Artists: Samantha Edwards, D.Wood (Bass), Karim Ellaboudi (Keys), Aron Nyiro (Drums)

About The Show:
As the First Lady of Song - Ella Jane Fitzgerald celebrates her centennial year world over, The Bombay Jazz Club is honoured to pay tribute to her as part of the ZiziLand Jazz Festival, Mumbai 2017.

Also known as the queen of Jazz, Ella was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing and intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing. Having made her mark in the Jazz scene early on with the Chick Webb Orchestra, she entered her solo career in 1942 which lasted to the end of her life. While Fitzgerald appeared in movies and as a guest on popular television shows in the second half of the twentieth century, her musical collaborations with Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and The Ink Spots were some of her most notable acts outside of her solo career. These partnerships produced recognizable songs like "Dream a Little Dream of Me", "Cheek to Cheek", "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall", and "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)". In 1993, Fitzgerald capped off her sixty-year career with her last public performance. Three years later, she died at the age of 79, following years of decline in her health. After her passing, Fitzgerald's influence lives on through her fourteen Grammy Awards, National Medal of Arts, Presidential Medal of Freedom, and tributes in the form of stamps, music festivals, and above all, in the hearts of many.

Artists Bios:
The Bombay Jazz Club features:
Samantha Edwards
Samantha began her musical journey on stage at the age of five. She turned 'professional' at fourteen. Over the last 25 years Samantha has performed at close to a thousand live gigs, and on several hundred films and advertisement jingles. Samantha performed on Coke Studio's Season 3 in 2013 and has held her own concerts in Mumbai at the National Centre for Performing Arts, paying tribute to 'The Women in Jazz' and on other occasions reliving the music of artistes like 'Whitney Houston'.
She has performed and collaborated with artistes like Carlos Santana, George Brooks, Louiz Banks, Dana Gillespie, Ranjit Barot, Barbara Morrison and several others. Internationally, Samantha has performed in Dubai, Muscat, New York and L.A and has worked with music directors like R Rahman, Mani Ratnam, Shankar Ehssan Loy, Pt. Zakir Hussain and Clinton Cerejo to name a few.

D. Wood (Bass)
D.Wood, has a long association with this city as a performer, composer and educator. Originally in India as a Fulbright research scholar, Wood has spent many years performing and teaching in USA, Europe, Latin America and India and collaborated with many notable musicians during this time. He currently heads the International Music program at Whistling Woods International film school in Film City Mumbai. D is a Co-founder of The Bombay Jazz Club, responsible for keeping Jazz in Mumbai very much in the centre of the overall music scene. D is a graduate of The Berklee College of Music.

Karim Ellaboudi (Keys)
Karim is a classically trained pianist who grew up in the UK, His command over an array of styles, including Jazz, Funk, Latin, RnB, DnB and related genres has resulted in him being a much sought after artist by many well known names in the UK and India. Known for his immense energy, his virtuosity and his very engaging rhythmic sensibilities, Karim is not only a wonderful accompanist but also a very good band leader. He has been putting together Jazz and RnB ensembles in various cities and has played a prominent role in bringing together the independent music communities in Delhi and Bombay.

Aron Nyiro (Drums)
Aron was born in the North Eastern part of Hungary and is a big fan of recording live music. He was running a project studio for years in Budapest. In 2012 Aron was accepted to the Master program of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam which further widened his musical horizon. He graduated in 2014 and meanwhile started establishing a professional practice by taking gigs, tours, studio work all around Europe.
From January of 2016 Aron is the HOD of the drum department of the brand new True School of Music in Mumbai, India.

About Ziziland Jazz Festival
A celebration of Jazz music, the festival will pay tribute to Ella Fitzgerald & members of the Rat Pack.

Never heard jazz music before? You've probably heard more than you think, from popular culture! Check out a playlist here.