Billie Holiday

At Jazz at the Philarmonic Billie Holiday

Limited 180 gram vinyl LP repressing of this classic Jazz release including two bonus tracks. After an impasse in which she mostly recorded with tightly arranged groups (for Commodore) and big bands with strings (for Decca), Billie signed her last long-term contract with Norman Granz. He had showcased her as a star with his Jazz at the Philharmonic tours in the mid- and late forties, and when he signed her as a recording artist in 1952, he tried to repeat the small group magic of her early days. She participated on various sessions surrounded by old friends like Benny Carter, Ben Webster, Harry 'Sweets' Edison', Charlie Shavers and Cozy Cole, all of whom had participated on dates with her in the 1930s, plus other big names from Granz's payroll at the time, such as Paul Quinichette, Flip Phillips, Oscar Peterson, Alvin Stoller, and Tony Scott. Granz had recorded a few of Billie's Jazz at the Philharmonic performances from the mid 1940s but wasn't able to issue them until he had the singer on his payroll. Contradicting what Granz said on the original back cover, this album (which boasts a beautiful cover designed by David Stone Martin) wasn't taped at a single event but during Holiday's sets at three different ones. Also, the personnel he gives was mostly mistaken and has been corrected by subsequent research. These classic sides were originally recorded on acetates, so the sound quality here is that of the original releases.