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Montreal, Saturday, July 1st, 2006 - The Festival International de Jazz de Montral is proud
to announce the awarding of the 2006 Ella-Fitzgerald Award to internationally renowned singer
Etta James. The prize will be presented to Miss James on stage at her performance tonight at 8
p.m. in the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des Arts as part of the Pleins feux General Motors series.
Etta James is the eighth recipient of the Ella-Fitzgerald Award, created in 1999 for the 20th
anniversary of the Festival. The prize is awarded to jazz singers whose improvisational skills,
originality and uniqueness of voice have been universally praised on the international scene.
Discovered by Johnny Otis when she was just 15, Etta James has become a veritable legend over a
career that's spanned 5 decades. Her stunning vocals and generous delivery have influenced any
number of other great singers, from Bonnie Raitt to Janis Joplin and Diana Ross. But the woman
who's considered to be the greatest living exponent of blues and R & B has a lot more than just
that to give, lending her vocal skills to many other musical genres.
Her creative and
unforgettable re-settings of the songs of Simply Red, John Lennon, James Brown, Prince and
Marvin Gaye are something to behold. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is
ranked alonside Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Ray Charles
in the pantheon of great American singers.
n accepting the prize, Etta James will be following previous Ella-Fitzgerald prizewinners
Al Jarreau (2005) Tony Bennett (2004), Bobby McFerrin (2003), Dianne Reeves (2002),
Diana Krall (2001), Dee Dee Bridgewater (2000) and Diane Schuur (1999).
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High and Outside
By Jeff Fitzgerald, Genius
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