Stellar Performer

Things didn’t go to plan when the Queen of Jazz played Wellington, so it was Harry M Miller to the rescue.

- Redmer Yska

The Twist was on high rotation when the Queen of Jazz, Ella Fitzgerald, came here in 1960, but she was still greeted as a sensation. Most of our main centres had smoke-filled basements where cool cats in black turtlenecks flocked to hear jazz until the wee small hours. And every local jazz singer tried to swing like sweet-voiced Ella.

When rookie promoter Harry M Miller signed her for a New Zealand tour, Fitzgerald was already the most famous jazz singer of her day. Tours by big-name artists were rare at the time, and expensive tickets to her shows sold out fast.

Miller, just 25, was nervous. Showing the attention to detail that would make him famous in Australia, he prepared by buying a silver tea service and fine china set for a leisurely afternoon tea with his star.

She was booked to perform two shows in Wellington on December 6, the first at 6.30pm. But the turboprop Electra from Australia was late, ruining any idea of a relaxed cuppa. The plane touched down a nerve-racking 20 minutes before the first concert was due to start, as Miller waited at the airport with flowers – and a Cadillac.