Patti Austin To Celebrate Ella's 100th Birthday

Patti Austin

By Darlene Donloe

Patti Austin loves to laugh almost as much as she loves to sing. She laughs often and she laughs freely. To meet her, talk to her, or just to share a moment reveals an immediate, likable and authentic personality that makes you feel like one of her best friends.

A stunning beauty with piercing eyes, Austin is known for her luscious voice. It glides, it shines, it wraps itself around melodies and lyrics as if to give them a hug.

She knows how to make a song her own – even when she’s covering someone else’s.  Those skills will be front and center this weekend when Austin pays tribute to one of her favorite singers of all time – Ella Fitzgerald.

Ella Fitzgerald

As part of the Ignite@the Ford!, on Sunday, Sept. 24, the Grammy-winning songstress will host an all-star evening – 100: The Apollo Theater Celebrates Ella’s 100^th Birthday! at the Ford Theatre in Hollywood. The show, presented in association with the Apollo Theater, features David Alan Grier, Monica Mancini, Ledisi and pianist Shelly Berg, who are all there to honor the First Lady of Song.

Patti Austin and David Alan Grier

It’s no secret that Austin, 67, is a huge fan of Ella Fitzgerald’s. Just ask her, she’ll tell you. In tribute, she recorded “For Ella” an album of Fitzgerald’s standards. Soon, the consummate New York native, who has been entertaining audiences for six decades, will release “Ella: Now & Then,” her second recorded tribute to Ella.  The CD will include classics like Lullaby Of Birdland, Mack the Knife, Sing Me A Swing Song and April in Paris.

I recently spoke to Patti Austin about her upcoming show and her envious career.

DD: Tell me about the first time you heard Ella Fitzgerald sing.

PA: To be honest, it's a tough question. I started at 4-years-old as a professional and was completely blessed by the gods to be in the company of Ella and people like Dinah Washington, who was my godmother and Quincy Jones, who was my godfather. I was around people like Sammy Davis Jr. and Mel Torme. I was always hearing all kinds of music at a young age. I really didn’t focus on the first time I was hearing Ella. I didn’t really start focusing on Ella until people would ask if I was listening to Ella because they heard Ella in my voice. Ella is in there. I just loved everything about her voice. It’s so simple for me. The very timbre of her voice. It’s very rich. When she was younger she sounded like others, but as she got older her voice became more defined. Hers was a rich vibrato, with a velvety tone. There wasn’t a break in her voice. She can sing up in the top. She was just amazing. She had a very simple way of reading a lyric.

DD: When you were younger, you were surrounded by music.

PA: Yes. My dad was a jazz musician and played in a lot of big bands. I grew up in a house hearing everyone sing from Ella to Patsy Cline. At that time  Sarah Vaughn, Carmen McCrae and Betty Carter were happening. During that time you didn’t question who was singing. You knew who they were. All of these women had completely different sounds. They were very special.

DD: Why should Ella be celebrated?

PA: Because she was a bad mamma jamma. She was amazing. She sang everything and sang it all over the world. She brought America to the rest of the world.  She did it in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s - singing American music.  Most people don’t know just how much of a mamma jamma she was because she was a gentle spirit.  What an amazing life she had. She came up from zip and turned it into this classy, beauty wonderful talent that represented this country.

DD: Do you think she ever really got her due?

PA: I don’t think so. It’s America. If she were white she’d be Empress of the Universe. We gotta live with that until we get that sorted out. Have you seen an Ella Fitzgerald special? No. We’re working on an Ella Fitzgerald special. It’ll be a series about all the black female vocalists from that period. I just wish she were here. I wish she could’ve lasted until she was 200-years-old.

DD: In 2002, you recorded, “For Ella,” an album of her standards.  Now you’ve released “Ella: Now & Then,” your second recorded tribute to Ella.

PA: Yes, we’re finishing it up now. We will finish mastering it this week or next week. I could do 10 of these and not cover her repertoire. It’s magnificent to hear her. When you do, it makes you want to go home and rehearse.  Her talent seemed totally effortless.

DD: Do you have a favorite Ella song. If so, what is it about the song?

PA: I never answer that.  That’s like standing with a woman with 10 kids and asking which one she likes the best.  You know, she wasn’t a jazz singer, she was a pop star. The material she did in those days was saucy and sassy. We did a bit more of that stuff on this record. Her body of work is just too big to pick one song. That’s why I’m not married. I couldn’t pick one guy.

DD: It’s hard to put your own spin on an Ella song.  Were you at all apprehensive about the attempt?

PA: Extremely. I immediately determined I wasn't going to do anything like she actually did it. You can’t touch that. Luther was famous for taking someone’s hit and making it his own. My idea was like going into Ella’s closet, picking out what I like, getting a tailor to come in and being able to wear Ella’s dress. We didn't take anything and do it her way. The idea was to honor her body of work in my own way. Besides, I don’t have the same kind of voice. She sang verses to her songs – they all had melody patterns to them.

DD: You’ve spent six decades in the industry. Talk about what it was like in the beginning and what it’s like now.  How has the industry changed?

PA: Not for the better. We’re losing our souls to these little things we carry around in our hands. It’s turning our minds to mush. It has really affected the music industry. We have 20 less ways to get our stuff out there. You go to buy something on iTunes and you don't know anything but who the artist is. You don’t know the roots of anything. You don’t know anything about the arranger, the producers or who wrote what.

There was mentoring when I was coming up. I don’t see that happening anymore. I don’t see them calling over the younger artists and saying, ‘Hey don't do that, do this.’  I’ve become a lunatic doing this. I want to show people how to do it the right way. We are youth oriented in this country. We’ve gotta improve our image and keep telling the kids what’s going on and figure out where the music business is going. The record industry doesn't exist anymore – not as we know it. They don't have A&R anymore, they have people who look at screens and try to find talent.

DD: Well, this doesn’t bode well for the music industry.

PA: We’ve killed longevity for an artist. It’s difficult to have a 60-year career today. It’s a ‘like you today, hate you tomorrow’ kind of mentality.  It’s about instant gratification, which sucks the soul out of everything. It’s not about making good music.

DD: Do you like today’s music?

PA:  I like a lot of it. I like what’s happening lately.

I listen to everything. Bruno Mars is brilliant. He keeps one foot in today and the other foot in the Gap Band. There are some great voices out there now – especially in the gospel market – Kim Burrell is just incredible. I mean, what is that? She’s just incredible.

DD: What did you expect from the industry and what did you get?

PA:  I didn’t expect jack from anything, therefore, everything is interesting, everything is a joy and everything is a learning experience.  Expectation is stupid. You want to see God laugh, make a plan. I expect nothing. I don’t even expect to wake up the next morning. I try to stay in the moment and enjoy the moment.