Two performances: 7pm and 9:30pm

Born April 25, 1917, the First Lady of Song Ella Fitzgerald has influenced female jazz musicians for generations. The Kennedy Center presents a number of distinct performances in recognition of the centennial of the 1979 Kennedy Center Honoree and NEA Jazz Master's birth.
 
With her new album, The Songbook Sessions: Ella Fitzgerald--the first to be released on her own Emerald City Records--vocalist Jane Monheit has surprised even herself with her artistic leap. She had thought about recording an Ella tribute for a long time. Fitzgerald's beloved songbook albums held "biblical" importance for her when she was growing up and have never lost their hold on her. As part of the Renée Fleming VOICES series, Monheit pays joyous tribute to Ella while sharing a definitive portrait of herself, guided by her producer, arranger, and trumpet great, Nicholas Payton.