Remembering Riverdale roots of ‘Queen of Jazz’

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Ella Fitzgerald, the queen of jazz, may be gone, but her wide-ranging voice still soothes the souls of many fans around the world.

Fitzgerald’s scat singing echoed throughout the jam-packed Winter Garden Pavillion at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale recently, where a commemorative cultural medallion was placed on a building there where the singer lived for a short time as a child. 

Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, chair of the Historic Landmark Preservation Center, introduced more than 150 people at a ceremony to the life and work of Fitzgerald. More than 110 informative plaques have been installed throughout New York City representing residents of the arts, sciences, law, business, education, sports and politics through the medallion program.

“It is a privilege to commemorate this notable New Yorker, who has contributed so much to the life and spirit of our city, our nation, and around the world,” Spielvogel said. “Ella’s legacy lives on, in her music, and in her generous contributions to later generations of children, and others, in need.”

Fitzgerald was born in Newport News, Virginia. Her family moved to Yonkers in 1924 where she had a stable and reasonably happy childhood, Spielvogel said. But that stability vanished when her mother died in a traffic accident. Fitzgerald left Yonkers at 15 to live with her aunt, Virginia Williams, who was described as a hard-working woman who raised two children of her own. 

Williams, however, could not keep Fitzgerald off the streets. By April 1933, a court in New York deemed Fitzgerald “ungovernable,” according to Spielvogel, and she was sentenced to the state’s training school for girls.

“Very unfortunate turn in her life,” Spielvogel said. 

On her way to the training school, she spent time at the Palisade Avenue site that would later become the Hebrew Home. Then, however, it was known as the Colored Orphan Asylum. She left for upstate only to escape and return to New York City, where she ultimately lived on the streets of Harlem.

“Her remarkable story, among other things, can tell you how music can transform a life,” Spielvogel said.

Fitzgerald made her debut at Harlem’s Apollo Theater in September 1934 for amateur night. That was one of the first steps of Fitzgerald’s long career that would ultimately launch her to stardom.

In her lifetime, Fitzgerald won 13 Grammys, sold more than 40 million albums, and charted such hits as “Dream a Little Dream of Me” and “A-Tisket, A-Tasket.” Fitzgerald also worked with legendary artists like Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, and Benny Goodman. 

But most importantly, she never forgot her beginnings. Once a year, she returned to the orphanage in Riverdale with gifts for the children.

“She wanted to support anything that lends a helping hand to the young and to children,” Spielvogel said. 

And Spielvogel should know — she was pen-pals with Fitzgerald beginning in 1972, and grew to be very close with star, who died in 1996. Spielvogel shared some of their letters in her book, “Open Secrets.” 

Throughout the Hebrew Home ceremony, jazz historians shared sentiments about how Fitzgerald touched the lives of many worldwide with her voice. Shortly afterward, pianist Genovis Albright played Frank Sinatra’s “My Buddy” in tribute to the jazz icon. A group of children from Harlem Dowling-West Side Center recited a poem “I Dream a World” by Langston Hughes.

Hebrew Home chief executive Daniel Reingold shared what it meant to him celebrating the life and music of Fitzgerald.

“The fact that Ella Fitzgerald lived right here in Riverdale is an important piece of history, and I’m sure that some Riverdalians don’t even know that,” Reingold said. “So the fact that we have a medallion right up on Palisade Avenue, so that all the people that pass by will know, is very important.”

The medallion — which looks like a large version of a penny red stamp — shares a little bit about Fitzgerald’s life and her connection to the property. Two were installed at Hebrew home, one at the front entrance, and the second on the front gate on Palisade.

“History is something that we have to honor, and when we forget history, we really lose a part of ourselves,” Reingold said. “Ella is probably the most famous black female singer in American history. The fact that she was right here in Riverdale and that we can all walk in the same place she walked is really a gift for all of us, and something that we’re really proud to be part of.”

Ella Fitzgerald, Hebrew Home at Riverdale, Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, Historic Landmark Preservation Center, Daniel Reingold, Graciano Clause

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