Billie Holiday Sings – Billie Holiday

Album: Billie Holiday Sings

Artist: Billie Holiday

Year: 1952

Genre: Jazz

Grade: A-

An underrated gem in the vast discography of jazz music’s all-time greatest singer, Billie Holiday Sings (I miss when album titles were extremely simple) is a solid showcase of her unique vocal abilities, even at this later stage of her career. Holiday’s range may be a bit narrower, but her emotional resonance has never been deeper. Even when backed by an all-star jazz lineup that includes Oscar Peterson, Barney Kessel and Ray Brown (produced by Norman Granz), Lady Day remains the focal point.

Every song (total: eight) is given a fine treatment, even the ones she’s already recorded before (total: four). But it’s always worth it to hear her melodies again. This is solid jazz on all fronts, plain and simple: vocally, instrumentally and in choice of material. Holiday fully enters the LP era with Billie Holiday Sings, her first release for Clef Records, passing with very promising results.

---