Taken from a pair of sessions taped during 1955-1956,
Lady Sings the Blues
finds
Holiday
in top form and backed by the sympathetic likes of tenor saxophonist
Paul Quinichette
, trumpeters
Charlie Shavers
and
Harry Edison
, pianist
Wynton Kelly
, and guitarists
Kenny Burrell
Barney Kessel
. And while these autumnal sides bear some of the frayed vocal moments often heard on
's '50s
Verve
sides, the majority here still ranks with her best material. This is especially true of the cuts from the June 1956 date, which produced unparalleled versions of
"No Good Man,"
"Some Other Spring,"
"Lady Sings the Blues."
See why many fans prefer the "worn out"
heard here to the more chipper singer featured on those classic
Columbia
records from the '30s. ~ Stephen Cook