DUKE PEARSON - ESP (Extrasensory Perception)

Billie Holiday: Lady in Satin (1958)

Lady in Satin was Billie Holiday’s penultimate LP: recorded and released in 1958 (so, 65 years ago), it was dismissed by many purist critics of the day as uncharacteristic, at best, depressing, at worst -- and that was before the legendary singer’s untimely passing at the age of 44, on July 17 of ‘59.

Their reasons ranged from Holiday’s declining vocal chops, after years of hard living and drug abuse, to her choice of material and direction, tapping into Irving Townsend’s polished production and bandleader Ray Ellis’ lush big band arrangements on a series of easy listening standards.

Meaning, Lady in Satin technically doesn’t even qualify as a jazz album, so it’s no wonder jazz critics weren’t pleased.

In Julia Blackburn’s 2005 biography, With Billie, Townsend recounted his surprise when approached by Holiday, who said she wanted a “pretty album, something delicate, [not] some wild swinging jam session,” concluding “It would be like Ella Fitzgerald saying she wanted to record with Ray Conniff.”

For those of you wondering “who the fuck is Ray Conniff?” it’s not a compliment and, oh yeah, don’t ask!

But, for the minority who would come advocate on Lady in Satin’s behalf, it’s precisely the contrast between these sophisticated, urbane surroundings and Billie’s time-weathered but still incomparably emotive, intimate, unmistakable vocal expression that makes some of these songs sound so special.

Me, I see both sides of the argument ...

On the one hand, I just can’t get excited about droll drivel like “For Heaven’s Sake,” “You’ve Changed,” and “Glad to Be Unhappy,” as not even Billie’s sultry, smoky, vulnerable interpretations can lend much gravitas to the lyrics’ wry self-deprecation and milquetoast conception of both romance and heartbreak.

On the other, when Lady Day just sings the blues from wary and weary experience, floating over the disquieting minor key strings arranged for “I’m a Fool to Want You” and “You Don't Know What Love Is,” the purpose of this imperfect experiment gains clarity.

And however one may feel about all this, the fact is Holiday was the driving force behind this LP (her first for Columbia, after a long association with Norman Granz's Clef Records, later absorbed by Verve), hand-picking songs she’d never cut before, among which I also enjoyed “It’s Easy to Remember (And So Hard to Forget)” and “The End of a Love Affair.”

So, while the songs of Lady in Satin obviously aren’t nearly as essential or timeless as Billie’s classic jazz performances backed by small combos over the previous 20 years (“Miss Brown to You,” “Strange Fruit,” “God Bless the Child,”  etc., etc.) I’d say they’re worth exploring, anyway.