After an impasse in which she mostly recorded with tightly arranged groups (for Commodore) and big bands with strings (for Decca), Billie Holiday signed her last long-term contract with Norman Granz. He had showcased her as a star with his Jazz at the Philharmonic tours in the mid- and late forties, and when he signed her as a recording artist in 1952, he tried to repeat the small group magic of her early days. She participated on various sessions surrounded by old friends like Benny Carter, Ben Webster, Harry “Sweets” Edison, Charlie Shavers and Cozy Cole, all of whom had participated on dates with her in the 1930s, plus other big names from Granz’s payroll at the time, such as Paul Quinichette, Flip Phillips, Oscar Peterson, Alvin Stoller, and Tony Scott.
The results were uneven, as Billie’s unhealthy lifestyle had caught up to her by this point, and would lead to her death in the early hours of the morning of July 17, 1959, at the age of 44. However, many masterpieces were made during the six years from 1952 to 1957, which were issued on a myriad of different EPs, 10” LPs, and 12” albums. On her early Columbia sides from the 1930s Billie was forced by the company to record plenty of trite songs, many of which she transformed into classics merely by her own talents and by interpreting the lyrics and reshaping the melodies.
In contrast, Norman Granz took great care in providing the singer with the very best material from the American Songbook. Thus, she was able to perform many songs by Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, etc, which she had never recorded before. Solitude included Billie’s first studio sessions for Granz.
PERSONNEL:
BILLIE HOLIDAY, vocals
CHARLIE SHAVERS, trumpet
FLIP PHILLIPS, tenor sax
OSCAR PETERSON, piano
BARNEY KESSEL, guitar
RAY BROWN, bass
ALVIN STOLLER, drums (on Side A & B1-B2)
J.C. HEARD, drums (alternating with Stoller on B3-B7)
Los Angeles, May 1952.
[“Love for Sale” is a vocal/piano duet.]
(*) BONUS TRACK: From the same sessions, but not included on the original LP.
