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If there is one Billie Holiday collection
to own without having to shell out a lot for a pricey box set,
this is the one to seek out. It's two-discs' worth of the legend's
best throughout her entire career and a DVD of film and television
performances plus audio interviews with colleagues (John Hammond,
Billy Eckstein, Jimmy Rowles. They all paint a succinct yet comprehensive
overview of Holiday's body of work with that signature voice
of hers evoking the sense of romance and pain that mirrored her
real, difficult life. Holiday made the standards her very own
("These Foolish Things," "He's Funny That Way")
and wasn't afraid the push the musical envelope in terms of subject
matter ("Strange Fruit"). What came out of her was
pure artistry unparelled ("God Bless the Child," "Body
and Soul, "You Go to My Head"). The Ultimate Collection
is essential on aesthetic and historical grounds as an introduction
to this diva's impact not just in jazz but in popular music.
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