The Quintessential Billie Holiday, Vol.2: 1936
Few singers in jazz history have had the ability that Billie Holiday possessed to inspire the musicians she worked with, meeting the best instrumentalists on terms of musical equality and creating a spirit of camaraderie. The joy is palpable in these recordings from January to October 1936, with the 20-year-old Holiday blithely attacking great songs and period ephemera, with wonderful settings crafted by pianistTeddy Wilsonand superb solo contributions by altoistJohnny Hodgesand trumpeter Bunny Berigan. While the later recordings of Holiday brim with the depth of her experience, what one hears on these early sessions is something different and perhaps even more poignant, a new talent that seems to convey a unique capacity for life, an openness to all it might offer.--Stuart Broomer