1933-1944 Lady Day Comp Bill [Box set, Import, Best of]

 

 

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I would need much much more than a thousand words to tell you about my feelings related to this sublime music.How many times I cried listening to some tunes,or was feeling incredibly high and happy listening to other ones.
If you want me to play to the "desert island" game,I would only take this set with me;you don't know how I treasure Monk,Duke,Armstrong,Trane,Bud,Bird,Bill Evans,Bechet,Fats Waller,Hines or Tatum,but I''d surely forget them all to keep these Columbia years of Lady Day with me.Here is the most fantastic music I've ever heard,here are the highest moments of the history of jazz.NOBODY never recorded such a bunch of masterpieces in some eleven years;nobody,even Duke.Here is a colossal set of the most amazing music you'll ever hear.
This is the third time I purchase these sessions:first,I bought them on 33rpm,some 25 years ago;then on separate CDs;then,a friend of mine let me listen to this set,and what a shock!!! The sound is so great that I thought I was discovering tunes I knew for years and years.It seems that Billie and the guys are playing in your room,just in front of you!!!
Now,for those who have no idea of what's in this very beautiful set,let's have a glance at the musicians you'll listen to:the ghotta of jazz is here!!! LESTER YOUNG,Teddy Wilson,Johnny Hodges,Duke Ellington,Count Basie,Benny Goodman,Chu Berry,Jo Jones,Buck Clayton,Roy Eldridge,Ben Webster,Benny Carter,Charlie Shavers,Red Allen,Cootie Williams,Hot Lips Page,Bunny Berigan,Jack Teagarden,Walter Page,Milt Hinton,John Kirby,Cozy Cole,Sid Catlett,Kenny Clarke,Freddie Greene,Dickie Wells,Hary Carney,Harry James,and many more.
About the tunes: masterpieces,masterpieces and masterpieces!!!
It would take some ten pages to describe it.Of course,the most magnificent ones are those in which Lester Young plays.Lester and Billie,Pres and Lady Day;they had the most magical musical complicity of the history of jazz,they really LOVED each other,even if their lives had separate ways;Lester,the Greatest of all jazz saxophone players,was born 1909;Billie,the Baltimore child,was born in 1915;they both died 1959,Lester in March,and Billie in July.The tunes they recorded during these years,the tunes you'll listen to in this set are very simple to describe: it's LOVE.and maybe the most beautiful that ever was.Maybe,these are the most sublime masterpieces in the history of Music."when you're smiling","he's funny that way","travelin' all alone","mean to me","foolin' myself","me,myself and I","born to love","gettin' some fun out of life","I'll never be the same"....I could listen to these tunes a hundred times everyday.This music is magic;it'll make you feel great.And you'll cry sometimes too,because of too much beauty.Here is the very best of Jazz,a music that gave us tons and tons of beauty;Billie's voice is at her most expressive,so young,so fresh,so joyful,and so sexy (and even sometimes,so sexual);Lester 's playing ,even if he only blows short choruses,is the most beautiful one that ever was ("all of me","foolin' myself","born to love","mean to me",...).
Here is sublime music;the most magnificent you'll listen to.I couldn't live without these records.They are my copanions since I was 15 years old;I spent hours and hours listening to them,wether I felt high or bad;and even after 23 years of frequent listening,they seem to me as fresh and new as when I discovered them.
Thanks a million,Lady Day (a nickname Lester gave to Billie),thanks a million for so much beauty.It never happened in the history of Art.

Don't bother paying a ton of money for the Billie Holiday Columbia box set when you can buy the 10 disc German box set called "Portrait" for a whole lot less.
The American set goes for $150 to $160 where the German set is going for $25 to $35.
I've heard both sets and the German one is MUCH better with far less surface noise without sacrificing the sound.

But I must warn you that the German set does have a touch of stereo reverb added to the recordings, but it's very
tastefully done. I'm usually one of those who hates doctored up old recordings, but this is so well done. It's okay.

The German collection also has more songs which includes great recordings from the other labels Decca and Commodore. For some reason the set is missing four great tracks (Strange Fruit, Yesterdays, Fine And Mellow and
Until The Real Thing Comes Along) but the American set doesn't include Strange Fruit, Yesterdays and
Fine and Mellow either. The American set only deals with the Columbia sides, but does give you lots of
alternate takes, which the set from Germany avoids. But that's alright, I just want the official recording, not
the alternates or outtakes as I call them.

As far as packaging, the American set wins hands down, but the imported German set does have a nice
40 page booklet and is better about protecting your CD's and most importantly...far better sound quality.

Nothing wrong with the presentation. Me, I'm a late period Billie person. But this gets the job done (to say the least!).

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4.0 out of 5 stars Great Music, Wretched Packaging
Just a few words. This is one of the most essential collections in jazz. So much has been said about the wonderful music here that there is really nothing else I can add. Read more

Published on Jan 26 2003 by T. Schmidt

5.0 out of 5 stars Something Divine
I'm listening to this set as I write this and it's truly a great thing! Good (if not great) sound, lovely packaging and Bilie. I just love it. Read more

Published on Nov 13 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars CLASSIC JAZZ
Is there anything better? Could she do it any better if she was educated by the best? Well, she was educated by the best and she had the feelings.

Published on Sep 5 2002 by Boris Zubry

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartbreaking, Joyful, Poignant, and so much more...
A great part of my childhood was spent listening to Billie Holiday, as my father was an avid fan. Needless to say, what didn't interest me in childhood, soon enchanted me when I... Read more

Published on Jun 13 2002 by jimmy lee boogaloo

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulously Packaged Dynamic Sounds
Finally...Columbia Records outdo themselves in the remastering department. You would think that a record company that has made billions of $$$ since its beginnings(first quarter... Read more

Published on Jan 6 2002 by Hugo

5.0 out of 5 stars The Lady sings...
One of the most lavish(and exhaustive, in good way)box sets to be released is "Lady Day-The Complete Billie Holiday On Columbia (1933-1944)". Read more

Published on Dec 29 2001 by Jeffrey Harris

5.0 out of 5 stars First rate, but some questions linger . . .
This is a magnificent collection to be sure, but I am left bewildered. Why, if this is the "complete" collection, does it omit some tracks that are on the 8 disc... Read more

Published on Dec 22 2001 by Nicolas S. Martin

2.0 out of 5 stars Great music, but...
These John Hammond-organized sessions are, together with the Louis Armstrong Hot Five And Seven recordings, my very favorite, and I very much wanted to love this set. Read more

Published on Nov 5 2001 by M. Zuckerman

5.0 out of 5 stars The Holy Grail Of Jazz Vocals
This is a very attractively packaged set of some of the most important vocal jazz recordings ever put on wax. The digital remastering is what I have long been waiting for. Read more

Published on Nov 4 2001 by Mr Elliot Hearst

5.0 out of 5 stars Of course it's good stuff, but...
Of course it's good stuff, but I gotta say: I am not a big fan of the fancy packaging. Yeah, I understand, it's nice to look at, but you just have to be so careful when you pick... Read more

Published on Oct 31 2001 by Kevin Pih

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