Billie Holiday - Lady Sings the Blues (10 CD, 2009/FLAC)

 This 10-CD set covers many of Billie's studio and live performances

CD1 - I Cried for You

CD2 - Strange Fruit

CD3 - Do Your Duty

CD4 - Blue Turning Grey Over You

CD5 - If the Moon Turns Green

CD6 - God Bless the Child

CD7 - Willow Weep for Me

CD8 - I Get a Kick Out of You

CD9 - No Good Man

CD10 - A Foggy Day

VA - Membran Music's Jazz Ballads Series Vol. 11-15 (10 CD, 2004) [FLAC + 320]

 

A CD sets with the most beautiful ballads in the history of jazz.

Lyrical, imaginative, sensuous and melodic jewels from the art of music.

Precisely for those people who have maintained their taste for lasting musical values.

Jazz in its most gentle form.

Irrestible...

Jazz Ballads 11: Lionel Hampton

Jazz Ballads 12: Billie Holiday

Jazz Ballads 13: Roy Eldridge & Dizzy Gillespie

Jazz Ballads 14: Benny Carter

Jazz Ballads 15: Johnny Hodges & Friends

Billie Holiday - The Complete Billie Holiday On Verve (1945-1959) [10 CD, 1992/FLAC]

 

This is a rather incredible collection: ten CDs enclosed in a tight black box that includes every one of the recordings Verve owns of Billie Holiday, not only the many studio recordings of 1952-57 (which feature Lady Day joined by such jazz all-stars as trumpeters Charlie Shavers and Harry "Sweets" Edison, altoist Benny Carter, and the tenors of Flip Phillips, Paul Quinichette and Ben Webster). Also included are prime performances at Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts in 1945-1947, an enjoyable European gig from 1954, her "comeback" Carnegie Hall concert of 1956, Holiday's rather sad final studio album from 1959, and even lengthy tapes from two informal rehearsals. It's a perfect purchase for the true Billie Holiday fanatic. 

Billie Holiday - Songs for Distingue Lovers (1957/2012/FLAC)

 

Songs for Distingué Lovers is an album by jazz singer Billie Holiday released in 1957 on Verve Records. It was originally available in both mono, catalogue number MGV 8257, and stereo, catalog number MGVS 6021. It was recorded at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles from January 3 to January 9, 1957, and produced by Norman Granz.

• Billie Holiday, vocal
• Harry Edison, trumpet
• Ben Webster, tenor saxophone
• Jimmy Rowles, piano
• Barney Kessel, guitar
• Red Mitchell, double bass
• Alvin Stoller, drums
• Joe Mondragon, double bass
• Larry Bunker, drums

01. Day In Day Out (Mercer-Bloom) - 6:49

02. A Foggy Day (Gershwin-Gershwin) - 4:43

03. Stars Fell on Alabama (Perkins-Parish) - 4:31

04. One for My Baby (And One More for the Road) (Arlen-Mercer) - 5:40

05. Just One of Those Things (Porter) - 5:33

06. I Didn't Know What Time It Was (Rodgers-Hart) - 5:59

Billie Holiday - Lady in Satin (1958/2013, FLAC-HD)

 Lady In Satin is Billie Holiday’s penultimate masterpiece. The 1958 gem is one of her finest achievements and a full display of her immortal vocal abilities. Joined by the Ray Ellis Orchestra, Holiday dazzles on tunes including “For Heaven's Sake,” “You Don't Know What Love Is” and “I'm A Fool To Want You.” The album is one of Holiday’s personal favorites and an emotional listen from start to finish. It is one of jazz’s bestselling albums and was inducted into the GRAMMY® Hall of Fame.

• Mel Davis - trumpet
• Ray Ellis - conductor, arranger
• Ray Ellis Orchestra
• Barry Galbraith - guitar
• Urbie Green - trombone
• Milt Hinton - bass
• J.J. Johnson - trombone
• Osie Johnson - drums
• Phil Kraus - Percussion
• Tommy Mitchell - trombone
• George Ockner - violin
• Dave Sawyer - cello
• Mal Waldron - piano
• Miriam Workman - soprano

1 I'm A Fool To Want You 3:25
2 For Heaven's Sake 3:28
3 You Don't Know What Love Is 3:51
4 I Get Along Without You Very Well 3:02
5 For All We Know 2:56
6 Violets For Your Furs 3:26
7 You've Changed 3:19
8 It's Easy To Remember 4:04
9 But Beautiful 4:31
10 Glad To Be Unhappy 4:09
11 I'll Be Around 3:25

Brian Lynch & Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra - Bolero Nights (for Billie Holiday) [2011/FLAC-HD]

As one of the more exuberant trumpeters in Latin jazz via his stint with Eddie Palmieri, Brian Lynch might surprise his fans with this seductive and sensual album directing his Afro-Cuban-oriented orchestra. With five horns and on occasional the legendary alto saxophonist Phil Woods, Lynch and his band weave some magical and lower-key threads, not so much dedicated to Billie Holiday's music as inspired by her romantic spirit. Split between some well-chosen standards and original compositions, the band struts and sways along on the famous "Delilah," Lynch's easy cha-cha "Afinique," and the beautiful "La Sitiera." Only during the midtempo montuno version of the Charles Mingus evergreen "Celia" or the 6/8 arrangement of Mal Waldron's "Fire Dance" does the band really simmer or even moderately cook. Pianist Zaccai Curtis (of the Curtis Brothers Quartet) and Woods via counterpoint are outstanding in spots, while Lynch himself takes it down a notch throughout, setting the tone, and generously adding a sensitive but regretful feeling to the great take of "I'm a Fool to Want You." From luminous mambos or in serene, pensive underpinnings, this group really hits the mark for subtle yet clearly delineated music that Lady Day surely would have shed a tear or two over, as might we all.

• Brian Lynch - trumpet, flugelhorn
• Phil Woods (#3,6,7), Ivan Renta - alto saxophone
• Alan Hoffman - tenor saxophone
• Marshall Gilkes - trombone
• Ron Blake - baritone saxophone
• Zaccai Curtis - piano
• Boris Kozlov - bass
• Little Johnny Rivero - conga, bongo, percussion
• Marvin Diz - timbales, drums

Recorded at The Clinton Studio "A", New York on November 8-10, 2008.

01. Afinque (Lynch) - 7:51
02. La Sitiera (Lopez) - 6:32
03. Celia (Mingus) - 9:25
04. Fire Waltz (Waldron) - 6:38
05. Delilah (Young) - 9:43
06. I'm a Fool to Want You (Sinatra-Herron-Wolf) - 6:53
07. You've Changed (Fischer) - 7:15 

Ella Fitzgerald & Billie Holiday at Newport (1958/2015) [FLAC-HD]

 Ella Fitzgerald & Billie Holiday at Newport presents the naturally intriguing results when Verve paired two sets recorded two days apart (over the 4th of July weekend, 1957) by the two best female singers of the 20th century. 

Recorded: July 4-6, 1957, Newport Jazz Festival, Freebody Park, Newport

Personnel:

Tracks 01-07 (July 4, 1957)

• Ella Fitzgerald (vocals)
• Don Abney (piano)
• Wendell Marshall (double bass)
• Jo Jones (drums)

Tracks 08-13 (July 6, 1957)

• Billie Holiday (vocals)
• Mal Waldron (piano)
• Joe Benjamin (double bass)
• Jo Jones (drums)

01. This Can't Be Love ((1:45)

02. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) (4:29)

03. Body And Soul (4:28)

04. April In Paris (4:02)

05. I've Got A Crush On You (2:30)

06. Airmail Special (4:35)

07. I Can't Give You Anything But Love (5:08)

08. Nice Work If You Can Get It (2:38)

09. Willow Weep For Me (3:08)

10. My Man (3:29)

11. Lover, Come Back To Me (2:05)

12. Lady Sings The Blues (2:59)

13. What A Little Moonlight Can Do (3:11)

Billie Holiday - At Jazz At The Philharmonic (1954/2015/FLAC)

 

Billie Holiday's At Jazz At The Philharmonic was originally recorded live February 12th, 19454 and October 3rd, 1946 at the Shrine Auditorium in LA, California. The performance was part of the touring jazz series At Jazz At The Philharmonic installed by American jazz producer Norman Granz. The album features popular song titles "Body and Soul", "Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You" and "All of Me".

There is a noticible difference in vocal timbre in the Newport recordings-- thicker, darker and more bluesy. While not as techinically 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. Jazz At The Philharmonic is a memorable collection and, at moments, manages to capture Holiday at her finest."

• Billie Holiday - vocals
• Lester Young, Illinois Jacquet - tenor saxophone
• George Auld - alto saxophone
• Buck Clayton, trumpet
• Trummy Young - trombone
• Ken Kersey - piano
• Tiny Grimes, Barney Kessel - guitar
• Al McKibbon, Charlie Drayton - bass
• JC Heard, Jack Mills - drums

Live At The Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, 1945

01. Body And Soul (3:27)

02. Strange Fruit (2:55)

03. Trav'lin' Light (3:26)

04. He's Funny That Way (2:52)

Live At Carnegie Hall, 1946

05. The Man I Love (3:04)

06. Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good To You? (2:20)

07. All Of Me (2:02)

08. Billie's Blues (3:33)

VA - Great Vocalists of Jazz & Entertainment [2004] Vol. 06-10 of 20

 

In this collection by the German "History" label, you get nearly 40 hours of digitally remastered original 78s and 45s. The sound quality is truly amazing - the remastering process removes hiss, clicks & pops; optimizes the equalization, and synthesizes stereo. The forty discs in this set are grouped into twenty 2-disc volumes which are dedicated to a vocalist or pair or vocalists.

Volume 06. Billie Holiday — The Man I Love
Volume 07. Lena Horne — Stormy Weather
Volume 08. Andrews Sisters / Boswell Sisters — Bei Mir Bist Du Schön
Volume 09. The Mills Brothers — Swing Is The Thing
Volume 10. Ella Fitzgerald — My Man

VA – L'Integrale Jazz (10 CD, 2010)

 

Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Glenn Miller, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Sarah Vaughan, Sidney Bechet, Bessie Smith and many more...

 

Verve Jazz Masters series Vol. 41-50

 Jazz Masters is a series of mainly single artist compilations released by Polygram/Verve between 1994 and 1996. The compilations collect material that was originally released on Verve or on one of the labels that became part of the Polygram group. The 20th and 60th releases in the series were various artist collections.

VJM 41 - Tal Farlow

VJM 42 - Sarah Vaughan - The Jazz Sides

VJM 43 - Ben Webster

VJM 44 - Clifford Brown And Max Roach

VJM 45 - Kenny Burrell

VJM 46 - Ella Fitzgerald - The Jazz Sides

VJM 47 - Billie Holiday Sings Standards

VJM 48 - Oliver Nelson

VJM 49 - Anita O'Day

VJM 50 - Sonny Stitt

 

Verve Jazz Masters series Vol. 11-20

 Jazz Masters is a series of mainly single artist compilations released by Polygram/Verve between 1994 and 1996. The compilations collect material that was originally released on Verve or on one of the labels that became part of the Polygram group. The 20th and 60th releases in the series were various artist collections.

VJM 11 - Stéphane Grappelli

VJM 12 - Billie Holiday

VJM 13 - Antonio Carlos Jobim

VJM 14 - Wes Montgomery

VJM 15 - Charlie Parker

VJM 16 - Oscar Peterson

VJM 17 - Nina Simone

VJM 18 - Sarah Vaughan

VJM 19 - Dinah Washington

VJM 20 - Introducing Jazz Masters

VA - Diva series (Verve, 10 CD, 2003)

 

Perfect 9+1 CD series from Verve

• Anita O'Day
• Astrud Gilberto
• Billie Holiday
• Blossom Dearie
• Carmen McRae
• Dinah Washington
• Ella Fitzgerald
• Nina Simone
• Sarah Vaughan
• The Ultimate Diva Collection

 

 

Billie Holiday - Rare Live Recordings 1934-1959 (5 CD, 2007/FLAC)

 

These rare treasures take you all across Billie's career-from '35, the year she debuted at the Apollo and first charted, to '59, the year she died. The stunning early performances include a 20-year-old Billie with Ellington in '35 and a 1937 radio broadcast from the Savoy Hotel in NY with the Basie Orchestra; you'll also hear rare rehearsal tapes, her Monterey '58 performance, songs on The Eddie Condon Show, The Tonight Show, The Steve Allen Show, an impromptu recording of Billie and friends singing My Yiddish Mamma, and more with Art Tatum, Lionel Hampton, Johnny Hodges, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins and more! Includes 129 tracks: Swing Brother Swing; Fine and Mellow; I'll Get By; Billie's Blues; All of Me; Lover Man; Them There Eyes; You're My Thrill; I Cover the Waterfront; Porgy; Tenderly; God Bless the Child; My Man; Moanin' Low; Ghost of a Chance, and more.

Billie Holiday - Perfect Complete Collection (12 CD, 1993)

This luxury bounded box contain 12 CD for a total of 236 tracks, almost all the live tracks recorded by Billie Holiday along her career.