Seventy one years ago today a twenty one year singer was in a New York recording studio with trumpeter Jonah Jones, clarinettist Edgar Sampson, Ben Webster on tenor Sax, Teddy Wilson on piano, guitarist Allan Reuss, John Kirby on bass and drummer Cozy Cole. All were good and some of them were great jazz players in their own right. It was the third recording session in six months by Billie Holiday.The reason I know this piece of trivia is simple. I looked it up! But the coincidental part was I was playing 'I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm' this afternoon, perfect music for a freezing Scottish winter's day where the temperature has not got above freezing. Despite her young age listening to Billie sing you can hear n her voice a world weariness. Her childhood and teenage years are the stuff of legend and a good deal of confusion - non of which is made much clearer by Billie's autobiography.
She was a world treasure. I wonder if she her singing would rip a person's heart out as much if she hadn't been singing through her own pain.
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