Another helping of Brown Sugar with the cool elegance of Ivie Anderson who sang with Duke Ellington's band from 1931 to 1942. Aged only 26 when she started singing with Ellington, she sang on countless recordings which stand the test of time especially for her effortless artistry - IT DON'T MEAN A THING, I'VE GOT THE WORLD ON A STRING, the beautiful STORMY WEATHER, MY OLD FLAME and THERE'S A LULL IN MY LIFE.

She appeared in the Marx Brothers' "A Day At The Races" singing ALL GOD'S CHILLUN GOT RHYTHM and continued to record masterpieces such as MOOD INDIGO, ME AND YOU and here she is seen singing the glorious I GOT IT BAD AND THAT AIN'T GOOD. I find her singing on this to be genuinely thrilling.

However after I GOT IT BAD..., she had only one year left with Ellington before chronic asthma forced her to quit the band and she moved to the the West Coast where she ran a chicken restaurant while still playing the occasional singing date. Sadly her health continued to deteriorate and she died in 1949 aged 44.