Billie Holiday - Songs For Distingue Lovers - Verve Series LP

All-Analog 180g Vinyl LP of Billie Holiday's Songs For Distingue Lovers Mastered from the Original Analog Tapes, Pressed at QRP, and Housed in Stoughton Gatefold Jacket

It's undeniable that Billie Holiday's singing changed in her later years. Her voice darkened and shifted to a lower range. Her economy of means distilled her sound to its expressive essence, a kind of heightened speech. The classic 1957 Verve release Songs For Distingue Lovers, has also deepened and become burnished with time. Maybe it's that still-arresting word distingué; maybe it's that iconic, tinted image of Lady Day on the cover.

Comprised of the last five studio dates Billie cut for Verve, it finds Lady Day operating within a small jazz combo accompanied by a legendary line-up which includes Harry 'Sweets' Edison (trumpet), Ben Webster (tenor sax), Jimmy Rowles (piano), Barney Kessel (guitar), Red Mitchell (bass) and Alvin Stoller (drums). Holiday wraps her phrasing around standards by Rodgers & Hart, The Gershwins and Cole Porter here, demonstrating her one of a kind ability to turn a song on its head through slight fluctuations in pitch and tone.

Seeking to offer definitive audiophile grade versions of some of the most historic and best jazz records ever recorded, Verve Label Group and Universal Music Enterprises' audiophile Acoustic Sounds vinyl reissue series utilizes the skills of top mastering engineers and the unsurpassed production craft of Quality Record Pressings. All titles are mastered from the original analog tapes, pressed on 180-gram vinyl and packaged by Stoughton Printing Co. in high-quality gatefold sleeves with tip-on jackets. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world's largest source for audiophile recordings.

Musicians:
Billie Holiday, vocals
Larry Bunker, drums
Harry "Sweets" Edison, trumpet
Barney Kessel, guitar
Red Mitchell, bass
Joe Mondragon, bass
Jimmy Rowles, piano
Alvin Stoller, drums
Ben Webster, tenor saxophone