Today we’ll revisit our conversation with Judith Tick about her new book Becoming Ella Fitzgerald. Ella Fitzgerald (1917–1996) possessed one of the twentieth century’s most astonishing voices. In this first major biography since Fitzgerald’s death, historian Judith Tick offers a portrait of this ambitious risk-taker whose exceptional musical spontaneity made her a transformational artist.
Judith Tick is professor emerita of music history at Northeastern University. She has published award-winning books and articles about American music and women’s history in music, including Ruth Crawford Seeger: A Composer’s Search for American Music. She lives in Brookline, Massachusetts.