Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
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
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From £10.83/month
Barney Kessel, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Billie Holiday, MainArtist - RAY BROWN, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - BROOKS BOWMAN, ComposerLyricist - Oscar Peterson, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Alvin Stoller, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Charlie Shavers, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Flip Phillips, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Granz, Producer
℗ 1952 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Richard Rodgers, Composer - Lorenz Hart, Author - Barney Kessel, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Billie Holiday, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - RAY BROWN, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Oscar Peterson, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Alvin Stoller, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Charlie Shavers, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Flip Phillips, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Granz, Producer
℗ 1952 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Barney Kessel, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Billie Holiday, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - RAY BROWN, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - J. Fred Coots, ComposerLyricist - Dizzy Gillespie, ComposerLyricist - Oscar Peterson, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Alvin Stoller, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Charlie Shavers, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Flip Phillips, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Granz, Producer
℗ 1952 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Sidney D. Mitchell, Author - Barney Kessel, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Billie Holiday, MainArtist - RAY BROWN, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Louis Alter, Composer - Oscar Peterson, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Alvin Stoller, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Charlie Shavers, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Flip Phillips, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Granz, Producer
℗ 1952 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Cole Porter, ComposerLyricist - Barney Kessel, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Billie Holiday, MainArtist - RAY BROWN, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Oscar Peterson, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Alvin Stoller, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Charlie Shavers, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Flip Phillips, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Granz, Producer
℗ 1952 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Barney Kessel, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Billie Holiday, MainArtist - RAY BROWN, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Jack Strachey, Composer - Harry Link, Composer - Holt Marvell, Author - Oscar Peterson, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Alvin Stoller, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Charlie Shavers, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Flip Phillips, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Granz, Producer
℗ 1952 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Barney Kessel, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Billie Holiday, MainArtist - RAY BROWN, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - AL DUBIN, ComposerLyricist - Harry Warren, ComposerLyricist - Oscar Peterson, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Alvin Stoller, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Charlie Shavers, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Flip Phillips, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Granz, Producer
℗ 1952 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Duke Ellington, Composer - Barney Kessel, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Billie Holiday, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - RAY BROWN, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Irving Mills, Author - Eddie Delange, Author - Oscar Peterson, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Alvin Stoller, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Charlie Shavers, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Flip Phillips, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Granz, Producer
℗ 1952 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Barney Kessel, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Billie Holiday, MainArtist - RAY BROWN, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Harold Adamson, ComposerLyricist - Burton Lane, ComposerLyricist - Oscar Peterson, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Alvin Stoller, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Charlie Shavers, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Flip Phillips, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Granz, Producer
℗ 1952 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Cole Porter, ComposerLyricist - Barney Kessel, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Billie Holiday, MainArtist - RAY BROWN, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Oscar Peterson, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Alvin Stoller, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Charlie Shavers, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Flip Phillips, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Granz, Producer
℗ 1953 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Barney Kessel, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Billie Holiday, MainArtist - RAY BROWN, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Irving Mills, ComposerLyricist - Will Hudson, ComposerLyricist - Eddie Delange, ComposerLyricist - Oscar Peterson, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Alvin Stoller, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Charlie Shavers, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Flip Phillips, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Granz, Producer
℗ 1952 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Barney Kessel, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Billie Holiday, MainArtist - RAY BROWN, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Jack Lawrence, ComposerLyricist - Oscar Peterson, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - WALTER GROSS, ComposerLyricist - Alvin Stoller, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Charlie Shavers, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Flip Phillips, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Granz, Producer
℗ 1952 UMG Recordings, Inc.
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: 00:38:33
- Main artists: Billie Holiday
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Verve Reissues
- Genre: Jazz Vocal Jazz
© 1956 UMG Recordings, Inc. This Compilation ℗ 1956 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Distinctions:
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.