That Swingin’ Sound!: The Musical Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

Gr 1-3–Though the long musical careers of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong largely ran along separate tracks, Rajan (“This Is Music” board books) finds a neat way to link the two iconic figures in the history of American music. Because Fitzgerald, renowned as a scat singer, could vocalize like a brassy horn, and Satchmo could make his sweet trumpet sound almost human, together on stage they could trade notes and phrases back and forth until their music took on an irresistible swing. This book retraces Fitzgerald’s and Armstrong’s musical journeys—he, growing up in New Orleans and starting out as a street corner singer; she, a would-be dancer from a Harlem orphanage—until they came together to perform a toe-tapping, high-stepping concert at the Hollywood Bowl in 1956. Even young readers who may not be familiar with jazz, Fitzgerald, or Armstrong will come away from the book with a sense of what their bright, brilliant music was like, as Daley’s illustrations show the very streets and buildings shimmying and twisting in time to soaring ribbons of musical notes, dancing lights, and sonic exuberance. Along with a discography, the back matter includes both a list of sources and recommended further reading for younger audiences.