Description
Label Review.
1958 album with 7 bonus tracks.
Our Overview.
Billie Holiday ‘All Or Nothing At All’ was originally recorded during 1956-57 and eventually released by Verve Records in 1958. Although Billie Holiday’s association with tenor saxophonist Ben Webster could never match up to her long-standing relationship – both musically and personally – with the great tenorist Lester Young, the vocalist would record with Webster on many occasions dating back to the very beginning of her career. In fact, Webster was present on her fourth recording session on July 2, 1935, which was also the vocalist’s first date under the wing of pianist Teddy Wilson.
She waxed three of her earliest hits at the session: “I Wished on the Moon”, “What a Little Moonlight Can Do” and “Miss Brown to You”, which would remain in her repertoire throughout her career. The singer and tenorist participated on five more recording sessions together prior to 1937. Their paths would then diverge, and with the exception of a single 1944 radio broadcast in which both were captured on two tunes (“Fine and Mellow” and “All of Me”), no further collaborations between Billie and Ben exist until the first of the many sessions included on this set, which took place on August 14, 1956. With the exception of the two December 1957 versions of “Fine and Mellow” recorded for the TV broadcast “The Sound of Jazz” (one is a studio recording and the other the actual live performance during the show) – in which Billie was also reunited with Lester Young – all of Webster and Holiday’s late collaborations are limited to their 1956-57 recordings for Norman Granz, some of which were issued on the album All or Nothing at All .
1956- 57 proved a busy period for Billie Holiday, who after overcoming many breakdowns had just published her memoirs, titled Lady Sings the Blues (in collaboration with William Dufty). She performed a concert at Carnegie Hall on December 10, 1956 to promote her book. Harry Edison had recorded with Holiday on just one session during the thirties (on December 14, 1939, which also featured Lester Young and Buck Clayton). However, he would back her on three sessions during the singer’s time with Granz, in 1954 and 1955 (issued on the albums Lady Sings the Blues , Music for Torching and Velvet Moods ). After the sessions with Webster, Edison would also be present on Billie Holiday’s last studio sessions ever, recorded in March 1959 under the direction of Ray Ellis. Music from two Carnegie Hall concerts on which Billie appeared backed by Count Basie’s band has been added as a bonus.
Track Listing:
Disc: 1
1. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me 2. Cheek To Cheek 3. Ill Wind (You're Blowin' Me No Good) 4. Speak Low 5. We'll Be Together Again 6. All Or Nothing At All 7. Sophisticated Lady 8. April In Paris 9. I Wished On The Moon 10. Moonlight In Vermont 11. A Foggy Day 12. Didn't KNow What Time It Was 13. Just One Of Those Things 14. Comes Love (Alternative Take) 15. Comes Love
Disc: 2
1. Day In, Day Out 2. Darn That Dream 3. But Not For Me 4. Body & Soul 5. Just Friends (Instrumental) 6. Stars Fell On Alabama 7. Say It Isn't So 8. Love Is Here To Stay 9. One For My Baby (& One More For The Road) 10. They Can't Take That From Me 11. Embraceable You 12. Let's Call The Whole Thing Off 13. Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good To You?