Billie Holiday - Songs For Distingué Lovers (Remastered) (1957/2014) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

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Billie Holiday - Songs For Distingué Lovers (Remastered) (1957/2014) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

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It is undeniable that Billie Holiday's singing changed in her later years. Her voice darkened an shifted to a lower range. Her economy of means distilled her sound to its expressive essence – a kind of heightened speech. The classic LP Songs For Distingué Lovers, has also deepened and become burnished with time. Maybe it's that still-arresting word distingué; maybe it's that iconic, tinted image of Lady Day on the cover. This legendary recording features the singer's best studio work of the Fifties.

Down Beat's West Coast editor John Tynan gave this a four star review, remarking that it is, '…loose, utterly relaxed, a top flight solo work.' The great Lady Day is backed by Harry Edison's trumpet, Ben Webster on tenor sax, Jimmy Rowles on piano, Barney Kessel on guitar, Red Mitchell on bass and Alvin Stoller on drums.

'…because Billie is that rare artiste who cannot and will not have anything to do with a song, which story doesn't meet with her understanding and approval; literally, Billie tells her songs rather than sings them as far as the lyrics are concerned, yet, withal, treating the melody as strikingly as any instrumentalist.' (Norman Granz)