This set presents all of the master takes ever recorded by Billie Holiday backed by Ray Ellis and his orchestra. In 1958, the singer asked Ellis to arrange some sessions for her with a string orchestra. The results were issued as Lady in Satin (Columbia CS-8048), which became a big hit and is considered Billie's last masterpiece. After a lifetime of drug and alcohol abuse, her voice wasn't in top form by this point in her career. However, she was above all an artist, and the poignancy with which she performs the material produced a true classic.
Such was the success of Lady in Satin that the singer tried to repeat the formula the following year. By that time her health had deteriorated further, and the sessions were hard for both Holiday and Ellis. Holiday would die before the album was released, which led to its title, Last Recording (MGM SE3764/E3764). Both LPs are presented here in their entireties.
Various concert and broadcast recordings from Billie's last two years have been added here as a bonus. Among them are two rare radio tracks with Percy Faith which are the singer's only other recordings withstrings from this period, her complete 1958 Monterey performance, her 1959 London broadcast from the "Chelsea at Nine" show, and her Storyville club setfrom the same year, which constitutes Billie's actual last recording ever.
