SUBLIME HOLIDAY

When Billie Holiday died of drug and alcohol related illness at the age of forty-four the world lost one of its most beloved and influential singers. From the time of her 1933 recording debut with Benny Goodman at the tender age of eighteen to Lady In Satin, her 1958 swan song, the singer born Eleanora Fagan changed the way jazz vocalists were perceived.

Although her vocal range was not exceptional, Billie Holiday conveyed an extraordinary range of emotion via her phrasing and intonation. Whether pensive or playful, embodying hope or drowning in despair, Lady Day offered audiences access to her deepest humanity, its mystery and misery.

"Every exceptional artist I ever met, that performed jazz or popular music, told me that their inspiration for playing the right way was Billie Holiday. Nobody—I mean nobody—was more honest than Billie Holiday." TONY BENNETT*

The 42 tracks compiled on this three record set cover most of Billie Holiday’s career: 1934 to 1958. Across three decades we hear Holiday’s amazing range, from swinging standards like "All of me" to the plaintive yearning of "Lover man (Oh where can you be)".

"One of the wonderful things about her is that she lights up some pretty average songs, and there’s a playfulness on the earlier records." ELVIS COSTELLO

Even when cranking out a chestnut like "When you’re smiling (the whole world smiles with you)" you still have that languid, velvet slur, so beguiling yet vulnerable, world weary yet enticing. And on most of these tracks, great accompanists. The pianist on "When you’re smiling" is band leader Teddy Wilson while Lester Young’s sax compliments Holiday’s voice perfectly.

"Much more important than the drugs was her sexuality, her sexiness. She seduces you immediately." MARIANNE FAITHFULL

Standards such as "Body and soul", "Stormy weather", and "Summertime" show the singer’s effortless mastery. As well as a celebration of an immortal performer, a compilation like this can also be a gateway into jazz for those wary of the style’s complexity. Classic songs such as "A fine romance" or "One for my baby (and one more for the road)" have clever and engaging lyrics and tunes you can easily sing along to. The arrangements are classy yet uncluttered, boasting brief solos from some of the greatest instrumentalists of each era.

Special mention must be made of the utterly transfixing "Strange fruit", the track opening side five of this set. It is worth looking up the story of this extraordinary song, written by a Jewish school teacher and addressing the taboo subject of mob executions of African Americans. Holiday’s performances and recordings of this epochal song brought her considerable fame (if not fortune); it is a song that changed the world, or at least the USA.

"Billie Holiday was a tough cookie. Contrary to the lyrics of her songs, many of which were about being taken advantage of by men, she had very clear ideas about what she did musically." DEBBIE HARRY, BLONDIE.

Billie Holiday—The Platinum Collection gathers over forty tracks from across the singer’s career. Given that many of these recordings are from a far distant time, the sound quality is more than acceptable and the white-vinyl pressing adequate. More than anything else, however, this set (and its companions in the Platinum series) offer fabulous value for money. Check this one out if there is a Billie Holiday hole in your collection. It could be the beginning of "A fine romance".

© Bruce Jenkins—May 2023

* All artist quotes are from the booklet accompanying the Columbia/Legacy CD release Lady Day: The Best Of Billie Holiday (2001)