''Billie Holiday at Jazz at the Philharmonic'' (MG C-169) is a live album by jazz singer Billie Holiday, originally recorded on February 12, 1945 and October 3, 1946 at the Jazz at the Philharmonic concert at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, and at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

on June 3, 1946.

Content

Jazz at the Philharmonic, or JATP, was the title of a series of jazz concerts, tours and recordings produced by Norman Granz from 1944 through 1983. Billie Holiday would go on to perform at Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts numerous times, even joining the troupe in 1954. The liner notes on the original LP quote a review from Down Beat, praising the album:

"These were recorded at a JATP concert in LA in 1946, and never again will Billie sound this wonderful. The years that have passed since then have taken their toll on the great stylist, but this all happened on a night when she had everything, and you don't find this LP to be one of the most emotional half-hours you've ever spent, there's something wrong. (...) Certainly one of the outstanding records in years."

''Billie Holiday at Jazz at the Philharmonic'' was originally released as a 10 inch LP in 1954, her fourth LP for Norman Granz's Clef label. After the 10 inch form was discontinued, the 8 tracks would be rereleased as parts of various compilations.

Track listing

Side one

# " Body and Soul" ( Edward Heyman, Robert Sour,

Frank Eyton Frank Eyton (30 August 1894 – 11 November 1962) was an English popular music lyricist best known for co-writing the lyrics of Johnny Green's " Body and Soul" (1930) with Edward Heyman and Robert Sour. Frank Eyton biographyat Allmusic - retrieved ...

Johnny Green John Waldo Green (October 10, 1908 – May 15, 1989) was an American songwriter, composer, musical arranger, conductor and pianist. He was given the nickname "Beulah" by colleague Conrad Salinger. His most famous song was one of his earli ...

) - 3:24 # "

Strange Fruit "Strange Fruit" is a song written and composed by Abel Meeropol (under his pseudonym Lewis Allan) and recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939. The lyrics were drawn from a poem by Meeropol published in 1937. The song protests the lynching of Black ...

" (

Abel Meeropol Abel Meeropol (February 10, 1903 – October 29, 1986)Baker, Nancy Kovaleff, "Abel Meeropol (a.k.a. Lewis Allan): Political Commentator and Social Conscience," '' American Music'' 20/1 (2002), pp. 25–79, ; see especially note 3. was an Ameri ...

as Lewis Allan) - 3:01 # " Trav'lin' Light ( Trummy Young, Jimmy Mundy,

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallich ...

) - 3:28 # "He's Funny That Way" (

Richard Whiting Richard Whiting may refer to: * Richard Whiting (abbot) (1461–1539), last Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey before the Dissolution of the Monasteries * Richard A. Whiting (1891–1938), writer of popular songs, father of singer Margaret Whiting and act ...

, Neil Moret) - 2:56

Side two

# " The Man I Love" ( George Gershwin,

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...

) - 3:04 # " Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You" (

Andy Razaf Andy Razaf (born Andriamanantena Paul Razafinkarefo; December 16, 1895 – February 3, 1973) was an American poet, composer and lyricist of such well-known songs as " Ain't Misbehavin'" and " Honeysuckle Rose". Biography Razaf was born in Washi ...

, Don Redman) - 2:19 # " All of Me" ( Gerald Marks, Seymour Simons) - 1:55 # "

Billie's Blues "Billie's Blues" is a blues song written by jazz singer Billie Holiday, composing it just before being recorded in a session on July 10, 1936. According to the article in ''Melody Maker'', on August 1, 1936: Recording session * "Did I Remember? ...

( Billie Holiday) - 3:39

Personnel

February 12, 1945 (Tracks 1 & 2)

Billie Holiday, vocals
Lester Young, tenor sax
Illinois Jacquet, tenor sax

George Auld Georgie Auld (May 19, 1919 – January 8, 1990) was a jazz tenor saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader. Early years Auld was born John Altwerger in Toronto, Canada, and moved to Brooklyn, New York, in 1929. Before the family left Canada, Au ...

, alto sax
Buck Clayton, trumpet
Ken Kersey, piano
Tiny Grimes, guitar
JC Heard, drums
Al McKibbon, bass

October 7, 1946 (Tracks 3 & 4)

Billie Holiday, vocals
Illinois Jacquet, tenor sax
Trummy Young, trombone
Howard McGhee, trumpet
Ken Kersey, piano

Barney Kessel Barney Kessel (October 17, 1923 – May 6, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Known in particular for his knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies, he was a member of many prominent jazz groups a ...

, guitar
Jack Mills, drums
Charlie Drayton, bass ''Billie Holiday Songs''
sessionography, 1946, accessed Feb 13, 2016

June 3, 1946 (Tracks 5-8)

''same as February 12, 1945 personnel.''

References

{{Authority control Billie Holiday albums 1954 live albums Clef Records live albums Verve Records live albums Albums produced by Norman Granz Albums recorded at Carnegie Hall Live vocal jazz albums