GEOFFREY MARK SINGS ELLA Comes to Santa Monica Library

Sponsored by Thornapple Consulting LLC, "Geoffrey Mark Sings ELLA" is a celebration of what would have been Ella Fitzgerald's 101 on April 25th, a new show and book about the Legendary Ella Fitzgerald, with full support of the Fitzgerald estate and foundation, has been produced and written by Emmy(R) Award winner, Grammy(R) Award nominee and best selling author, Geoffrey Mark.

DATE: Monday, August 8th
TIME: 6:00pm to 7:00pm
VENUE: Santa Monica Library: 601 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica
TICKETS: 616 406 9766 or visit: http://www.heidihilton.com

The show and the book were developed with material from the archives of her estate, this Centennial Plus 1 Birthday Edition is illustrated with 275 photos of Ella, with artifacts from her life and internationally acclaimed career. In addition to the regular book, there will be a Delux Edition with an exclusive 2 CD set, in which proceeds with benefit The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation.

To date, appearances, signings and performances of selections form the Ella Fitzgerald songbook have appeared in New York City and Terreytown in NY; Baltimore and Pikesville in MD; Palm Springs, Glendale and Pasadena in CA with more to be announced.

Geoffrey Mark, has diligently put together the ultimate ELLA biography, this tome not only covers her entire career with many never-before seen photos, interviews, and anecdotes, but delivers for the first time the true, untold story of Ella - the woman. ELLA reveals the unknown side of the famous vocalist, including ...

*** Survived sexual and physical abuse, including torture, before she was fifteen
*** Before being discovered, lived on the streets of Harlem, working as a numbers-runner and a lookout for prostitutes
*** First African-American woman of the Big Band era to lead her own Big Band
*** The most recorded (non-classical) woman in history
*** The woman with the largest catalogue of CDs released in history
*** The first person to win two Grammy Awards in one year
*** Her support of the Civil Rights Movement, both her time and money to helping Dr. Martin Luther King
*** Most honored female singer in history, with Grammy Awards, doctorates, and medals from many governments
*** Appearances on TV shows of Ed Sullivan, Carol Burnett, Dean Martin, Dinah Shore and many others
*** Her encounters and relationships with Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Louis Armstrong, Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughan, The Manhattan Transfer, Karen Carpenter, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Chick Webb, Dizzy Gillespie, Dinah Shore and many other icons of show business
*** Ella's travels all over the world, so there is something locally interesting to people in London, Paris, Berlin, Hamburg, Toronto, Tokyo, Rome, Nice, Paris, Juan-Les-Pins, Brussels, Stockholm, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Montreux, Amsterdam and many other exotic cities

The author is not only an award-winning author but interacted with Ella's inner circle towards the end of her life, performing her songs with their original arrangements and telling insider stories at every venue

For more information, please visit https://www.facebook.com/TheEllaBook/

"ELLA: A Biography of the Legendary Ella Fitzgerald"
Definitive New Biography to be released with CDs for Ella's Centennial Year

Ultimate Symbol today announced the publication in February, 2018 of "ELLA: A Biography of the Legendary Ella Fitzgerald," by Geoffrey Mark. This Centennial Birthday Edition is illustrated with 275 photos of Ella, with artifacts from her life and internationally acclaimed career. Developed with material from the archives of her estate, ELLA reveals the unknown side of the famous vocalist. This tome not only covers her entire career with many never-before seen photos, interviews, and
anecdotes, but delivers for the first time the true, untold story of Ella - the woman.

A "Deluxe Edition" will also be available that includes an exclusive 2-CD set of forty studio and live tracks. These tracks were carefully selected by Ella expert/author Mark from all four of her major recording labels, gathering for the first time ever in one collection the best of her work from 1935 through 1990, and programmed as she would have sung them in live performance. This collection is exclusive to the book and cannot be purchased elsewhere.

Ella Jane Fitzgerald became an internationally celebrated cultural force who has been called the greatest female singer in history. ELLA chronicles the ultimate rags-to-riches embodiment of the American dream, whose personal life was one of the best-kept secrets in show business. In her lifetime, the "The First Lady of Song" sold over 40 million albums, wrote hit songs, devoted herself to philanthropy, and amassed countless awards and commendations, including 13 Grammys, honorary doctorates from Harvard and Yale, the National Medal of Arts, France's Commander of Arts and Letters, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Miss Fitzgerald is known in every part of the world as "Queen of Jazz," "First Lady of Song," "Mama Jazz," and "The Memorex Lady." Her bittersweet life juxtaposes the tragedy of a homeless orphan who faced poverty, racial prejudice, sexual and physical abuse, with a talent and a burning ambition that led to an astonishing musical career spanning seven decades. She was an African American woman who fought racism and sexism in an industry completely dominated by white males. Despite her challenges, Ella Fitzgerald topped them all, enjoying a career and a musical legacy rivaling or surpassing those of Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and Michael Jackson.