > :02:42.as part of her repertoire. Along with her pure tone, it would become

:02:43. > :02:44.her trademark sound, in a career lasting over 50 years and saw her

:02:45. > :02:48.release over 200 albums. Paying tribute to these giants of

:02:49. > :02:53.the jazz world tonight... On trumpet, internationally

:02:54. > :02:54.acclaimed Australian virtuoso, James Morrison, who was mentored

:02:55. > :02:56.by Dizzy Gillespie himself. And Dianne Reeves, who has been

:02:57. > :03:02.described as "the most admired jazz diva since the heyday

:03:03. > :03:10.of Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald I have seen them both in rehearsals

:03:11. > :03:13.earlier today, and they are spectacular.

:03:14. > :03:19.Getting tonight's tribute to Dizzy and Ella underway,

:03:20. > :03:22.music that conjures up the world of their youth growing up in the US,

:03:23. > :03:24.Manhattan Rhapsody was a part of George Gershwin's first major

:03:25. > :03:27.orchestral film score, written for the 1931 film 'Delicious'.

:03:28. > :03:29.The film's New York location is the setting for his mini-sequel

:03:30. > :03:42.Here is tonight's conductor, John Mauceri, with pianist,

:03:43. > :03:44.Victor Sangiorgio, joining the BBC Concert Orchestra

:03:45. > :14:10.for George Gershwin's 'Manhattan Rhapsody'.

:14:11. > :15:03.Good evening, I'm John Mauceri and welcome to concert number 27 in the

:15:04. > :15:07.2017 series of prompts. I've been asked to speak to you a little while

:15:08. > :15:15.we are moving instruments around the stage. That was, as you probably

:15:16. > :15:20.noticed, that was the UK premiere of a work done by George Gershwin for a

:15:21. > :15:24.film called Delicious, written in 1931. It seems appropriate to have

:15:25. > :15:30.George Gershwin begin the concert, which is a tribute to the Centenary

:15:31. > :15:34.years of Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie, it was George Gershwin

:15:35. > :15:39.who participated in an experiment in modern music in 1924 when Rhapsody

:15:40. > :15:44.in Blue was first heard. The idea of the experiment was to see if it was

:15:45. > :15:50.possible for jazz to be used in concert and clearly, the experiment

:15:51. > :15:57.was a success as here we are in 2017 at a concert inspired by two jazz

:15:58. > :16:03.legend. We have two soloists, one standing in for Ella and another

:16:04. > :16:10.standing in for Dizzy. The woman who will be singing many songs as

:16:11. > :16:18.tribute to Ella, who has known for 15 years, she has chosen a song from

:16:19. > :16:24.George Gershwin and a film score, the film Damsel in Distress, the

:16:25. > :16:29.last film George managed to complete before his untimely death in 1939,

:16:30. > :16:33.that movie takes place in London so we are happy that this first song is

:16:34. > :16:38.a tribute to this great city and the original script, the story came from

:16:39. > :16:42.PG Woodhouse. The woman about to sing is a great friend of mine and

:16:43. > :16:46.one of the great jazz singers of the world. When she was a teenager she

:16:47. > :16:52.met Ella Fitzgerald and told me the story the other day that she went to

:16:53. > :16:55.visit Ella in her dressing room, she was singing downstairs in the club

:16:56. > :16:59.and Ella was so nice to her and the next night Ella had cancelled and

:17:00. > :17:05.this young girl went up to Ella's dressing room and saw her shoes, put

:17:06. > :17:12.on her shoes and sang that night. I can think of nobody more appropriate

:17:13. > :17:13.to fill Ella Fitzgerald's shoes, so please welcome the great Dianne

:17:14. > :17:14.Reeves. CHEERING

:17:15. > :18:42.APPLAUSE # What to do,

:18:43. > :19:17.what to do, what to do? # and as I walked through

:19:18. > :19:41.the foggy streets alone. # It turned out to be

:19:42. > :19:54.the luckiest day I've known # I viewed the morning

:19:55. > :20:12.with much alarm # The British museum

:20:13. > :20:20.had lost its charm # How long, I wondered,

:20:21. > :20:27.could this thing last? # But the age of

:20:28. > :21:54.miracles hadn't passed #

:21:55. > :23:36.This is such a wonderful place. # I'm excited.

:23:37. > :23:39.# How long, I wondered, could this thing last?

:23:40. > :23:42.# But the age of miracles hadn't passed

:23:43. > :25:00.Dizzy Gillespie got his name because apparently he used to carry his

:25:01. > :25:06.trumpet around in a brown paper bag and his fellow musicians just

:25:07. > :25:10.thought he was dizzy. So it is not surprising someone stepped on the

:25:11. > :25:20.trumpet which left it at a 45 degrees angle. All of you who know

:25:21. > :25:26.dizzy got to see him perform, will have seen that strange trumpet. He

:25:27. > :25:31.could play better than anyone so our soloist tonight is an epitome of

:25:32. > :25:36.that. The song he has chosen is the one song by someone who is English

:25:37. > :25:42.and that seemed to be appropriate. Ray Noble was a band leader,

:25:43. > :25:47.composer, an actor and comedian. The movie you just heard the song from,

:25:48. > :25:52.he appears in that as Reggie, the band leader in that very same movie.

:25:53. > :25:58.In 1938, he wrote this song called Cherokee, which was for Native

:25:59. > :26:09.Americans on whom he had encountered in Hollywood. His rendition of this

:26:10. > :26:18.song was a kind of slow, four, four but the soloist will Dizzy-fy it.

:26:19. > :26:27.He's welcome James Morrison. Thank you., thank you.

:26:28. > :30:23.Thank you. Thank you. You know, that's how I

:30:24. > :30:30.love to start a performance, just gently easing into it... Thank you,

:30:31. > :30:36.and good night! We are just warming up. Growing up on the other side of

:30:37. > :30:40.the world in Australia, so far from the real action, you know, that is

:30:41. > :30:45.how it felt, all of the greats of jazz. My only way of hearing was on

:30:46. > :30:52.vinyl, which was great. But I first heard Dizzy Gillespie at the age of

:30:53. > :30:57.eight, not when he was eight, when I was eight! I could not believe that

:30:58. > :31:02.the trumpet could do that. And I hoped, I wished, that one day I

:31:03. > :31:07.would hear him live. Fast forward many years, imagine what it was like

:31:08. > :31:11.when I finally not only heard him but I met him. We played and

:31:12. > :31:16.recorded together. It was a dream come true. Just as it is tonight, a

:31:17. > :31:24.dream come true to be here tonight paying tribute to this master, this

:31:25. > :31:27.mentor, this legend of jazz. He was known for his virtuosity, he could

:31:28. > :31:34.push the trumpet to the edge of the envelope and then some, but he could

:31:35. > :31:39.not always do that. There was nothing more beautiful than

:31:40. > :31:41.listening to him play a ballot and we are going to do that now with

:31:42. > :38:27.felonious Monk's Round Midnight. This is so exciting! I mean, this

:38:28. > :38:31.magnificent hall and this tradition, this rich and beautiful tradition

:38:32. > :38:36.that you have every year, I might have two comeback for a little bit

:38:37. > :38:45.more office. This. This is absolutely fantastic! I am so

:38:46. > :38:48.delighted to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the great Ella

:38:49. > :38:52.Fitzgerald who was truly an architect of jazz singing. I

:38:53. > :39:00.remember the very first time that I saw her, and how I felt so inspired

:39:01. > :39:03.to continue with this music. She opened up so many possibilities and

:39:04. > :39:10.she gave me courage to sing this beautiful music we call jazz,

:39:11. > :39:17.America's classical music. She could sing anything, you could put

:39:18. > :39:25.anything in front of her, from the great American song books, to the

:39:26. > :39:30.popular, the musicians of the day in the pop world. She loved music at

:39:31. > :39:37.any place in any time, and she sang with so much joy. We are going to do

:39:38. > :39:42.a song from the Book of Gershwin, some of my favourite music that she

:39:43. > :39:47.sang. It features my long-time friend, we have travelled the world

:39:48. > :40:46.together, Mr Peter Martin on piano. embrace me, my sweet embraceable you

:40:47. > :41:33.# Embrace me, you irreplaceable you

:41:34. > :41:54.# Just one look at you, my heart grew tipsy and mean.

:41:55. > :42:05.# You, and you alone, bring out the gypsy in May

:42:06. > :42:35.# I love all the many charms about you

:42:36. > :42:42.# Above all, I want my arms about you

:42:43. > :42:51.# Don't be a naughty baby # Come to mama, come to mama do

:42:52. > :46:14.# My sweet embraceable you # Embrace me my sweet

:46:15. > :46:22.embraceable you # Just one look at you my

:46:23. > :46:52.heart grew tipsy in me # You and you alone bring

:46:53. > :47:20.out the gypsy in me # I love all the many

:47:21. > :49:35.charms about you We started our concert with a

:49:36. > :49:37.depiction of Manhattan by George Gershwin in 1931.

:49:38. > :49:44.George Gershwin demonstrated you could use jazz to write a concerto,

:49:45. > :49:48.to write an opera. And first Duke Ellington was a little suspicious

:49:49. > :49:51.about this and later in his career he started writing long form or

:49:52. > :49:57.Christian works. His real masterpiece of all those pieces,

:49:58. > :50:03.which are really wonderful is a work called Harlem, which he wrote in

:50:04. > :50:07.1954 the NBC see Symphony. It was an orchestra created by the greatest

:50:08. > :50:13.musicians from the United States of America, they were the highest paid

:50:14. > :50:16.musicians in the world and vacate daily-macro gave concerts and

:50:17. > :50:23.broadcasts all over the world and on television. Ellington wrote a piece

:50:24. > :50:29.for that orchestra called Harlem and it is a travelogue of that part of

:50:30. > :50:35.Manhattan, which is a neighbourhood just north of the top of Central

:50:36. > :50:44.Park. This trip, is a description of Harlem and it is extraordinary.

:50:45. > :50:51.Ellington wrote about the 20 bits of Harlem. You will know if you are in

:50:52. > :50:55.Spanish Harlem, if you are in a club where the girls are offbeat but

:50:56. > :50:59.kicking widely. You know you are in a church because there are more

:51:00. > :51:04.churches in Harlem than there are cabarets and clubs. There is a

:51:05. > :51:09.funeral, there is a civil rights demonstration. This is 1950. Then at

:51:10. > :51:13.the climax of this extraordinary piece, there is a triple credenza. A

:51:14. > :51:26.moment where three percussion elements have an improvisation.

:51:27. > :51:35.First Marnie up there with the timpani. Marnie will play and then

:51:36. > :51:43.Patrick from Australia. APPLAUSE

:51:44. > :51:48.Playing the kit and then Alistair and his group, where will you be,

:51:49. > :51:56.Alistair? Stand up so people can see where you are. Why this is so

:51:57. > :52:02.important is because Ellington, in this one moment before the end, he

:52:03. > :52:09.takes the Symphony Orchestra represented by the timpani, the big

:52:10. > :52:13.band represented by Patrick and then the Africans coming, represented by

:52:14. > :52:17.the African drums. It is all in one theme and this great moment is the

:52:18. > :52:23.moment where Ellington talks about music and the world we live in. The

:52:24. > :52:26.other thing, it is a series of variations on the name Harlem.

:52:27. > :52:30.Harlem is just two syllables and there couldn't be anything harder

:52:31. > :52:36.than write a series of variations on the cheering that is two notes. Less

:52:37. > :52:42.than two notes is just one note about isn't a tune. So he just has

:52:43. > :52:50.Harlem. That is tough. Alexander Hamilton had the most musical note

:52:51. > :52:56.in the world. The entire piece is based on that. When we start,

:52:57. > :53:01.Patrick will play something on the symbols and the jazz trumpet plays

:53:02. > :53:07.Harlem, we play accord. The Jazz trumpet player plays Harlem again

:53:08. > :53:12.and then the whole world opens up in this great part of Manhattan. From

:53:13. > :09:07.1950, Duke Ellington's masterpiece, Harlem.

:09:08. > :10:07.John Mauceri and the BBC Concert Orchestra with

:10:08. > :10:21.taking all of us here at the Royal Albert Hall on a tour of the area.

:10:22. > :10:32.What a sensational first half! Still so much to see in just a few

:10:33. > :10:33.minutes. First though a chance to catch up

:10:34. > :10:36.with the stars of the show ? we caught up with Dianne Reeves

:10:37. > :10:39.and James Morrison at rehearsals to find out why they think Dizzy

:10:40. > :10:53.and Ella are so special. If you are walking in on jazz

:10:54. > :11:03.pianists, there is likely to be a card game going on, and I was

:11:04. > :11:07.allegedly arrested because of it -- Ella. To celebrate them is like...

:11:08. > :11:15.Ooh, I wish I could have been back in that time. In celebrating Ella

:11:16. > :11:27.Fitzgerald, you have to know that there was only one Ella Fitzgerald.

:11:28. > :11:33.# With an irreplaceable heart such as yours... #

:11:34. > :11:47.She was quiet, and shy. Then, on stage, she was a lion. When she

:11:48. > :11:54.opened her mouth, she roared. When I first heard Dizzy, I went... The

:11:55. > :12:06.trumpet can do that?! He is the very definition of jazz. He created a

:12:07. > :12:12.party wherever he went. Then, when you are onstage yourself, you want

:12:13. > :12:18.to do same thing. Dizzy, of course, was an innovator. He came out of the

:12:19. > :12:31.swing era, but was then one of the fathers of the beatbox. It was fast,

:12:32. > :12:40.up-tempo music with fiery changes, and Ella was really the one singer

:12:41. > :12:48.who could sing in that style. Dianne is doing wonderful hits of Ella, and

:12:49. > :12:56.we are choosing songs he either wrote was famous for recording and

:12:57. > :13:04.playing. But, she is so good at scat too, as was Ella. Although I am

:13:05. > :13:15.playing that kind of trumpet, we are going back into the swing era too,

:13:16. > :13:20.so we meet. The thing about jazz musicians, the music they play is a

:13:21. > :13:27.very special language. So, I am excited to have this musical

:13:28. > :13:32.conversation. Our conversational beat is different to Ella's and

:13:33. > :13:37.Dizzy's but it will be just as exciting. Playing jazz along with an

:13:38. > :13:43.orchestra really requires a meeting of two worlds and the way and

:13:44. > :13:54.orchestra thinks about it and field is different to jazz musicians. 37,

:13:55. > :14:01.one, two, three, four... Of course, you cannot change the arrangement in

:14:02. > :14:04.a moment 's notice, like you can with a small group... But, there is

:14:05. > :14:11.this big a kind of magic which happens.

:14:12. > :14:21.Then, Dianne and I stand at the front and have the fun! It's the

:14:22. > :14:26.greatest music festival in the world and we are celebrating the greatest

:14:27. > :14:34.jazz singer ever, so it makes sense to me. But to be celebrating Dizzy's

:14:35. > :14:42.Centenary as well? It's a double whammy.

:14:43. > :14:59.Welcome back conductor John Mauceri and the BBC Concert Orchestra.

:15:00. > :15:02.So looking forward to the second half. It is like being transported

:15:03. > :21:07.to a jazz club. That was Jungle Drums by the

:21:08. > :21:21.composer known as the Cuban Gershwin. He first brought African

:21:22. > :21:34.music to America because he was hired by MGM. Part of the thing

:21:35. > :21:38.about Afro-Cuban music, it is complicated rhythms. We will

:21:39. > :21:52.continue the concert with the standard by George and Ira Gershwin,

:21:53. > :22:03.was a two and four and it is over five, eight, over four, four. If you

:22:04. > :22:10.think that is complicated, it is. Let's welcome back on the stage,

:22:11. > :22:45.James and Dianne. # Got a little rhythm,

:22:46. > :23:01.a rhythm, a rhythm # Why I'm always shaking

:23:02. > :23:20.# Just like a fliver # Each morning I get up

:23:21. > :23:23.with the sun # To find at night

:23:24. > :23:25.no work has been done # Once

:23:26. > :23:27.it didn't matter # Oh, how

:23:28. > :23:48.I long to be the girl I used to be # Fascinating rhythm

:23:49. > :26:14.# I'm all a quiver # Why I'm always shaking

:26:15. > :26:22.# Just like a fliver # Each morning I get up

:26:23. > :26:25.with the sun # To find at night

:26:26. > :26:28.no work has been done # Once

:26:29. > :26:30.it didn't matter # Oh, how I long to be

:26:31. > :28:29.the girl I used to be Miss Dianne Reeves.

:28:30. > :28:35.APPLAUSE I hope that you can tell we are

:28:36. > :28:41.having fun. It is such a joy to work with her, as it is such a joy to

:28:42. > :28:44.work with this fabulous orchestra. The BBC concert Orchestra.

:28:45. > :28:54.APPLAUSE Thank you, Maestro. We are not only

:28:55. > :29:02.joined by myself and Dianne, I should introduce these blokes.

:29:03. > :29:11.Harry, this is party. That is a direct Dizzy Gillespie quote, you

:29:12. > :29:20.did that in every gig. I would like to welcome on the guitar, William

:29:21. > :29:27.Morrison. On the drums, Patrick. And on the base, Harry Morrison.

:29:28. > :29:37.Quickly, I have to say, could they be related? Surely not? Closer look.

:29:38. > :29:44.Harry is my younger son. He is 19. It is true. He is here so you can

:29:45. > :29:50.see what I look like when I was 19. William is here so you can see what

:29:51. > :29:56.I looked like when I was 21. The hair has already gone. You've got

:29:57. > :30:03.two years. We are going to do a piece now that is yet another, one

:30:04. > :30:08.of the most amazing things about Dizzy. Not only did he innovate, but

:30:09. > :30:12.he started drawing in music from around the world to become part of

:30:13. > :30:14.jazz. When he travelled to South America and Cuba, things like this

:30:15. > :41:22.happen. This next song is a song that I

:41:23. > :41:27.wrote but it has no lyrics. It is dedicated... Can you believe I came

:41:28. > :41:35.out here in my glasses? That shows you, I can't see when I am back

:41:36. > :41:41.there! That is my little secret, now you know that I'm blind! But

:41:42. > :41:48.anyway... I can feel you! CHEERING

:41:49. > :41:52.APPLAUSE And I wrote it this way, I wrote the

:41:53. > :41:56.song this way because it is dedicated to all of the great

:41:57. > :41:59.vocalists I have listened to over the years, who sing in languages I

:42:00. > :42:04.do not understand. When I play them in my house, I try

:42:05. > :42:09.to sing along but I would never want them to hear what I am saying... But

:42:10. > :42:17.when I sing this song, I feel like them and also I dedicate this to

:42:18. > :42:22.Ella. Every time she opened her mouth and improvised, she told a

:42:23. > :49:40.beautiful story, so maybe you will understand what I am saying...

:49:41. > :56:09.I didn't even dream about this and this is a dream come truth.

:56:10. > :56:49.Fantastic. # Have you ever heard

:56:50. > :57:06.two turtle doves # Music we make with

:57:07. > :57:23.our lips when we kiss # If you should tell me

:57:24. > :57:38.farewell and goodbye Dianne Reeves and James Morrison

:57:39. > :03:14.with a fantastic rendition of George Shearing's standard

:03:15. > :03:17.'Lullaby of Birdland' ? his nod to New York's leading

:03:18. > :03:21.Jazz club in the 50's. his nod to New York's leading

:03:22. > :03:24.Jazz club in the 50s. The BBC Concert Orchestra

:03:25. > :03:33.conducted by John Mauceri. Dianne Reeves, James Morrison,

:03:34. > :03:50.BBC Concert Orchestra. The Royal Albert Hall cannot get

:03:51. > :03:53.enough. A raucous applause here at The Royal Albert Hall. Here they

:03:54. > :05:03.come again. They want more. A raucous applause, nobody is going

:05:04. > :05:12.home. Everybody wants to continue to celebrate. The BBC concert Orchestra

:05:13. > :05:17.staying on the stage, waiting for them to come out. What will Dianne

:05:18. > :05:32.Reeves and James Morrison have in store for us?

:05:33. > :05:37.# It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing

:05:38. > :05:58.# It don't mean a thing, all you got to do is sing

:05:59. > :06:10.# It makes no diff'rence if it's sweet or it's hot

:06:11. > :06:12.# Just give that rhythm ev'rything you got

:06:13. > :06:18.# Oh, it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing

:06:19. > :08:37.# It makes no diff'rence if it's sweet or it's hot

:08:38. > :08:49.# Just give that rhythm ev'rything you got

:08:50. > :09:09.# Doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah#

:09:10. > :09:42.Fabulous. The Royal Albert in and singing along. I couldn't sit still.

:09:43. > :09:51.Wondrous applause, fantastic tribute tonight. As they take their powers.

:09:52. > :10:05.-- bowels. It has been a fantastic evening at

:10:06. > :10:09.The Royal Albert Hall. A standing tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy

:10:10. > :10:14.Gillespie. Katie Derham and her guests will be discussing this

:10:15. > :10:17.performance tomorrow at 615 on BBC Two. From all others here at The

:10:18. > :10:23.Royal Albert good night.