BILLIE HOLIDAY

HOLIDAY, Billie (1915-1959).

Rare reel-to-reel recordings of Billie Holiday’s legendary concert Lady Sings the Blues at the Carnegie Hall, New York, on 10 November 1956, the recordings on two reels of ¼ inch Scotch Brand tape, the reels labelled in red chinagraph pencil ‘Billie Holiday Carnegie Hall Concert 11/10/56 – Sides I [-II]’, the original boxes with similar typewritten labels and ‘Holiday’ inscribed in black felt pen to spine labels, the recording features two complete unreleased songs Miss Brown to You and Too Marvellous for Words, which were not included on the 1961 live album The Essential Billie Holiday: Carnegie Hall Concert Recorded Live, together with an alternate take of I Cried For You and a fade-in partial performance of Them There Eyes.

In his sleeve notes to the 1961 album release critic Nat Hentoff recalled, ‘Throughout the night, Billie was in superior form to what had sometimes been the case in the last years of her life. Not only was there assurance of phrasing and intonation; but there was also an outgoing warmth, a palpable eagerness to reach and touch the audience. And there was mocking wit. A smile was often lightly evident on her lips and her eyes as if, for once, she could accept the fact that there were people who did dig her... The beat flowed in her uniquely sinuous, supple way of moving the story along; the words became her own experiences; and coursing through it all was Lady's sound - a texture simultaneously steel-edged and yet soft inside; a voice that was almost unbearably wise in disillusion and yet still childlike, again at the centre. The audience was hers from before she sang, greeting her and saying good-bye with heavy, loving applause. And at one time, the musicians too applauded. It was a night when Billie was on top, undeniably the best and most honest jazz singer alive.’

The two back-to-back concerts promoted Billie's recently published autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues. A feature of the concerts was four excerpts from the book, read by influential New York Times critic Gilbert Millstein. Millstein wrote later of the experience: ‘It was evident, even then, that Miss Holiday was ill. I had known her casually over the years and I was shocked at her physical weakness. Her rehearsal had been desultory; her voice sounded tinny and trailed off; her body sagged tiredly. But I will not forget the metamorphosis that night. The lights went down, the musicians began to play and the narration began. Miss Holiday stepped from between the curtains, into the white spotlight awaiting her, wearing a white evening gown and white gardenias in her black hair. She was erect and beautiful; poised and smiling. And when the first section of narration was ended, she sang - with strength undiminished - with all of the art that was hers. I was very much moved. In the darkness, my face burned and my eyes. I recall only one thing. I smiled’. The narrations were not included on the live album until the re-release on CD in 1989.

The two reels housed in a modern custom quarter black morocco cloth solander box and accompanied by a CD transfer of the recording. Provenance: Ralph Gleason (American music critic, 1917-1975).

[With:] a scarce concert programme Don Friedman presents Lady Sings the Blues for Billie Holiday at the Carnegie Hall, New York, on 10 November 1956. Wire-stitched in original pictorial wraps, 304 x 228 mm.

These recordings are offered for sale without copyright, broadcast rights, performers consents and other reproduction rights. The buyer must apply to the relevant parties to obtain such clearance and consents as may be necessary.