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Billie Holiday - The Complete Commodore Recordings, 1939-1944 (1997) {2CD Set GRP Records CMD 24012}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 353 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 290 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 86 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1939-44, 1997 Commodore / GRP Records | CMD 24012
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Swing / Classic Female Blues / Traditional Pop

Throughout these sessions, a window into Billie Holiday's creative process is provided by the inclusion of alternate takes. Many of them are rare, although all have previously been issued on one or another of the labels that have interacted with Commodore over the years. As alternates for records on other labels also reveal, once Billie conceptualized her approach to a song, she seldom varied the basic template. She seemed to decide the best way to organize the expressive gifts at her disposal and "photograph" in her mind a musical image of how she would do the number. Once that image was in place, subsequent versions for the most part differed only in matters of nuance or animation.

Jelly Roll Morton - Last Sessions, The Complete General Recordings (1997) {CMD 14032 rec 1939-1940}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 226 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 155 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 58 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1939-40, 1997 Commodore ‎| CMD-14032
Jazz / Early Jazz / Piano

This CD contains Jelly Roll Morton's final studio recordings (the only existing later performances by Morton are a couple of tunes from a radio broadcast) and supercedes an earlier two-LP Atlantic set. The main reason to acquire this 1997 CD is Morton's 13 classic piano solos, which include five vocals, his first on record other than the much earlier "Dr. Jazz" and the Library of Congress sides. Only ten of the solos were originally released, so this is a very complete reissue.