Gearbox Records in conjunction with The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation announce unreleased Ella Fitzgerald® Live recording ‘Live at Falkoner Theatre Copenhagen 6th February 1966’
On 24th July 2026, London analogue specialists Gearbox Records will unearth yet another long-lost gem having just announced the worldwide release of a rare, previously unreleased live recording of the legendary singer, songwriter, composer, and humanitarian, Ella Fitzgerald.
Ella Fitzgerald remains one of the most influential voices in music history, but her legacy isn’t stuck in the past—it’s alive and constantly rediscovered. Her effortless range, improvisation, and iconic scat style shaped generations of artists. From jazz purists to modern producers sampling her work, her sound continues to ripple through culture.
Recorded at Copenhagen’s Falkoner Theatre on 6th February, the tape was a Danmarks Radio broadcast, mono, filed in a Danish producer's private archive, where it languished for decades, earmarked for the bin before Gearbox rescued it. This rare archival release provides yet another opportunity for fans to explore and live in a candid moment in the 13-time/Lifetime Grammy Award-winning singer’s career. By early 1966 Ella Fitzgerald had redefined her standing as an interpreter of the American popular canon, her collaboration with Duke Ellington was well underway, and just the night after this performance she recorded ‘The Stockholm Concert, 1966’, the Pablo Records live album that is now considered among the essential documents of her late career.
This album, however, captures a more spontaneous performance. In the album’s liner notes, seasoned jazz journalist and historian, Syd Schwartz writes about the unique setting of the recording, saying:
“Nobody in that room was playing with thoughts of a pending catalog number. . .
“[Børge Roger] Henrichsen's radio introduction is worth unpacking. He was a keen observer of Ella's previous Copenhagen appearances, and was struck by something he heard that night. Duke Ellington's orchestra was present but the Duke himself was absent. His horn section backed Ella on most of her set; however it was Jimmy Jones at the piano, in addition to his roles as arranger and musical director. With him on both Copenhagen sets were Joe Comfort on bass and Gus Johnson on drums. While Henrichsen noted the orchestra 'surprisingly lost some of the distinctive character it still has under Duke Ellington's direction,' Ella, he observed, 'appeared more lively and less mechanical than at her concerts in Copenhagen in recent years with just a trio.’
"The larger ensemble, even without its most distinctive voice at the keyboard, clearly did something for her.
That observation lands differently once you know what Copenhagen meant to her. She had been performing there since 1952, returning regularly over the following ten years and recording an album there in 1961. She also had an apartment in Klampenborg on the coast north of the city. Like many other Black American jazz musicians of that era, Denmark felt more like home than the USA — it was one of the European cities where Black American jazz musicians found a degree of respect the United States too often denied them. Ella's ease in her adopted home was palpable when she walked onto the Falkoner Theatre stage that Sunday.”
To mark the announcement of the new album, Gearbox Records have shared the recording of Ella’s Grammy Hall of Fame-inducted single ‘How High The Moon’. Full of scat singing and quotations from other melodies, the track perfectly encapsulates how distinct the performance was.
Hear / share ‘How High The Moon’ here
Gearbox Records have a proven history of extricating unheard recordings from near erasure, having released albums by everyone from Thelonious Monk to Roland Kirk, Art Blakey, Sun Ra, and many, many more. By saving this Ella Fitzgerald release, they preserve a singular moment in the celebrated artist’s life, in a city she loved, which very few were lucky enough to experience.
‘Live at Falkoner Theatre Copenhagen 6th February 1966’ is out 24th July via Gearbox Records on vinyl, ace vinyl + cd – pre-order here
Full liner notes and broadcast transcription available upon request.
Tracklisting:
1. Satin Doll
2. Wives & Lovers
3. Something To Live For
4. Let's Do It, Lets Fall In love
5. Sweet Georgia Brown
6. How High The Moon
7. Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be)
8. Só Danço Samba (Jazz 'n' Samba)
9. I'm Just A Lucky So-And-So
10. Mack The Knife
Credits:
Ella Fitzgerald - vocals
Backed by: Duke Ellington Orchestra featuring Jimmy Jones Trio (Tracks 1-7)
Jimmy Jones - piano, director, arranger
William "Cat" Anderson, Mercer Ellington, Herb Jones, Cootie Williams - trumpet
Lawrence Brown, Buster Cooper - trombone
Chuck Connors - bass trombone
Johnny Hodges - alto saxophone
Russell Procope - alto saxophone, clarinet
Paul Gonsalves - tenor saxophone
Harry Carney - baritone saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet
Jimmy Hamilton - clarinet, tenor saxophone
Joe Comfort - double bass
Gus Johnson - drums
Jimmy Jones Trio (Tracks 8-10)
Jimmy Jones - piano
Joe Comfort - double bass
Gus Johnson - drums
Joined by:
Cootie Williams - trumpet
Jimmy Hamilton - clarinet
Recorded at Falkoner Centre, Copenhagen, 6th February 1966
Originally produced by Per Møller Hansen and Børge Roger Henrichsen for Danmarks Radio.
Mastered by Caspar Sutton-Jones at Gearbox Productions
Front cover photograph (c) Jan Persson/CTSIMAGES
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