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Billie Holiday's first recordings for Norman Granz' Clef Records present a vocalist truly at the top of her craft, although she would begin a rapid decline soon thereafter. This 1952 recording (originally issued as a 10" LP, Billie Holiday Sings) places Holiday in front of small piano and tenor saxophone-led groups including jazz luminaries such as Oscar Peterson and Charlie Shavers, where her gentle phrasing sets the tone for the sessions, evoking lazy evenings and dreamy afternoons. The alcoholism and heroin use that would be her downfall by the end of this decade seems to be almost unfathomable during these recordings since Holiday is in as fine a voice as her work in the '30s, and the musical environment seems ideal for these slow torch songs. Solitude runs as the common theme throughout these 16 tracks; the idle breathiness of "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)" finds the vocalist casually reminiscing, and Barney Kessel's warm guitar lines frame the title track beautifully. Several of Holiday's best-known recordings came from this session, including outstanding versions of "I Only Have Eyes for You" and a darkly emotional "Love for Sale," making this album far and away the best work of her later years, and certainly a noteworthy moment of her entire career.
© Zac Johnson /TiVo
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Billie Holiday, MainArtist - BROOKS BOWMAN, Composer, Lyricist
2010 World Music Records 2010 World Music Records
Richard Rodgers, Composer, Lyricist - Lorenz Hart, Composer, Lyricist - Billie Holiday, MainArtist
2010 World Music Records 2010 World Music Records
Billie Holiday, MainArtist - Haven Gillespie, Composer - Fred Coots, Lyricist
2010 World Music Records 2010 World Music Records
Sidney Mitchell, Composer - Billie Holiday, MainArtist - Louis Alter, Lyricist
2010 World Music Records 2010 World Music Records
Cole Porter, Composer, Lyricist - Billie Holiday, MainArtist
2010 World Music Records 2010 World Music Records
Billie Holiday, MainArtist - Harry Link, Lyricist - Holt Marvell, Lyricist - Jack Stracky, Composer
2010 World Music Records 2010 World Music Records
Billie Holiday, MainArtist - AL DUBIN, Lyricist - Harry Warren, Composer
2010 World Music Records 2010 World Music Records
Duke Ellington, Lyricist - Billie Holiday, MainArtist - Irving Mills, Composer - Eddie Delange, Lyricist
2010 World Music Records 2010 World Music Records
Billie Holiday, MainArtist - Harold Adamson, Lyricist - Burton Lane, Composer
2010 World Music Records 2010 World Music Records
Cole Porter, Composer, Lyricist - Billie Holiday, MainArtist
2010 World Music Records 2010 World Music Records
Billie Holiday, MainArtist - Irving Mills, Composer - Will Hudson, Lyricist - Eddie Delange, Lyricist
2010 World Music Records 2010 World Music Records
Billie Holiday, MainArtist - Jack Lawrence, Composer - WALTER GROSS, Lyricist
2010 World Music Records 2010 World Music Records
Album review
Billie Holiday's first recordings for Norman Granz' Clef Records present a vocalist truly at the top of her craft, although she would begin a rapid decline soon thereafter. This 1952 recording (originally issued as a 10" LP, Billie Holiday Sings) places Holiday in front of small piano and tenor saxophone-led groups including jazz luminaries such as Oscar Peterson and Charlie Shavers, where her gentle phrasing sets the tone for the sessions, evoking lazy evenings and dreamy afternoons. The alcoholism and heroin use that would be her downfall by the end of this decade seems to be almost unfathomable during these recordings since Holiday is in as fine a voice as her work in the '30s, and the musical environment seems ideal for these slow torch songs. Solitude runs as the common theme throughout these 16 tracks; the idle breathiness of "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)" finds the vocalist casually reminiscing, and Barney Kessel's warm guitar lines frame the title track beautifully. Several of Holiday's best-known recordings came from this session, including outstanding versions of "I Only Have Eyes for You" and a darkly emotional "Love for Sale," making this album far and away the best work of her later years, and certainly a noteworthy moment of her entire career.
© Zac Johnson /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 12 track(s)
- Total length: 00:38:25
- Main artists: Billie Holiday
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: World Music Records
- Genre: Jazz Vocal Jazz
2010 World Music Records 2010 World Music Records
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