‘Celebrating Ella and More’ – Leslie Lewis & Gerard Hagen, Crazy Coqs, 25 April

Key Takeaways

• Show honors Ella Fitzgerald’s 99th birthday with fresh reinterpretations
• Duo adds Paris‑based bassist Peter Giron and LA drummer Jerry Kalaf
• Lewis and Hagen have released eight albums together
• Tour history spans Europe, Asia, Africa, and the United States
• Performance blends classic standards with modern harmonic twists

Pulse Analysis

Ella Fitzgerald’s vocal artistry continues to shape contemporary jazz, and anniversaries of her birth often spark renewed interest in her repertoire. By aligning the show with what would have been her 99th birthday, Lewis and Hagen tap into a cultural moment that resonates with both longtime aficionados and newer listeners seeking authentic yet innovative interpretations. Their approach treats the Great American Songbook as a living document, allowing phrasing, tempo, and harmonic color to evolve while preserving the emotional core that made Fitzgerald a household name.

The partnership between Leslie Lewis and Gerard Hagen has matured over two decades, yielding eight collaborative albums that blend traditional swing sensibilities with modern harmonic exploration. Their recent move from Los Angeles to Paris reflects a strategic embrace of the European jazz circuit, where venues like Crazy Coqs offer intimate acoustics ideal for nuanced dialogue between voice and piano. Augmenting the duo with Paris‑based bassist Peter Giron and longtime Los Angeles drummer Jerry Kalaf creates a bi‑continental rhythm section that mirrors the artists’ own transatlantic journey, enriching the performance’s texture.

In today’s live‑music market, small‑capacity clubs that prioritize sound quality and audience proximity are experiencing a resurgence, and Crazy Coqs exemplifies this trend. A program that fuses revered standards with fresh arrangements appeals to concertgoers looking for both nostalgia and novelty, driving ticket sales and media coverage. Moreover, the event highlights a broader industry pattern: legacy artists and emerging talent collaborating to keep the jazz canon relevant, thereby sustaining streaming royalties, radio play, and festival bookings for the genre’s ecosystem.