At Jazz At The Philharmonic (Mono Remastered) Billie Holiday

• 1 Body And Soul 03:27
• 2 Strange Fruit 02:55
• 3 Trav'lin' Light 03:26
• 4 He's Funny That Way 02:52
• 5 The Man I Love 03:04
• 6 Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good To You? 02:20
• 7 All Of Me 02:02
• 8 Billie's Blues 03:33
• Total Runtime 23:39

Info zu At Jazz At The Philharmonic (Mono Remastered)

The first of seven volumes to present all of Billie Holiday's Verve recordings, „At Jazz At The Philharmonic“ gathers live performances from 1945 to 1947, as well as her 1957 Newport Jazz Festival set and the two songs she sang at the Seven Ages of Jazz Festival in 1958. Throughout, Holiday's voice transcends fluctuations in sound quality to swirl straight into the listener's blood. Lady Day exhibits total control of her achingly expressive, emotionally charged voice and sweeps it through the phrasings of 'Fine and Mellow,' 'The Man I Love,' and 'Trav'lin' Light' with the fluid ease and interpretive brilliance of a seasoned instrumentalist.

There is a noticeable difference in vocal timbre in the Newport recordings-- thicker, darker and more bluesy. While not as technically proficient as her earlier work, there is an appeal to this style as well-- since the sweet, sexy embellishments in 'Nice Work If You Can Get It' and the sustained notes in 'My Man' suggest new approaches to time and phrasing. „At Jazz At The Philharmonic“ is a memorable collection and, at moments, manages to capture Holiday at her finest.

Billie Holiday, vocals
Willie Smith, alto saxophone
Georgie Auld, alto saxophone
Charlie Ventura, tenor saxophone
Coleman Hawkins, tenor saxophone
Lester Young, tenor saxophone
Illinois Jacquet, tenor saxophone
Joe Guy, trumpet
Buck Clayton, trumpet
Howard McGhee, trumpet
Trummy Young, trombone
Milt Raskin, piano
Ken Kersey, piano
Bobby Tucker, piano
Mal Waldron, piano
Dave Barbour, guitar
Barney Kessel, guitar
Tiny Grimes, guitar
Charles Mingus, bass
Curly Russell, bass
Al McKibbon, bass
Charlie Drayton, bass
Joe Benjamin, bass
Milt Hinton, bass
Davie Coleman, drums
J.C. Heard, drums
Jackie Mills, drums
Don Lamond, drums
Jo Jones, drums

Recorded on February 12, 1945 & June 3, October 7, 1946
Produced by Norman Granz

Digitally remastered

FYI: We offer this album in its native sampling rate of 44.1 kHz, 24-bit. The provided 96 kHz version was up-sampled and offers no audible value!

Billie Holiday
was a true artist of her day and rose as a social phenomenon in the 1950s. Her soulful, unique singing voice and her ability to boldly turn any material that she confronted into her own music made her a superstar of her time. Today, Holiday is remembered for her masterpieces, creativity and vivacity, as many of Holiday’s songs are as well known today as they were decades ago. Holiday’s poignant voice is still considered to be one of the greatest jazz voices of all time.

Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan) grew up in jazz talent-rich Baltimore in the 1920s. As a young teenager, Holiday served the beginning part of her so-called “apprenticeship” by singing along with records by Bessie Smith or Louis Armstrong in after-hours jazz clubs. When Holiday’s mother, Sadie Fagan, moved to New York in search of a better job, Billie eventually went with her. She made her true singing debut in obscure Harlem nightclubs and borrowed her professional name – Billie Holiday – from screen star Billie Dove. Although she never underwent any technical training and never even so much as learned how to read music, Holiday quickly became an active participant in what was then one of the most vibrant jazz scenes in the country. She would move from one club to another, working for tips. She would sometimes sing with the accompaniment of a house piano player while other times she would work as part of a group of performers.

At the age of 18 and after gaining more experience than most adult musicians can claim, Holiday was spotted by John Hammond and cut her first record as part of a studio group led by Benny Goodman, who was then just on the verge of public prominence. In 1935 Holiday’s career got a big push when she recorded four sides that went on to become hits, including “What a Little Moonlight Can Do” and “Miss Brown to You.” This landed her a recording contract of her own, and then, until 1942, she recorded a number of master tracks that would ultimately become an important building block of early American jazz music.

Holiday began working with Lester Young in 1936, who pegged her with her now-famous nickname of “Lady Day.” When Holiday joined Count Basie in 1937 and then Artie Shaw in 1938, she became one of the very first black women to work with a white orchestra, an impressive accomplishment of her time.

In the 1930s, when Holiday was working with Columbia Records, she was first introduced to the poem “Strange Fruit,” an emotional piece about the lynching of a black man. Though Columbia would not allow her to record the piece due to subject matter, Holiday went on to record the song with an alternate label, Commodore, and the song eventually became one of Holiday’s classics. It was “Strange Fruit” that eventually prompted Lady Day to continue more of her signature, moving ballads.

Holiday recorded about 100 new recordings on another label, Verve, from 1952 to 1959. Her voice became more rugged and vulnerable on these tracks than earlier in her career. During this period, she toured Europe, and made her final studio recordings for the MGM label in March of 1959.

Despite her lack of technical training, Holiday’s unique diction, inimitable phrasing and acute dramatic intensity made her the outstanding jazz singer of her day. White gardenias, worn in her hair, became her trademark. “Singing songs like the ‘The Man I Love’ or ‘Porgy’ is no more work than sitting down and eating Chinese roast duck, and I love roast duck,” she wrote in her autobiography. “I’ve lived songs like that.”

Billie Holiday, a musical legend still popular today, died an untimely death at the age of 44. Her emotive voice, innovative techniques and touching songs will forever be remembered and enjoyed.

Dieses Album enthält kein Booklet