Billie Holiday Lady In Autumn: Best Of The Verve Years CD

Recorded between 1946 and 1959. Includes liner notes by Joel E. Siegel.

Digitally remastered by Dennis Drake, Andrew Nicholas, Thomas Ruff and Mark Wilder (PolyGram Studios) and Gert Van Hoeyen (PolyGram, The Netherlands).

Without question the greatest jazz singer there has ever been (or will ever be), Holiday's unmistakable sound, her inimitable phrasing, her faultless sense of what was right, helped mould an artist unique in the history of popular music. In the early years her joyous, youthful voice was backed by soloists of the calibre of Buck Clayton, her close friend Lester Young, and her ideal arranger, pianist Teddy Wilson. Towards the end of her life her voice was a flaking, fractured caricature of itself but her commanding artistry and musical integrity lent dignity and poignancy to her recordings.

LADY IN AUTUMN: BEST OF THE VERVE YEARS comes with a 32 page booklet including rare photos.

Personnel includes: Billie Holiday (vocals); Ray Ellis (conductor); Benny Carter, Gene Quill (alto saxophone); Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Flip Phillips, Paul Quinichette, Budd Johnson, Ben Webster, Al Cohn (tenor saxophone); Buck Clayton, Charlie Shavers, Joe Newman, "Sweets" Edison, Roy Eldridge (trumpet); Tommy Turk (trombone); Tony Scott (clarinet, piano); Jimmy Rowles (piano, celesta); Oscar Peterson (piano, organ); Milt Raskin, Bobby Tucker, Mal Waldron, Wynton Kelly (piano); Hank Jones (celesta); Freddie Green, Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis, Kenny Burrell (guitar); Red Callender, Ray Brown, Milt Hinton, Red Mitchell (bass); Alvin Stoller, J.C. Heard, Ed Shaughnessy, Chico Hamilton, Cozy Cole, Larry Bunker (drums).

Producers include: Norman Granz.

Compilation producer: Joel E. Siegel.