Jazz icon Ella Fitzgerald's life and music to be celebrated in concert

The life and music of Ella Fitzgerald is set to be celebrated in a special concert at Hackney Empire Theatre in London next month.

The show will also be broadcast on BBC Radio 2’s ‘Friday Night Is Music Night’ on the 5th of May.

Presented by Clare Teal, and starring Mica Paris, Emma Kershaw Louise Marshall alongside The BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Richard Balcombe, Ella’s outstanding career will be relived – from her earliest recordings with Chick Webb through to the recording of the iconic ‘Songbook’ series and her work with the likes of Louis Armstrong and Oscar Peterson.

The BBC Concert Orchestra will also provide new arrangements of some of Ella’s classic songs by the legendary Guy Barker.

As well as a tribute to her music, Ella’s personal story will be remembered, including how she fell into singing after learning that she wasn’t much of a dancer.

Ella Fitzgerald’s Friday Night Is Music Night will be recorded at the Hackney Empire Theatre on the 11th April 2017.

For tickets, visit the Hackney Empire Box Office here.