Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things
12:30 am - 02:30 am, Monday, March 9 on Sky Arts (350)
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About this Broadcast
The life and times of the jazz singer, beginning with a 1934 talent contest at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, and following her next five decades, reflecting the passions and troubles of the times in which she lived in her life and her music. Narrated by Sophie Okonedo, with contributions from Laura Mvula, Ray Brown Jr, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Jamie Cullum, Cleo Laine and Smokey Robinson
HD
subtitles
16x9
Jazz
Music/Ballet/Dance
Cast & Crew
Sophie Okonedo
(Narrator)
Laura Mvula
(Contributor)
Tony Bennett
(Contributor)
Johnny Mathis
(Contributor)
Jamie Cullum
(Contributor)
Cleo Laine
(Contributor)
Smokey Robinson
(Contributor)
Ray Brown Jr
(Contributor)
Leslie Woodhead
(Director)
Reggie Nadelson
(Producer)
More Information
Did You Know..
Sophie Okonedo
(Narrator)
Born:
January 01, 1969
in
London
Best Known For:
Her role in Hotel Rwanda.
Early-life:
Born on January 1, 1969, in London, to a Jewish mother and Nigerian father. He was a government worker who returned to his native country when Sophie was five, leaving her mother to raise her. She left school at 16 and worked on a clothing stall at Portobello Market. She later attended a writing workshop run by Hanif Kureishi, but discovered she was better at acting in plays than writing them, prompting her to study at Rada. Upon graduating, she embarked on a series of theatrical roles.
Career:
Throughout the 1990s, Okonedo steadily built up a body of TV credits, including appearances in Casualty, The Bill and The Governor. She got her break in films with a small role in 1995 Jim Carrey vehicle Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. She also featured in The Jackal and Mad Cows, but it was Stephen Frears' thriller Dirty Pretty Things that people really began to take notice. More TV work followed in Clocking Off, Never Never and Spooks, before an Oscar-nominated performance in Hotel Rwanda. Other projects include Doctor Who, Tsumani: The Aftermath, The Secret Life of Bees, Skin, Criminal Justice, and Mrs Mandela.
Quote:
'I'm pretty secure about who I am. Anything that's truthful I'm not ashamed of.'
Laura Mvula
(Contributor)
Tony Bennett
(Contributor)
Born:
August 03, 1926
in
New York
Best Known For:
Performing classic songs.
Early-life:
Born Anthony Dominick Benedetto on August 3, 1926, in Astoria, New York, the son of an Italian father and American mother. He quit music and art studies at the High School of Industrial Arts aged 12 to support his family after his father died. He later became a singing waiter and then joined the US Army's entertainment unit during the Second World War. While working as an MC in a Greenwich Village revue he was spotted by Bob Hope, who booked him for his Paramount Show and persuaded him to change his name.
Career:
Bennett landed his first recording contract in 1950, topping the US charts a year later with Because of You - the first of 24 hits in 14 years, including his Grammy Award-winning signature tune, I Left My Heart in San Francisco. He concentrated on making albums during the 1960s and 1970s, recording 25 in just 10 years, featuring contributions from Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Ray Charles. Much of the next decade was spent performing live and developing his talents as a painter, exhibiting work under his birth name. He became fashionable again in the 1990s after his son Danny took over as his manager. He continues to record and perform shows around the world.
Quote:
'I have a simple life. You just give me a drum roll, they announce my name, and I come out and sing.'
Trivia:
He has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. His most recent success came with Cheek to Cheek, a collaboration with Lady Gaga.
Johnny Mathis
(Contributor)
Jamie Cullum
(Contributor)
Born:
August 20, 1979
in
Rochford, Essex
Best Known For:
Making jazz sound cool to a whole new generation.
Early-life:
Born August 20th, 1979, at Rochford Hospital in Essex. His mother, Yvonne, is a secretary of Anglo-Burmese origin; his father, John Cullum, worked in finance. His paternal grandfather was a British Army officer, and his paternal grandmother was a Prussian nightclub singer who fled Berlin to escape the persecution of Jews. In his youth, Jamie made ends meet by tackling a variety of jobs, including a petrol pump attendant, in a camera shop and, for a couple of weeks, at the Dyson factory. He turned down a place at Oxford to study English literature and film at the University of Reading, eventually graduating with a 1st class degree.
Career:
Cullum - who is self-taught - spent time playing piano in restaurants in London before releasing his first album, Jamie Cullum Trio - Heard It All Before. It enjoyed limited success, but led to him playing on Geoff Gascoyne's Songs of Summer album. His next release, Pointless Nostalgic, became a favourite with Michael Parkinson who promoted it on his radio show. As a result, Jamie was offered a contract with Universal for three albums, who beat Sony in a bidding war. Jamie then started recording his third album, Twentysomething, which was released in October 2003. It went platinum and became the number one-selling studio album by a jazz artist in the United Kingdom. His follow-up album was also a major success and led to fan Clint Eastwood asking him to write a track for the soundtrack to Gran Torino. He continues to tour and record.
Quote:
'I don't feel like making a quick buck and sleeping around. My only ambition is to grow as a musician.'
Trivia:
He is married to former model Sophie Dahl.
Cleo Laine
(Contributor)
Smokey Robinson
(Contributor)
Ray Brown Jr
(Contributor)
Leslie Woodhead
(Director)
Reggie Nadelson
(Producer)
