FROM PRODUCER JOEL A. MARTIN (AKA “THE BENTLEY”) I never knew “Intimate Ella” was the only CD Ella Fitzgerald recorded as a duet with pianist Paul Smith until Sharon came to me with this idea for a CD tribute. As we started planning this project I thought, “What better way to honor the genius and artistry of Ella, with simplicity.” Piano and vocal in the most - should I say it - intimate fashion. 2 people sitting down in a room and communing with the spirits of the Great American Song Book and more. After 10 years of playing together with Sharon, watching her perform worldwide with quartets, big bands and symphonies, this recording brings the sublime and subtle nature of the duet back to the forefront. We did not record everything from the original CD – only half - and then we added some unusual settings of songs we believe Ella would have sung on her recording. May Ella smile from heaven as she listens to the music. Happy 100th Birthday! “For me to pay homage to the woman who laid the foundation for all jazz vocalists is the ultimate honor. Ella personifies everything a jazz vocalist should be. Ella’s legacy will continue to live through what we’ve done on this historically important project.” Sharón Clark Washington, D.C. standout Sharón Clark has brought festival and concert audiences to their feet across the U.S. and Europe. Her New York run at the Metropolitan Room drew raves from the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal, and she won New York’s Bistro Award for Best Vocalist. In 2007 Ms. Clark won the Gold Medal and $10,000 top prize at the Savannah Music Festival's American Traditions Competition. On the heels of that competition Sharon took first place in the Billie Holiday Vocal Competition, which offers a $2,500 prize along with a featured appearance with the Baltimore Symphony. She appears regularly across D.C. at Blues Alley and the Loews Madison Hotel. A featured soloist with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, the Richmond Symphony, and the Baltimore Symphony, Ms. Clark has headlined the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, the Cape May Jazz Festival and the Savannah Music Festival. Both the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and The Ludacris Foundation chose Ms. Clark to perform for their separate tributes to Quincy Jones. Ms. Clark has made multiple international tours in recent years, making her debut in Israel and returning to Russia, where she has developed a major following. Her most recent release, “Do it Again — My Tribute to Shirley Horn,” is on its third printing, and she grabs top honors wherever she goes. Nowadays Sharon is in high demand performing and conducting master classes internationally. Sharon has performed over 250 concerts in Russia alone. Sharon has toured in Armenia, Turkey, Israel, Denmark, Latvia, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Montenegro. Sharón Clark resides in the US and Sweden. Pianist/producer/composer/arranger Joel A. Martin is the creator of Jazzical®, a marriage of classical of jazz, and more. In the last couple of years he has collaborated with and/or written music for Grammy® Award-winners Kathleen Battle, Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, cellist Eugene Friesen of the Paul Winter Consort, and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jaimoe of the Allman Brothers, among many other artists. Joel has been featured as soloist with the NY Philharmonic, El Paso Symphony, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Hartford Symphony, and countless other symphony orchestras. Joel, at 17 years of age, was the youngest pianist ever, and the first African American pianist, to compete in the 1985 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Joel's 7th Jazzical® CD, Jazzical Meets Menken, released in Oct. 2013 at NYC's famed Birdland, honored multiple Oscar/Grammy/Tony Award-winning Disney/Broadway composer Alan Menken (Aladdin, Little Mermaid, Little Shop of Horrors, Enchanted, Pocahontas). With Broadway legends Liz Callaway, Amanda McBroom, Christine Pedi, & the Gay Men's Chorus of LA, Jazzical Meets Menken features 12 Menken songs and two world premieres. In the Fall 2017, Joel collaborated with Kathleen Battle in an historic return concert at the MET Opera House showcasing “Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey” to a packed audience of 4000 people. Plans for 2017 include touring around the world with Kathleen Battle and her program “Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey,” and the release of several CDs produced by Joel in jazz, musical theater, classical/improvisation, duo piano SONICALS with George Lopez, positive rappers Roshay featuring Aj, and the 8th CD in the Jazzical series, Jazzical Rocks! featuring the Jazzical Symphony Orchestra.