Early 20th century America gave us two beautiful genres of music - blues and jazz. Blues and its longing, came from the migrant cottonfield workers from Africa. And when blues met the sensibilities of European classical music, jazz was born. Both these genres have given some amazing musicians to the world and in this edition of vinyl review, I am going to talk about the pioneering ladies of jazz - Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne and Sarah Vaughan. Why? Well, it’s the month of the ladies, isn’t it?

This LP was first issued in 1956 as ‘Ella, Lena And Billie’ as a 10 incher with only 6 songs. Then in 1958, Sarah joined in and the LP was rechristened Billie, Ella, Lena, Sarah and the number of songs became 10. In its last avatar, this 1980 version, has 12 tracks by these 4 sparkling ladies. Allow me to spend some time with each one of them.

Billie Holiday - ‘Lady Day’

When I heard Billie for the first time, I was so overwhelmed, I just couldn’t stop crying. The song was I'm a Fool to Want You. Billie had a timbre like no one else, a horn like phrasing style and a playful air in her delivery. She never did a song in the same way in any of her performances.  The 4 tracks by her are great examples of the magic of Lady Day . My favorites are What a Little Moonlight Can Do and The Man I love . The backing orchestra has giants like Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, Lester Young, Joe Sullivan and Ben Webster, to name a few.

Ella Fitzgerald - ‘The First Lady Of Jazz’

Ella first appeared in a competition at Harlem Opera House in 1933 and won the first prize. And there was no looking back. Voted by almost every jazz lover and musician as the ‘Greatest Ever Female Singer’, Ella had a smooth and silky voice that is still unparalleled in the history of music. Both her tracks here (performed with Teddy Wilson and his Orchestra) - All My Life and the famous, My Melancholy Baby are now classics and vocal marvels.

Lena Horne - ‘The Enchantress’

Lena was an actress, a dancer and a singer. And she got all of these things together in an enchanting way in her performances, especially at Cafe Society in Greenwich Village, with Teddy Wilson’s group, in the early 1940’s. The 2 tracks here, Prisoner of Love and Out of Nowhere are remarkable examples of Lena’s charming style that got her the sobriquet, ‘The Enchantress’.

Sarah Vaughan - ‘The Divine One’

At the age of 18, Sarah won the Amateur Night vocal contest at the Apollo Theater by singing Body & Soul which won her $10 and a week’s engagement at the Theater. Later, she went on to open for Ella. Her improvisational skills and range were astounding. She could’ve very well been an opera singer. Included here are four of her tracks displaying her incredible talent. Backed by jazz masters like Miles Davis, Tony Scott and Jimmy Jones, the stand outs are Gershwin’s Nice Work If You Can Get It and East of the Sun (And West of the Moon).

All the sides in this wonderful compilation were recorded between the years 1935 to 1950, the golden era of Jazz. The accompanying warm crackling sound of the LP can transport you to the cafes in New York of that era, in the company of these wonderful ladies.

Year: 1980

Label: Columbia

Rating: 4/5

Reviewed by Meraj Hasan

Meraj Hasan is a Mumbai based communication professional (and an amateur poet/musician) with a passion for listening to music the vinyl way. His 32-year-old Technics turntable along with a humble collection of LPs across genres like Classic rock, Classical, Blues and Jazz (amongst others) are his prized possessions. He's also the author of the book 'Khyaalon ki Tapri', a collection of poems. This bestseller book is available on Amazon.  

He can be reached at +91 9833410791 or email: meraj.hasan@gmail.com