Billie Holiday - Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Billie Holiday
List Price:
Our Price: $6.69
You Save: $5.29 (44%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.35 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
CD Details
Artist: Billie HolidayEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
CD Release Date: 2000-11-07
Music Label: Polygram Records
Soundtracks:
- I Cried For You (with Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra)
- What A Little Moonlight Can Do (with Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra)
- Me, Myself and I
- Without Your Love
- Strange Fruit
- Yesterdays
- Some Other Spring
- Solitude
- God Bless The Child
- Gloomy Sunday (with Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra)
- I Cover The Waterfront (with Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra)
- Trav'lin' Light (with Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra)
- Lover Man
- Don't Explain
- Good Morning Heartache
- Autumn In New York
- Lady Sings The Blues
- Fine and Mellow
- You've Changed
Music reviews of Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Billie Holiday
Music Review: A Collection Not To Miss
Rating: 5 Stars
I have known something about Billie Holiday for years but never known very much, nor have I heard her sing very much. As my interest in jazz has grown, with quite a bit of help from the Ken Burns film, I found that I wanted to have a CD that would encapsulate her career. The first CD I had came from the end of her career from the 1950s and so I thought of picking up the Billie Holiday CD issued in conjunction with the Ken Burns documentary. This overview of Billie Holiday was what I had been searching for.
Unfortunately, some of the best jazz recordings come from a time when records were made by cutting wax cylinders. Sometimes the sound cannot be appreciably improved; it all depends on what there is to work with. The first track on this is CD "I Cried For You" with the Teddy Wilson Orchestra, from 1936, starts with some noticeable hissing but most of it is soon reduced to a whisper as the band plays its introduction. Then, Billie Holiday sings her brief solo. Her voice is slightly distorted but is clear and strong and memorable. The same is true with the second track but from then on the sound is free from such disturbing noise. For me, it is a small price to pay to be able to hear early Billie Holiday recordings.
The recordings from the late 1930s and through the 1940s are Billie Holiday at her best. The lynching song Strange Fruit is beautifully sung and Ms. Holiday lends great expression to the lyrics. The most unforgettable of the song for me was Solitude. The way that Ms Holiday's voice meshes with the orchestra is amazing and clearly the best demonstration of how she was able to make a song her own. The Decca records made during the mid-40s paired her with orchestras that had large string sections, like Paul Whiteman's Orchestra. In these songs Billie Holiday really shines with great elegance.
An interesting track is Fine and Mellow, where there is a brief introduction and we hear Billie Holiday speak. He voice sounds a bit rough, and this was a time when he voice was all but gone, but she still manages to sing so expressively and memorably. The same is true for "You've Changed." The voice is much changed but the expression that is there makes this a masterpiece.
I recommend this collection for someone who, like me, is looking for a comprehensive collection of Billie Holiday. This will certainly be a disc I will frequently play.
Description of Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Billie Holiday
All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.Broadway & Vocalists CDs
Music Genres
Bestsellers in Broadway & Vocalists CDs
George Shearing, Mel Torme - Elegant EveningSHEARING,G/TORME,M; Release date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $6.39
Price in other shops:
Stan Getz - Spring Is HereRelease date: 1993-01-11; Music CD
Price in other shops:
Rosemary Clooney - Girl SingerRelease date: 1999-04-01; Music CD
Best price: $8.97
Price in other shops:
The Blenders - NogRelease date: 1998-10-20; Music CD
Best price: $8.77
Price in other shops:
Brave Combo, Tiny Tim - GirlTIM,TINY/BRAVE COMB; Release date: 1996-03-19; Music CD
Best price: $15.07
Price in other shops:
Belleville a Cappella Choir - Southern Journey, Vol. 11: Honor The Lamb - The Belleville A Cappella ChoirRelease date: 1998-02-10; Music CD
Best price: $83.93
Diane Schuur - Love SongsRelease date: 1993-05-11; Music CD
Best price: $4.25
Price in other shops:
![Love Is the Thing [Vinyl] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
Nat King Cole - Love Is the Thing [Vinyl]Release date: 1996-11-19; Music CD
Best price: $169.99
Linda Ronstadt - Linda Ronstadt: Greatest HitsRelease date: 1998-01-13; Music CD
Best price: $19.99
Price in other shops:
Buddy Rich, Sammy Davis Jr - Sounds of 66Release date: 1996-09-17; Music CD
Price in other shops:
Similar CDs
Thelonious Monk - Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Thelonious MonkRelease date: 2011-06-03; Music CD
Best price: $4.95
Price in other shops:
Dave Brubeck - Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Dave BrubeckRelease date: 2011-05-18; Music CD
Best price: $4.55
Price in other shops:
Benny Goodman - Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Benny GoodmanRelease date: 2011-03-11; Music CD
Best price: $5.31
Price in other shops:
Dizzy Gillespie - Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Dizzy GillespieRelease date: 2000-11-07; Music CD
Best price: $4.75
Price in other shops:
Charlie Parker - Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Charlie ParkerRelease date: 2000-11-07; Music CD
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
Count Basie - Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Count BasieRelease date: 2000-11-07; Music CD
Best price: $6.16
Price in other shops:
Sarah Vaughan - Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Sarah VaughanRelease date: 2000-11-07; Music CD
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
Louis Armstrong - Louis Armstrong: Ken Burns JAZZ (The Definitive)Release date: 2000-11-07; Music CD
Best price: $3.25
Price in other shops:
Duke Ellington - Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Duke EllingtonRelease date: 2011-03-11; Music CD
Best price: $4.37
Price in other shops:
Ella Fitzgerald - Ken Burns Jazz Collection: Ella FitzgeraldRelease date: 2000-11-07; Music CD
Best price: $5.66
Price in other shops: