A wonderful bit of Ella ephemera, her owned 1962 PLAYBOY All-Star Jazz Poll Certificate of Merit, bearing her printed name and the inscription that it was awarded "For having been nominated as one of the outstanding jazz artists of the year in the 1962 PLAYBOY ALL-STAR JAZZ POLL" and that "This certificate is awarded upon the recommendation of a nominating board composed of jazz critics, representatives of America's major recording studios and winners of the 1961 Playboy All-Start Jazz Poll." With the facsimile signature of Hugh Hefner, Editor and Publisher and handwritten ink signature of the presenter, Michael C. Davis. An evocative jazz-themed illustration is printed in black, green and orange on the left. 14.5 x 11 inches. Central fold, a couple of minor stains lower left, else fine.
Although when one thinks of PLAYBOY magazine, the glamorous centerfolds and thought-provoking interviews are often the first things to come to mind, Playboy has had an equally long and mutually beneficial relationship with jazz. Ever since a feature on the Dorsey Brothers graced the inaugural issue 1953 of PLAYBOY, the magazine has been involved with jazz in one way or another and the founder Hugh M. Hefner has long maintained an avid interest in music. The Playboy Jazz Festival in Chicago, the first American indoor jazz festival, produced in 1959, drew more than 68,000 fans at a top dollar price of $5.50 for five shows.
A wonderful bit of Ella ephemera, her owned 1962 PLAYBOY All-Star Jazz Poll Certificate of Merit, bearing her printed name and the inscription that it was awarded "For having been nominated as one of the outstanding jazz artists of the year in the 1962 PLAYBOY ALL-STAR JAZZ POLL" and that "This certificate is awarded upon the recommendation of a nominating board composed of jazz critics, representatives of America's major recording studios and winners of the 1961 Playboy All-Start Jazz Poll." With the facsimile signature of Hugh Hefner, Editor and Publisher and handwritten ink signature of the presenter, Michael C. Davis. An evocative jazz-themed illustration is printed in black, green and orange on the left. 14.5 x 11 inches. Central fold, a couple of minor stains lower left, else fine.
Although when one thinks of PLAYBOY magazine, the glamorous centerfolds and thought-provoking interviews are often the first things to come to mind, Playboy has had an equally long and mutually beneficial relationship with jazz. Ever since a feature on the Dorsey Brothers graced the inaugural issue 1953 of PLAYBOY, the magazine has been involved with jazz in one way or another and the founder Hugh M. Hefner has long maintained an avid interest in music. The Playboy Jazz Festival in Chicago, the first American indoor jazz festival, produced in 1959, drew more than 68,000 fans at a top dollar price of $5.50 for five shows.