Ella Fitzgerald, the jazz vocalist also know as “the first lady of song,” had a mysterious life that made writing biographies about her difficult, Northeastern University Professor Judith Tick said.
Tick addressed an audience of about 20 Boston University students and faculty members Tuesday at College of Fine Arts in a lecture titled “Ella Fitzgerald: Issues and Challenges in Writing Her Biography.”
The lecture was part of a series in the Musicology Department called the “Musicology Lecture Series,” which is held once a month and is open to the public, according to event coordinator and Chairman of the Department of Musicology and EthnomusicologyJeremy Yudkin.
Tick is a women’s history and American music specialist. Her previous publications include “Women Making Music: The Western Art Tradition 1150-1950,” articles on American composer Charles Ives and a biography of folk musician Ruth Crawford Seeger, according to her online biography.
At the lecture, Tick talked about the challenging ordeal that was writing Fitzgerald’s biography.
“There are so many discrepancies in the literature about Ella,” she said. “Her early life may have been a key factor in who she was. It’s all very mysterious.”
Tick said Fitzgerald isn’t the type of artist who needs or can be categorized so simply. To approach Ella’s life as a jazz journalist, Tick said she had to interview as many people as possible and rely on these people’s interviews for information.
“The trick is to interpret interviews in different ways,” she said. “Biographies of singers are much more confessional.”
What is specifically challenging about documenting Ella’s life is that she was just a persona to the public, Tick said.
“She was so insolated by those who surrounded her,” she said. “Offstage, Ella has never chosen to show her life to the public, but her generosity as a performer cannot be doubted. Her articulation comes out in her work.”
Ella’s performances were cultural statements. Using her voice as an instrument, Ella demanded respect wherever she was, Tick said.
Through jazz, Fitzgerald and other black women found a kind of freedom that they couldn’t find anywhere else, she said.
“She was one of the heroes of her race; a model of possibility, of opportunity,” Tick said.
During the lecture, Tick played some of Fitzgerald’s songs such as “Easy to Love,” and “Chick Webb” to the audience to demonstrate how Fitzgerald’s character and strength came out in her music.
Tick said she hopes to capture Fitzgerald’s passion for music in her biography.
“All you have to do is listen and you can see the amount of consciousness that Ella puts into her work,” Tick said. “That is my mission in writing her biography.”
Many students said they enjoyed the different elements Tick brought into the lecture.
CFA graduate student Nathanael Meneer said that coming to the lecture was a unique experience.
“It was a very interesting topic and a good opportunity for the Musicology Department to bond both personally and academically,” he said.
Fellow CFA graduate student Max Decurtins said the lecture was a new way to look at music.
“It was a fascinating look at music that doesn’t often get considered by musical scholars,” he said. “This is a chance for us to hear and talk about some music that really inhabited the popular music realm.”
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