Award-winning jazz vocalist April Varner announces Ella, a vibrant tribute album to the First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald, arriving March 20, 2026 via Cellar Music Group. The recording finds Varner reimagining Fitzgerald classics through contemporary arrangements that honor the spirit of the original performances while forging an entirely fresh artistic path.

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Varner's connection to Fitzgerald deepened significantly in 2023 when she won the International Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition. "I only just started singing jazz back in 2016," Varner explains. "The first vocalist I remembered listening to was naturally the First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald. Everything about her, her vibrant personality on stage, the ease in which she captured her audience's attention, and the effortless range of her voice—I knew she would be my biggest inspiration. I always knew I'd want to dedicate an album to her given all that her music has done for me in my career."

 Rather than attempting imitation, Varner captures Fitzgerald's essence while maintaining her distinctive vocal identity. The album features pianist and arranger Emmet Cohen, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, and drummer and producer Ulysses Owens Jr. on the small group tracks, with additional arrangements by trumpeter Brian Lynch for the big band selections. The ensemble also includes pianist William Hill III, trumpeters Nathaniel Williford and Michael Cruse, trombonists Jeffrey Miller and Jacob Melsha, and saxophonists Cleave Guyton and Bruce Williams.

The album opens with "A-Tisket, A-Tasket," Fitzgerald's 1938 breakthrough hit. Cohen's arrangement alternates between swing and Latin feels, with Varner offering a completely different perspective on the nursery rhyme adaptation. "A-Tisket, A-Tasket was Ella Fitzgerald's first major hit and her launch to stardom in 1938," says Varner. "I felt it was only fitting to kick off this album with this iconic tune."

Cole Porter's "I've Got You Under My Skin" showcases Lynch's tight big band arrangement with dramatic shifts between Latin and swing sections. Varner's sophisticated approach to melody and rhythm demonstrates her technical command without drawing attention to the craft itself. The album's second single, "Night and Day," strips away the brassy energy for an intimate reading of Porter's love song. "Night and Day has to be my top favorite Cole Porter composition," Varner notes. "I especially love the famous verse, and Emmet does a masterful job with the floating reharmonizations and lulling atmosphere."

According to liner notes writer Thomas Cunniffe, "This is the true mark of a great singer: the ability to sing softly while effectively communicating an intimate message." The ballad medley that follows includes "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night" (a song Fitzgerald never recorded) and "In the Wee Small Hours," with Varner's warm delivery suggesting temporary separation rather than permanent loss.

"Cheek to Cheek" highlights the musical partnership between Varner and Nakamura, whose bass work pays homage to Fitzgerald's former husband, the legendary Ray Brown. Cunniffe writes that "April and Yasushi perform like a well-prepared dance team, each one doing their best to make their partner look good."

The deceptively complex arrangement of "Mr. Paganini" draws from the multi-tempo innovations of the Boswell Sisters, early influences on Fitzgerald herself. On "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," Varner takes a different approach than Fitzgerald's celebrated Rodgers and Hart Songbook version, featuring an extended spotlight for Cohen before closing with melodic variation. "Fly Me to the Moon" opens with the tender verse before settling into gentle swing, while "Undecided" concludes the album with blazing tempo and brilliant improvisations.

Varner came to jazz during her undergraduate years at Indiana University, initially training in the show choir The Singing Hoosiers before studying with noted jazz vocalists Sachal Vasandani, Tierney Sutton, and then Theo Bleckmann at the Manhattan School of Music. Her previous releases include the critically acclaimed April (2024) and Winter Songs Vol. 2 (2024), both on Cellar Music Group.

Born just one year after Fitzgerald's passing, Varner discovered the icon's expansive recorded legacy through careful study. Ella represents both a continuation of that legacy and a statement of Varner's own artistic voice. "I hope that inspiration shines through to those listening…and my twist on these timeless tunes," she says.

 Derived from Liner Notes by jazz journalist Thomas Cunniffe

 Thank you to Lydia Liebman for sharing with us

April Varner website