Holiday Webster

The complete memorable recordings made by Billie Holiday in 1956-57 backed by a small group including Ben Webster, Harry Edison, Jimmy Rowles and Barney Kessel. A complete Holiday set recorded at Newport during the same period has been added as a bonus. Includes 16-page booklet.

Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound from the original master tapes to vinyl and PCM. Small jazz groups brought out the best in Billie Holiday - especially groups as good as the one heard on this classic 1957 recording. Ben Webster, Harry "Sweets" Edison and the other members of this stellar ensemble were not just gifted soloists but sensitive accompanists as well. Lady Day was rarely more ably supported than she was on this program of sturdy standards, including three gems by the Gershwin brothers -and she rarely sounded more luminous. Originally released in 1957.

The title track is one of the most recorded jazz songs in history and Billie Holiday's interpretation on this 1957 release is arguably considered one of the best, if not the definitive version. Producer Norman Granz brings out the best of her voice on this album from late in her career, accompanied by a superb band that includes Ben Webster on tenor sax.

Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound from the original master tapes to vinyl and PCM. After the publication of her autobiography, Lady Sings The Blues, Billie Holiday was doing good business in clubs in what turned out to be a last burst of stardom. We cannot know why she stopped recording for Norman Granz after January 1957, but All or Nothing at All, is a magnificent culmination of her years with the producer. As this set demonstrates in the subtle blending and dissolving of moods within one number as well as in the emotional changes throughout the program as a whole, perhaps the primary reason Holiday was always able to reach so deeply into her listeners is that more than any other jazz singer, she could communicate the complexities of feeling in which we are all involved. This audiophile hybrid SACD remastering from Analogue Productions offers listeners the best possible sound quality.

Recorded in 1956 and 1957, All Or Nothing At All was one of Billie Holiday's last releases before her death in 1959. A collection of jazz and pop standards by the Gershwins, Irving Berlin and Duke Ellington, among others, the album was produced by legendary producer Norman Granz. Holiday runs the emotional gamut from summery optimism (Love Is Here To Stay) to pathos-rich musings (Ill Wind) backed by a strong studio lineup of veterans including Red Mitchell on bass and Ben Webster on tenor saxophone.

Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound from the original master tapes to vinyl and PCM. It is undeniable that Billie Holiday's singing changed in her later years. Her voice darkened and 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 Distingue Lovers has also deepened and become burnished with time. Maybe it's that still-arresting word, "distingue"; maybe it's that iconic, tinted image of Lady Day on the cover. But now that legendary LP, with the singer's best studio work of the Fifties, is available as a Hybrid SACD!

This luxury bounded box (13x13x2″) contain 12 CD for a total of 236 tracks, almost all the live tracks recorded by Billie Holiday along her career. It’s an essential item for those who want to explore this side of her discography. It contains almost all the tracks mentioned below in this live discography.

Recorded in 1956 and 1957, All Or Nothing At All was one of Billie Holiday's last releases before her death in 1959. A collection of jazz and pop standards by the Gershwins, Irving Berlin and Duke Ellington, among others, the album was produced by legendary producer Norman Granz. Holiday runs the emotional gamut from summery optimism (Love Is Here To Stay) to pathos-rich musings (Ill Wind) backed by a strong studio lineup of veterans including Red Mitchell on bass and Ben Webster on tenor saxophone.

The title track is one of the most recorded jazz songs in history and Billie Holiday's interpretation on this 1957 release is arguably considered one of the best, if not the definitive version. Producer Norman Granz brings out the best of her voice on this album from late in her career, accompanied by a superb band that includes Ben Webster on tenor sax.