This day in music - June 15, 1996: Jazz great Ella Fitzgerald dies at the age of 79

By Richard K. Barry

Also known as the "First Lady of Jazz," "Queen of Jazz," and "Lady Ella," Ella Fitzgerald won 13 Grammy Awards over her career and was awarded the National Medal of Arts by Ronald Reagan and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H.W. Bush.

With a vocal range spanning three octaves (D♭3 to D♭6), she was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing and intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing.

Here's Ella Fitzgerald singing "Round Midnight."

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)