70 YEARS AGO: Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, & Louis Armstrong—Two Days (and one night) in Los Angeles that shook the jazz world

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong (and his All Stars) join the Jazz at the Philharmonic troupe as part of an all-star concert produced by Norman Granz at the Hollywood Bowl. The results are issued as the two-LP package (with more material being added in the CD era) as Jazz at the Hollywood Bowl.

That same night, Nat King Cole and Harry Sweets Edison go to a baseball game. Their team, that is the local team—quite possibly the Los Angeles Angels, part of the Pacific Coast league—wins. Nat and Sweets are so elated that, after the game, late in the evening, they gather the rest of Nat’s touring rhythm section (guitarist John Collins, bassist Charlie Harris, and drummer Lee Young) into Studio C at the Capitol Tower and record the first five tracks for what will become Cole’s best-remembered jazz album After Midnight.

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong go into another studio at the Capitol Tower and record the whole of their first full album together, Ella and Louis, with a rhythm section of Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown, and Buddy Rich.

Nat King Cole, joined by his daughter, Natalie (then six years old), his producer, Lee Gillette (with mustache), and his manager. Carlos Gastel, pay a call on Ella and Louis at the Capitol studio. Phil Stern is on hand to take a very famous photo. (However, part of me likes to imagine that Oscar, who was an avid amateur photographer, took the shot—because he isn’t actually in the photo.) Note that Ella and Louis are wearing the same clothes that they are in the very famous Ella and Louis cover photo by Phil Stern.

PS: the Blue Note Tone Poet series is putting out a special 70th anniversary edition of After Midnight this Fall. (Yes, I am involved! If anybody requests it, I will run those album notes here on Substack.) Keep watching this space for details.

Here are some playlists (courtesy youtube):

Very special thanks to Elizabeth Zimmer, Rob Lester, & Dan Fortune for their expert proofing, hey!) Special Thanks again to Daniel Weinstein, Jordan Taylor, & Rob Waldman.)

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Sing! Sing! Sing! : My tagline is, “Celebrating the great jazz—and jazz-adjacent—singers, as well as the composers, lyricists, arrangers, soloists, and sidemen who help to make them great.”
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Buddy Greco @ 100 with Courtney Newman (SSS #210 2026-08-15)
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Jimmy Van Heusen: “On the Road with Bing & Bob”
(SSS #209 2026-08-08)
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Tony Bennett @ 100: “Ultimate Mr. Broadway” (SSS #208 2026-08-01)
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Louis Armstrong: The Great African-American Songbook
(SSS #207 2026-07-25)
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Bastille Day! Jacques Brel (SSS #206 2026-07-18)
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Jazz Goes Broadway! West Side Story
(SSS #205 2026-07-11)
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Judy Garland sings Harold Arlen (SSS #203 2026-06-27)
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July 4th Special—Great American Cities in Song (SSS #204 2026-07-04)
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Miles Davis @ 100: Sketches of Broadway (2026-06-24)
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200th Episode Special! Friedwald’s Favorites & Wilsci’s Winners
(SSS #200 2026-06-06)
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Miles Davis @ 100 | “Miles Ahead”
(SSS #202 2026-05-30 )
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Bobby Darin @ 90 | “By Request”
(SSS #201 2026-05-23)
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Jazz at Lincoln Center Swing University:
A Special video Session: Sinatra in the Sixties (click to view)
With Seton Hawkins & Will Friedwald (Thursday April 2, 2026)

Bing Crosby Birthday Special—Ultimate Broadway Songbook
(SSS #199 2026-05-16)
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The Sacred Music of Duke Ellington—Then and Now
(SSS #198 2026-05-09)
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TONY BENNETT REMEMBERED ON NY1
a video interview with Stephanie Simon and Will Friedwald 2023-07-23
Click Here

Cinco de Mayo:
The Ernesto Lecuona (and Margarita Lecuona) Songbook
(SSS #197 2026-05-02)
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Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn, Johnny Burke, & Jule Styne Songbook(s) (SSS #196 2026-04-25)
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Slouching Towards Birdland (Will Friedwald’s Substack) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.