Born in Baltimore in 1935 Billie Holiday, affectionately known as Lady Day is up there amongst the great iconic jazz giants of the 20th century.
She booked her place alongside the immortals Bird, Prez, Miles, Duke, Satchmo, Diz, Ella, Bessie by both living the kind of life you could not have made up and singing with a such an anguished and emotive voice that reflected the life she was living!
AVID’s Essential Billie Holiday collection charts her rise to fame from 1935 as vocalist with Teddy Wilson to starting out on her own the following year, through to 1955, four years before her untimely death at just 44.
It was a measure of her stature that she was able to include as her sidemen such greats as Benny Goodman, Roy Eldridge, Ben Webster, Johnny Hodges, Benny Carter and of course Lester “Prez” Young the man who had christened her Lady Day!
CD2 continues the story to 1955 and includes such classics as Strange Fruit, That Ol’ Devil Called Love, Lover Man and God Bless The Child a song co-written by Billie herself.
Listen and be blown away as the legend once more comes to life. In the current climate of female jazz vocalists from Norah Jones to Diana Krall , Billie Holiday still sounds as contemporary today as she did over 50 years ago and is still the best in our humble opinion!!
CD1
1. A Sunbonnet Blue
2. What A Little Moonlight Can Do
3. Billie’s Blues
4. Eeny Meeny Miney Mo
5. These ‘n’ That ‘n’ Those
6. One, Two, Button Your Shoe
7. The Way You Look Tonight
8. With Thee I Swing
9. The Man I Love
10. A Fine Romance
11. It’s Like Reaching For The Moon
12. Let’s Call A Heart A Heart
13. I Cried For You
14. No Regrets
15. Who Loves You?
16. That’s Life, I Guess
17. On The Sentimental Side
18. What A Night, What A Moon, What A Boy! (What A Night, What A Moon, What A Girl!)
19. I Must Have That Man
20. Spreadin’ Rhythm Around
21. You Go To My Head
22. Yankee Doodle Never Went To Town
23. Night And Day
24. Easy To Love
25. Yesterdays
CD2
1. That Ole Devil Called Love (with Toots Camarata & His Orchestra)
2. Strange Fruit (accompanied by Milt Raskin - piano)
3. Lover Man (with Toots Camarata & His Orchestra)
4. What Is This Thing Called Love? (with Bob Haggart & His Orchestra)
5. Don’t Explain (with Bob Haggart & His Orchestra)
6. Good Morning Heartache (with Bill Stegmeyer & His Orchestra)
7. Solitude (with Bob Haggart & His Orchestra)
8. Easy Living (with Bob Haggart & His Orchestra)
9. I Loves You Porgy (with Bobby Tucker & His Trio)
10. My Man (Mon Homme) (with Bobby Tucker & His Trio)
11. Them There Eyes (with Sy Oliver & His Orchestra)
12. Do Your Duty (with Sy Oliver & His Orchestra)
13. Gimme A Pigfoot (And A Bottle Of Beer) (with Sy Oliver & His Orchestra)
14. Crazy He Calls Me (with Gordon Jenkins & His Orchestra)
15. You’re My Thrill (with Gordon Jenkins & His Orchestra)
16. Now Or Never (with Sy Oliver & His Orchestra)
17. God Bless The Child (with studio group)
18. Willow Weep For Me (Billie Holiday & Her Orchestra)
19. Stormy Blues (Billie Holiday & Her Orchestra)
20. I Get A Kick Out Of You (Billie Holiday & Her Orchestra)
21. A Ghost Of A Chance (Billie Holiday & Her Orchestra)
22. Isn’t This A Lovely Day? (Billie Holiday & Her Orchestra)
23. Gone With The Wind (Billie Holiday & Her Orchestra - piano & drums only)
