The Essential Billie Holiday: Carnegie Hall Concert Recorded Live (Mono Remastered) Billie Holiday

• 1 Reading From Lady Sings The Blues 1 02:53
• 2 Lady Sings The Blues 02:38
• 3 Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do 02:31
• 4 Reading From Lady Sings The Blues 2/Trav'lin' Light 00:45
• 5 Reading From Lady Sings The Blues 3 02:07
• 6 Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone 01:43
• 7 I'll Be Seeing You 02:24
• 8 I Love My Man 03:18
• 9 Body And Soul 02:38
• 10 Reading From Lady Sings The Blues 4 00:56
• 11 Don't Explain 02:28
• 12 Yesterdays 01:13
• 13 Reading From Lady Sings The Blues 5 02:50
• 14 My Man 03:13
• 15 I Cried For You 03:09
• 16 Fine And Mellow 03:15
• 17 I Cover The Waterfront 03:44
• 18 What A Little Moonlight Can Do 02:49
• Total Runtime 44:34

Info for The Essential Billie Holiday: Carnegie Hall Concert Recorded Live (Mono Remastered)

It’s an interesting record in that it was recorded in 1956 and issued here in 1961 as part of Verve’s Essentials series, which were tributes to jazz greats on the Verve labels, several of whom, unfortunately, had died. These included Lester Young and Charlie Parker. This album was recorded live at Carnegie Hall as part of a concert in which Holiday sang and in which she also had several sections of her autobiography, Lady Sings The Blues, read aloud to highlight various aspects of her life and to serve as introductions to some of the songs. The readings were performed by Gilbert Millstein, who was a writer for The New York Times and who also contributed liner notes to this record. In addition to Millstein’s notes and commentary, there is also an essay by Nat Hentoff. Here’s an excerpt: “The audience was hers from before she sang, greeting her and saying good-bye with heavy, loving applause. And at one time, the musicians too applauded. It was a night when Billie was on top, undeniably the best and most honest jazz singer alive.”

As a great recording, as well as a piece of jazz history, this is quite a nice package. It also features Roy Eldridge and Buck Clayton on trumpets; Coleman Hawkins, Al Cohn and Tony Scott on reeds; Carl Drinkard on piano; Carson Smith on bass; Chico Hamilton on drums; Kenny Burrell on guitar. The tracks are: Lady Sings the Blues; Tain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do; Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone; I’ll Be Seeing You; I Love My Man; Body and Soul; Don’t Explain; Yesterdays; My Man; I Cried For You; Fine and Mellow; I Cover the Waterfront; What A Little Moonlight Can Do.

Billie Holiday, vocals
Tony Scott, clarinet
Kenny Burrell, guitar
Carl Drinkard, piano
Al Cohn, tenor saxophone
Coleman Hawkins, tenor saxophone
Buck Clayton, trumpet
Roy Eldridge, trumpet
Carson Smith, bass
Chico Hamilton, drums

Recorded on November 10, 1956 at Carnegie Hall Concert, New York
Produced by Norman Granz

Digitally remastered

FYI: We offer this album in its native sampling rate of 44.1 kHz, 24-bit. The provided 192 kHz version was up-sampled and offers no audible value!

No biography found.

This album contains no booklet.