SOUND CHECK.Billie Holiday/``Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959), born Eleanora Fagan and later nicknamed Lady Day (see "Jazz royalty" regarding similar nicknames), was an American jazz singer, a seminal influence on jazz and pop singers, and generally regarded as one of the on Columbia (1933-1944)'' (Columbia/Legacy) Holiday was a gifted torch singer and jazz virtuoso whose talent was often overshadowed by the partially selnflicted and self-mythologized obstacles that finally overwhelmed her. In this chronologically sequenced 10-disc, 230-track box set, stylishly packaged and featuring top-notch sound, Holiday's wonderful, timeless music is put center-stage, providing a fresh framework to appreciate history's greatest jazz singer. The discs chart Holiday's rise from youthful-voiced girl who brought her own personality to even the slightest material (``Your Mother's Son-in- Law,'' ``Riffin' the Scotch'') to the languid, smoky-voiced artist able to invest layers of emotion and pathos to signature tunes (``God Bless the Child,'' ``Night and Day''). Although some prefer her last, often painfully raw recordings for Verve, the exhilarating decade Holiday spent with Columbia provides the foundation of her legend. Here, leading her own band or accompanied by orchestras led by Benny Goodman Noun 1. Benny Goodman - United States clarinetist who in 1934 formed a big band (including black as well as white musicians) and introduced a kind of jazz known as swing (1909-1986) Benjamin David Goodman, Goodman, King of Swing , Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw "Teddy" Wilson (November 24 1912–July 31 1986) was a jazz pianist from the United States born in Austin, Texas. His sophisticated and elegant style graced the records of many of the biggest names in jazz, including Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Benny Goodman, , Count Basie, Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8 1907 – July 12 2003) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, and was recognized as such by other jazz musicians who called him (and, on one indispensable track, Duke Ellington), she makes it all sound easy, no matter how difficult the vocal passage or melodic line. Many of these are Holiday's most perfect sides - ``These Foolish Things Foolish Things is a Rock/Alternative/Christian rock band signed with Inpop Records. History The band took their name from 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise". ,'' ``I Cried for You,'' ``Billie's Blues,'' ``Me, Myself and I,'' ``He's Funny That Way,'' ``What a Little Moonlight Can Do,'' ``Body and Soul'' - magnificent, inventive vocal work that hasn't been bettered in 60 years. Critic and author Whitney Balliett once called the greatest jazz ``the sound of surprise.'' This lavish set is the perfect illustration. Four stars - Fred Shuster Billy Bob Thornton/``Private Radio'' (Lost Highway) The actor and Oscar-winning filmmaker used to front a ZZ Top cover band, among other musical efforts. So it's no wonder that this first album of Thornton songs, produced by and mostly co-written with Marty Stuart, gratifyingly grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. gets highly personal without slopping over into the realm of vanity. Many cuts are stories set to music, some spoken more than sung, and they mirror the Southern Gothic, amusingly perverse sensibility we've come to associate with both Thornton's movie work and off-screen image. There are several heartfelt odes to wife Angelina Jolie, a thoroughly spooky rendition of Hank Williams' ``Lost Highway,'' and a peculiar assortment of Ameri-arcana that, whether you think Thornton sings them evocatively or just growls, you must admit he always finds the right, actorly voice for telling. Three stars - Bob Strauss Dave Holland Quintet/``Not for Nothin' '' (ECM (1) (Enterprise Change Management) See version control and configuration management. (2) (Error Correcting Mode) A Group 3 fax capability that can test for errors within a row of pixels and request retransmission. ) When bassist Holland brings the best band working in jazz today to CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge on Monday, he'll be leading a group performing at the peak of its powers, a true working unit rather than an all-star collective that continues to make astonishing a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. music. The ensemble's third and latest effort, utilizing the superb saxophonist Chris Potter, Robin Eubanks on trombone trombone [Ital.,=large trumpet], brass wind musical instrument of cylindrical bore, twice bent on itself, having a sliding section that lengthens or shortens it and thus regulates the pitch. The descendant of the sackbut, it was developed in the 15th cent. , Steve Nelson playing the vibes and drummer Billy Kilson, offers catchy, rhythmic music tailored to the musicians' distinctive sound. This is music that's intricate and often exotic, but never less than accessible - it's too gorgeous to be anything less. Four stars - Glenn Whipp Joy Enriquez/``Joy Enriquez'' (Arista arista (ä·riˑ·st ) Between hawking L'Oreal products and memorizing lines for her new role on the WB's ``7th Heaven,'' Whittier's Enriquez releases an album of sultry r&b, playful dance-pop and love ballads with a vocal maturity well beyond her 20 years. Think Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston in training. Guided by her mentor Babyface, who collaborated on writing the tracks ``Situation,'' ``Losin' the Love'' and ``Someday,'' Enriquez's debut is a joy. Three stars - Sandra Barrera Buddy and Julie Miller/``Buddy & Julie Miller'' (HighTone) The First Couple of alt.country has made numerous appearances on each other's albums, but never a flat-out, all-duets disc before now. Most of these songs were written by Julie and the overall package rocks harder and more psychedelically than their individual efforts, which gives Buddy ample opportunity to showcase his guitar virtuosity. There's enough hillbilly harmonizing, high lonesome lone·some adj. 1. a. Dejected because of a lack of companionship. See Synonyms at alone. b. Producing such dejection: a lonesome hour at the bar. 2. fiddling, swampy blues and heart-rending longing, however, to make the Millers' well- deserved cult feel happily at home. Three and one half stars - B.S. CAPTION(S): 5 photos Photo: (1) no caption (Billie Holiday) (2 -- 5) no caption (cd covers) |
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