Ella Fitzgerald With Lou Levy Trio – The World Of Ella Fitzgerald

Year/Genre/City: 1960, Jazz, Los Angeles, CA
Matrix #: M-567
Condition: VG, sounds great; a little bit of background noise; some light marks

Cultural Facts:

Late Start: Ella often described losing her mother as the turning point that knocked her off track as a teen—she ended up in reform school before turning that chaos into a career when she stepped onstage at Amateur Night.

Voice Health: She was famously protective of her voice offstage—friends and bandmates have described her as disciplined about rest and routines, treating singing like athletic work rather than constant “diva living.”

Piano Partner: Lou Levy was a quietly elite accompanist in West Coast jazz sessions, known for making singers comfortable by shaping tempo and harmony around their phrasing instead of showing off—one reason vocal dates like this stay conversational.