It Don’t Mean A Thing – 1965

Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington

A rapid and hard-swinging version

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Ed Sullivan presented two immortal giants during an edition of the Ed Sullivan Show in 1965.

Ella Fitzgerald teamed up with the Duke Ellington Orchestra for a brief uptempo version of “It Don’t Mean A Thing” which Ellington had debuted 33 years earlier.

Ella scats up a storm, somehow sounding relaxed even during her most rapid phrases, while Ellington takes a solo (quoting “Satin Doll”) that lets one know that he was always a modern player.

-Scott Yanow

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