We All Love Ella
London
Some said the late Ella Fitzgerald sang like an angel, some that she sang like a child, but all her admirers would probably agree that she sang as naturally as talking. The star-studded 10-day London Jazz Festival opens on Friday with a celebration of what would have been Ella's 90th birthday, with vocalists from four-time Mobo winner Jamelia and jazz and Broadway show singer Lea DeLaria to the subtly swinging Claire Martin and the dramatic, subversive Ian Shaw queueing up to pay their respects. Fitzgerald bridged the worlds of pre-rock popular song and jazz with a vocal technique that still astonishes listeners from just about any genre of music - and she never turned into just an "act", nor appeared to be anything less than a skilled musician driven by respect for the materials and gifts she felt privileged to have. It's a good place to open the UK's biggest and most eclectic jazz festival.
· Royal Festival Hall, SE1, Fri 16
