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Avg: 4.5 (25 ratings)
- Date Released: November 17, 1998
- Genre: Jazz
- Label: Columbia/Legacy
- Copyright: Originally released 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, (P) 1998 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Billie in her prime: buoyant, optimistic and compelling
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We Say...
In a sense, there was more than one Billie Holiday. Her career, her voice and her approach to material went through a series of iterations. Greatest Hits focuses largely on Billie in her prime, during a time when her voice was still buoyant, her tone still optimistic, and her phrasing more anticipatory than it was to become in later life. This is the Billie Holiday that gives lie to the stereotype of a jaded, world-weary addict whose expressiveness was conveyed by a hoarse whisper.
As compelling an artist as she was in her doomed later period, hearing Billie at the peak of her vocal power, before strategy overtook unmediated musicality, is a revelation. I'm not saying that the early Billie Holiday was better than the later one, but it's essential to get past her stereotype; Greatest Hits gives you the chance to do just that.
Four of the 13 tracks feature pianist Teddy Wilson's Orchestra. Wilson was, with the possible exception of Jimmy Rowles, Holiday's most responsive accompanist. He provided her with an elegant but ironclad setting that allowed her maximum rhythmic freedom. Holiday needed pianists who trusted her to always know where she was; Wilson understood how solid her time was and let her be.
For anyone who thinks that Billie was merely a purveyor of sorrow, check out the album's first two tracks, "Miss Brown To You" and "What A Little Moonlight Can Do." Her voice nearly bounces off the track on the former, and there's a sly wisdom that battens down the instrumental frivolity of the latter.
Try to listen to the bridge of "Some Other Spring" or any moment of "The Very Thought of You" without your heart breaking (the near-triplet phrasing of "near to you" should be required listening for any aspiring vocalist). Billie also deftly avoids every melodramatic pitfall threatened by the words to "Body and Soul," allowing both message and music to emerge in their full potency.
Then there's "God Bless the Child." Recorded endlessly by everyone imaginable, Billie's remains "the" version of the tune — more subtle, more ironic, kinder, and less theatrical than any other.
Perhaps the most important thing that Billie Holiday can do — and this transcends genre and era — is to make you believe in the lyrics she is singing. No matter how silly or sappy they might be (and the lyrics to the songs she sang ranged from the dreadful to the sublime), she is always able to find the universal truth hidden in the words. Her ability to tell us the truth about both herself and ourselves makes these tunes as fresh and vital today as they were at the time she recorded them. -
They Say...
There's something scandalous about the fact that this 13-song CD is, as of spring 2000, the only upgrade to date of Columbia Records' holdings on Billie Holiday. It's good as far as it goes, as part of Sony Music's 20-bit remastering of the highlights of its jazz catalog, but it makes one wonder how long listeners have to wait for the nine volumes of The Quintessential Billie Holiday to be upgraded for sound. These tracks were all recorded between July 2, 1935, and August 7, 1941; originally cut for Brunswick, Vocalion, and OKeh and now owned by Columbia, they represent highlights from her association with producer John Hammond. They feature Holiday working with Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, Johnny Hodges, Roy Eldridge, and Ben Webster on the earliest tracks; an early hook-up with Artie Shaw; samples of her collaborations with Lester Young and Buck Clayton; the rest of the core of the Count Basie Orchestra working as Billie Holiday and Her Orchestra; and her renditions of "God Bless the Child," "Solitude," "Gloomy Sunday," and "Body and Soul" from the early '40s. It's fascinating to hear the sampling of material featured here and the gradual darkening of Holiday's voice over the six years covered by this collection. There are gaps, of course, and it's interesting that the notes, apart from saying precious little of substance about the music or the recordings, never explain what is not here or why ("Strange Fruit," for example). This 13-song sampler is a decent overview of some highlights of her early work, with ample room for the soloists in her band, and a fine body of blues-influenced swing. Now if Sony would only go back and redo the rest of her catalogs.
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13 Total Tracks, 37:40 Total Length
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Credits
- Count Basie - Piano // Count Basie - Piano // Count Basie - Piano // Count Basie - Piano // Count Basie - Piano // Count Basie - Piano // Count Basie - Piano // Count Basie - Piano // Count Basie - Piano // Count Basie - Piano // Count Basie - Piano // Count Basie - Piano // Count Basie - Piano // Count Basie - Piano // Count Basie - Piano // Count Basie - Leader // Count Basie - Leader // Count Basie - Leader // Count Basie - Leader // Count Basie - Leader // Count Basie - Leader // Count Basie - Leader // Count Basie - Leader // Count Basie - Leader // Count Basie - Leader // Count Basie - Leader // Count Basie - Leader // Count Basie - Leader // Count Basie - Leader // Count Basie - Leader // Bunny Berigan - Trumpet // Bunny Berigan - Trumpet // Bunny Berigan - Trumpet // Bunny Berigan - Trumpet // Al Casey - Guitar // Buck Clayton - Trumpet // Buck Clayton - Trumpet // Roy Eldridge - Trumpet // Roy Eldridge - Trumpet // Roy Eldridge - Trumpet // Roy Eldridge - Trumpet // Roy Eldridge - Trumpet // Benny Goodman - Clarinet // Benny Goodman - Clarinet // Benny Goodman - Clarinet // Benny Goodman - Clarinet // Benny Goodman - Clarinet // Benny Goodman - Clarinet // Benny Goodman - Clarinet // Benny Goodman - Clarinet // Freddie Green - Guitar // Eddie Heywood - Piano // Johnny Hodges - Sax (Alto) // Jo Jones - Drums // Jonah Jones - Trumpet // John Kirby - Bass // John Kirby - Bass // Pete Petersen - Bass // Artie Shaw - Clarinet // Artie Shaw - Clarinet // Artie Shaw - Clarinet // Tab Smith - Sax (Alto) // Tab Smith - Sax (Soprano) // Ben Webster - Sax (Tenor) // Ben Webster - Sax (Tenor) // Ben Webster - Sax (Tenor) // Ben Webster - Sax (Tenor) // Ben Webster - Sax (Tenor) // Ben Webster - Sax (Tenor) // Teddy Wilson - Piano // Teddy Wilson - Piano // Teddy Wilson - Piano // Teddy Wilson - Piano // Teddy Wilson - Piano // Teddy Wilson - Piano // Teddy Wilson - Piano // Lester Young - Clarinet // Lester Young - Clarinet // Lester Young - Clarinet // Lester Young - Sax (Tenor) // Lester Young - Sax (Tenor) // Lester Young - Sax (Tenor) // Joe Bushkin - Piano // Cozy Cole - Drums // Cozy Cole - Drums // Cozy Cole - Drums // Cozy Cole - Drums // Edmond Hall - Clarinet // John Hammond, Sr. - Producer // Benny Morton - Trombone // Babe Russin - Sax (Tenor) // Walter Page - Bass // Bernard Addison - Guitar // Emmett Berry - Trumpet // Billie Holiday - Vocals // Billie Holiday - Vocals // Billie Holiday - Vocals // Billie Holiday - Vocals // Billie Holiday - Vocals // Billie Holiday - Vocals // Billie Holiday - Main Performer // Billie Holiday - Main Performer // Billie Holiday - Main Performer // Billie Holiday - Main Performer // Billie Holiday - Main Performer // Billie Holiday - Main Performer // Lester Boone - Sax (Alto) // Lester Boone - Sax (Tenor) // Harry Carney - Clarinet // Harry Carney - Sax (Baritone) // Paul Chapman - Guitar // Eddie Dougherty - Drums // Eddie Durham - Trombone // Eddie Durham - Guitar (Electric) // Herschel Evans - Sax (Tenor) // Carl Frye - Sax (Alto) // Jimmy Hamilton - Clarinet // J.C. Heard - Drums // Lawrence Lucie - Guitar // Dan Minor - Trombone // Hot Lips Page - Trumpet // Jimmy Powell - Sax (Alto) // Jimmy Powell - Sax (Tenor) // Hymie Schertzer - Sax (Alto) // Kermit Scott - Sax (Tenor) // John Trueheart - Guitar // Earle Warren - Sax (Tenor) // Jack Washington - Sax (Alto) // Jack Washington - Sax (Baritone) // Sonny White - Piano // John Williams - Bass // Kenneth Hollon - Sax (Tenor) // Dick McDonough - Guitar // Herbert Cowans - Drums // Jimmy Sherman - Piano // Grachan Moncur II - Bass // Count Basie Orchestra - Performer // Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra - Orchestra // Nedra Olds-Neal - Compilation Producer // Don Hunstein - Photography // Herman Leonard - Photography // Howard Fritzson - Art Direction // Vic Anesini - Engineer // Margaret Johnson - Piano // Ernie Powell - Sax (Alto) // Ernie Powell - Sax (Tenor) // Chris Athens - Engineer // Stanley Payne - Sax (Tenor) // Randall Martin - Design // Ed Lewis - Trumpet // Inez Cavanaugh - Liner Notes // Hal West - Drums // Timme Rosenkrantz - Liner Notes // Billie Holiday & Her Orchestra - Performer // Bobby Hicks - Trumpet
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Performers
John Williams (2) played Bass (Vocal) // Artie Shaw played Clarinet // Joe Bushkin played Piano // Benny Goodman played Clarinet // Count Basie played Piano // Hot Lips Page played Trumpet // Roy Eldridge played Trumpet // Count Basie And His Orchestra // Lester Young played Sax (Tenor) // Eddie Durham played Guitar (Electric) // Buck Clayton played Trumpet // Ben Webster played Sax (Tenor) // Al Casey played Guitar // Johnny Hodges played Sax (Alto) // Bunny Berigan played Trumpet // Teddy Wilson played Piano // Jonah Jones played Trumpet // Eddie Heywood played Piano // Edmond Hall played Clarinet // Ed Lewis played Trumpet // Babe Russin played Sax (Tenor) // John Kirby played Bass (Vocal) // Dick McDonough played Guitar // Freddie Green played Guitar // Tab Smith played Sax (Alto) // Jimmy Powell played Sax (Alto) // sonny white played Piano // Harry Carney played Sax (Baritone) // Bobby Hicks played Trumpet // J.C. Heard played Drums // Billie Holiday & Her Orchestra // Teddy Wilson And His Orchestra // Pete Peterson played Bass (Vocal) // Jimmy Hamilton played Clarinet // Dicky Wells played Trombone // Jo Jones played Drums // Emmett Berry played Trumpet // Walter Page played Bass (Vocal) // Billie Holiday with Teddy Wilson And His Orchestra // Bernard Addison played Guitar // Cozy Cole played Drums // James Sherman played Piano // Grachan Moncur played Bass (Vocal) // Earle Warren played Sax (Alto) // Stanley Payne played Sax (Tenor) // Carl Frye played Sax (Alto) // Lawrence Lucie played Guitar // Herbert Cowans played Drums // Hymie Schertzer played Sax (Alto) // Jack Washington played Sax (Alto) // Kermit Scott played Sax (Tenor) // Lester Boone played Sax (Alto) // Eddie Dougherty played Drums // Ernie Powell played Sax (Alto) // Benny Morton played Trombone // Paul Chapman played Guitar // Hal West played Drums // John Truehart played Guitar // Kenneth Hollon played Sax (Tenor) // Herschel Evans played Sax (Tenor) // Margaret "Countess" Johnson played Piano // Dan Minor played Trombone -
Other Details
- Instruments:
- Clarinet //
- Guitar //
- Piano //
- Trombone //
- Trumpet //
- Bass (Vocal) //
- Drums //
- Guitar (Electric) //
- Sax (Alto) //
- Sax (Baritone) //
- Sax (Tenor) //
- Double Bass
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