ELLA FITZGERALD: A BIOGRAPHY OF THE FIRST LADY OF JAZZ written by Stuart Nicholson is one of the finest jazz nonfiction books concerning a female jazz vocalist. Published in 1994 by Scribners this book is full of revealing facts and photographs of that great singer Ella Fitzgerald. Stuart Nicholson is also the author of JAZZ: THE MODERN RESURGENCE.

The book brings up many interesting aspects concerning Ella's personal life and it is also an in-depth look at a woman who became a jazz & cultural ambassador for her country yet had to endure cruel and very vicious racism in the United States which include a very lowdown and sensational arrest scandal on trumped-up charges in the Deep South. Her career and her love life are detailed but more importantly there is the woman Ella and her remarkable singing voice and her contributions to music.

This book also contains an authoritative discography by internationally-known jazz historian Phil Schaap plus a concise index preface and prologue. This is a treasure for locating some of Ella's recordings not often written about! An unusual aspect of Ella Fitzgerald is her ability to endure and she is the only artist in jazz history whose work spans seven decades which is a very long time!

To paraphrase a philosophical thought which Ernest Hemingway put in his writings "First of all you must endure. Everything else is secondary." Ella not only endured she became a beloved legend along the way and her songs still play all over the world!'ELLA FITZGERALD: A BIOGRAPHY OF THE FIRST LADY OF JAZZ written by Stuart Nicholson is one of the finest jazz nonfiction books concerning a female jazz vocalist. Published in 1994 by Scribners this book is full of revealing facts and photographs of that great singer Ella Fitzgerald.'