Billie Holiday
's first recordings for
Norman Granz
'
Clef Records
present a vocalist truly at the top of her craft, although she would begin a rapid decline soon thereafter. This 1952 recording (originally issued as a 10" LP,
Billie Holiday Sings
) places
Holiday
in front of small piano and tenor saxophone-led groups including
jazz
luminaries such as
Oscar Peterson
and
Charlie Shavers
, where her gentle phrasing sets the tone for the sessions, evoking lazy evenings and dreamy afternoons. The alcoholism and heroin use that would be her downfall by the end of this decade seems to be almost unfathomable during these recordings since
is in as fine a voice as her work in the '30s, and the musical environment seems ideal for these slow
torch songs
.
Solitude
runs as the common theme throughout these 16 tracks; the idle breathiness of
"These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)"
finds the vocalist casually reminiscing, and
Barney Kessel
's warm guitar lines frame the title track beautifully. Several of
's best-known recordings came from this session, including outstanding versions of
"I Only Have Eyes for You"
and a darkly emotional
"Love for Sale,"
making this album far and away the best work of her later years, and certainly a noteworthy moment of her entire career. ~ Zac Johnson