Music For Torching (Mono Remastered) Billie Holiday

• 1 It Had To Be You 04:04
• 2 Come Rain Or Come Shine 04:24
• 3 I Don't Want To Cry Anymore 03:56
• 4 I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You 04:29
• 5 A Fine Romance 03:34
• 6 Gone With The Wind 03:26
• 7 I Get A Kick Out Of You 05:42
• 8 Isn't This A Lovely Day? 04:12
• Total Runtime 33:47

Info zu Music For Torching (Mono Remastered)

Music for Torching received five-star ratings in Down Beat magazine. The overall feeling on this 1955 recording, which was originally titled „Velvet Mood“, is strictly after-hours: the party is long over but a few close friends remain for nightcaps and, is that the sun peeking through the windowà? With slow tempo songs outnumbering not-so-slow songs fourteen to four, producer Norman Granz may or may not have had concept album on his mind. Whatever the case, he brought together a brilliant cross-section of cats who evidently put Billie entirely at ease and in the mood--no small feat when one considers her spotty later recordings.

Lady Day's renderings here of 'It Had to Be You' and 'Isn't This a Lovely Day?' are timeless gems. Other highlights include Harry 'Sweets' Edison and Benny Carter taking turns answering Holiday's vocalizations line by line, interviews in the liner notes with surviving members of the session, and a rehearsal track of Duke Ellington's 'Prelude to a Kiss' recorded the night before by the bass player in his basement.

Billie Holiday, vocal
Harry 'Sweets' Edison, trumpet
Benny Carter, alto saxophone
Jimmy Rowles, piano
Barney Kessel, guitar
Larry Bunker, drums
John Simmons, bass

Recorded on August 23 & August 25, 1955
Produced by Norman Granz

Digitally remastered

Billie Holiday
was a true artist of her day and rose as a social phenomenon in the 1950s. Her soulful, unique singing voice and her ability to boldly turn any material that she confronted into her own music made her a superstar of her time. Today, Holiday is remembered for her masterpieces, creativity and vivacity, as many of Holiday’s songs are as well known today as they were decades ago. Holiday’s poignant voice is still considered to be one of the greatest jazz voices of all time.

Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan) grew up in jazz talent-rich Baltimore in the 1920s. As a young teenager, Holiday served the beginning part of her so-called “apprenticeship” by singing along with records by Bessie Smith or Louis Armstrong in after-hours jazz clubs. When Holiday’s mother, Sadie Fagan, moved to New York in search of a better job, Billie eventually went with her. She made her true singing debut in obscure Harlem nightclubs and borrowed her professional name – Billie Holiday – from screen star Billie Dove. Although she never underwent any technical training and never even so much as learned how to read music, Holiday quickly became an active participant in what was then one of the most vibrant jazz scenes in the country. She would move from one club to another, working for tips. She would sometimes sing with the accompaniment of a house piano player while other times she would work as part of a group of performers.

At the age of 18 and after gaining more experience than most adult musicians can claim, Holiday was spotted by John Hammond and cut her first record as part of a studio group led by Benny Goodman, who was then just on the verge of public prominence. In 1935 Holiday’s career got a big push when she recorded four sides that went on to become hits, including “What a Little Moonlight Can Do” and “Miss Brown to You.” This landed her a recording contract of her own, and then, until 1942, she recorded a number of master tracks that would ultimately become an important building block of early American jazz music.

Holiday began working with Lester Young in 1936, who pegged her with her now-famous nickname of “Lady Day.” When Holiday joined Count Basie in 1937 and then Artie Shaw in 1938, she became one of the very first black women to work with a white orchestra, an impressive accomplishment of her time.

In the 1930s, when Holiday was working with Columbia Records, she was first introduced to the poem “Strange Fruit,” an emotional piece about the lynching of a black man. Though Columbia would not allow her to record the piece due to subject matter, Holiday went on to record the song with an alternate label, Commodore, and the song eventually became one of Holiday’s classics. It was “Strange Fruit” that eventually prompted Lady Day to continue more of her signature, moving ballads.

Holiday recorded about 100 new recordings on another label, Verve, from 1952 to 1959. Her voice became more rugged and vulnerable on these tracks than earlier in her career. During this period, she toured Europe, and made her final studio recordings for the MGM label in March of 1959.

Despite her lack of technical training, Holiday’s unique diction, inimitable phrasing and acute dramatic intensity made her the outstanding jazz singer of her day. White gardenias, worn in her hair, became her trademark. “Singing songs like the ‘The Man I Love’ or ‘Porgy’ is no more work than sitting down and eating Chinese roast duck, and I love roast duck,” she wrote in her autobiography. “I’ve lived songs like that.”

Billie Holiday, a musical legend still popular today, died an untimely death at the age of 44. Her emotive voice, innovative techniques and touching songs will forever be remembered and enjoyed.

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