The Complete Commodore Recordings

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
In 1939 Lewis Allan's song "Strange Fruit" was a focal point of Billie Holiday's performances, a grimly poetic evocation of lynching delivered with tremendous dramatic power. It was so pointed a protest, however, that Columbia refused to record it. Milt Gabler arranged to record it for Commodore, his independent jazz label, and when it was paired with the sensual "Fine and Mellow," it became Holiday's first hit record. This two-CD set includes all the takes from the 1939 and 1944 sessions, and they're some of Holiday's finest moments in the recording studio, combining first-rate material and sympathetic support that includes pianist Eddie Heywood, drummer Sid Catlett, and trombonist Vic Dickenson. Holiday's vocal and interpretive skills were seldom as beautifully balanced as they are here. --Stuart Broomer

The Complete Commodore Recordings, Music, Billie Holiday, Ballads, Classic Female Blues, Jazz, Jazz Music, Jazz Vocals, Pop, Swing, Traditional Pop, Vocal Jazz
The Complete Commodore Recordings
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • est-il possible de côter un disque sans l'avoir reçu?
  • If You Like Her You Can't Get Enough...
  • Jazzy Elegance, but still I love the Columbia sides better
  • Billie's Masterpieces
  • FANTASTIC COLLECTION OF BILLIE & THE SOUND IS SPLENDID!
 The Complete Commodore Recordings
Billie Holiday
Manufacturer: Verve
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Classic Female Vocal BluesClassic Female Vocal Blues | Blues | Styles | Music
Traditional BluesTraditional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Styles | Music
Swing GeneralSwing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
Traditional Jazz GeneralTraditional Jazz General | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music
Vocal Jazz GeneralVocal Jazz General | Vocal Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
Traditional Vocal PopTraditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music
Traditional PopTraditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music
VerveVerve | Verve Music Group | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:
  1. Billie Holiday: The Complete Decca Recordings
  2. Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia (1933-1944)
  3. The Complete Verve Studio Master Takes
  4. The Complete Billie Holiday On Verve, 1945-1959
  5. The Commodore Master Takes

ASIN: B0000001NM
Release Date: 1997-01-28

Tracks:

  1. Strange Fruit
  2. Strange Fruit #2
  3. Yesterdays
  4. Yesterdays #2
  5. Fine And Mellow
  6. I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues
  7. I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues #2
  8. How Am I To Know #3
  9. How Am I To Know #2 (-1)
  10. How Am I To Know #2 (-2)
  11. How Am I To Know
  12. My Old Flame #3
  13. My Old Flame (TK 2)
  14. My Old Flame #2
  15. My Old Flame
  16. I'll Get By (As Long As I Have You)
  17. I'll Get By #2
  18. I Cover The Waterfront #3
  19. I Cover The Waterfront #2
  20. I Cover The Waterfront (-1)
  21. I Cover The Waterfront
  22. I'll Be Seeing You #3
  23. I'll Be Seeing You
  24. I'll Be Seeing You #2

Tracks:

  1. I'm Yours #3
  2. I'm Yours #2
  3. I'm Yours
  4. Embraceable You #3
  5. Embraceable You
  6. Embraceable You #2
  7. As Time Goes By
  8. As Time Goes By #2
  9. (I've Got A Man, Crazy For Me) He's Funny That Way #2
  10. He's Funny That Way (-2A)
  11. He's Funny That Way
  12. He's Funny That Way #4
  13. He's Funny That Way #3
  14. Lover, Come Back To Me (-1)
  15. Lover, Come Back To Me
  16. Billie's Blues #2
  17. Billie's Blues #3
  18. Lover, Come Back To Me
  19. Billie's Blues
  20. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
  21. Lover, Come Back To Me #2

Amazon.com essential recording

In 1939 Lewis Allan's song "Strange Fruit" was a focal point of Billie Holiday's performances, a grimly poetic evocation of lynching delivered with tremendous dramatic power. It was so pointed a protest, however, that Columbia refused to record it. Milt Gabler arranged to record it for Commodore, his independent jazz label, and when it was paired with the sensual "Fine and Mellow," it became Holiday's first hit record. This two-CD set includes all the takes from the 1939 and 1944 sessions, and they're some of Holiday's finest moments in the recording studio, combining first-rate material and sympathetic support that includes pianist Eddie Heywood, drummer Sid Catlett, and trombonist Vic Dickenson. Holiday's vocal and interpretive skills were seldom as beautifully balanced as they are here. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars est-il possible de côter un disque sans l'avoir reçu?.......2006-02-25

bonjour, comme mon nom et mon adresse vous l'indiquent , je suis français, et je parle peu l'anglais...je ne peux vous donner mon avis sur ce disque car depuis ma commande je ne l'ai toujours pas reçu!...je me doute qu'il doit être excellent car , en fan' de Billie , je ne peux pas penser qu'un tel enregistrement (la seule série que je n'ai pas encore, d'où ma commande) de Strange Fruit en particulier ne soit pas parfait.
Puis-je encore ésperer le recevoir? merci de me donner des nouvelles de cette commande. à bientôt, Claude Perrolle.

5 out of 5 stars If You Like Her You Can't Get Enough..........2005-11-29

enjoy the alternative takes and for me the additional cost is worth it...all takes contained here are interesting.
This period and group of recordings should not to be missed by listeners, coming after Columbia into the Decca period ..this is a nice package with a 40 page book showcasing intimacy.

5 out of 5 stars Jazzy Elegance, but still I love the Columbia sides better.......2005-02-08

This is good music. Billie makes some of her most outstanding performances here. These are the first sessions Billie had where her singing was the key element and the band's performance was subdued in order to sport and clarify her singing. Perhaps, this is a result of the general motion in the recording industry in the mid 1940s to acknowledge the singer, rather than the orchestra. Billie's previous work on Columbia was always issued under the rubric of some orchestra either the Billie Holiday Orchestra or the Teddy Wilson Orchestra, even though the recordings were done by whatever pickup group of members of the Basie Band or other big bands were in town at the moment. Instead of the kind of intros that we hear on the Commodore Sides, the band plays the whole tune a time or two before we hear the voice. This was just what people bought records for before the 1940s when the singer played a smaller role in all jazz and popular music.

On these Commodore siese, we have a sustained group of performers who work with Billie on and off record, arrangements that seem to be more developed, and openings that seem to lead up right to her voice.

Of course, "Strange Fruit" had a big political and artistic impact at the time, but I don't think it measures up as a performance to a number of the Jazz tunes on the CD. Myself, I tend to see it, along with John Hammond Sr. whom I otherwise detest in many regards, as part of an evolution of Billie away from being a Jazz singer towards seeing herself as more of a chanteuse of dramatic songs.

Looking at her whole work, I think Billie did best when she was in a fully jazz environment and when she was recorded with musicians whose work challenged her. This was the case in the many recordings she did for Columbia in the 1930s and 1940s, To a certain extent this is also true in records she made in the early 1950s for Verve with Ben Webster and Sweets Edison presiding.

The Commodore recordings are great. However, nothing compares except perhaps Louis Armstrong's working on pop tunes between 1928 and 1932 to the Columbia sides Billie cut with the likes of Buck Clayton, Lester Young, Johnny Hodges, Benny Goodman, Ben Webster, Freddie Green, Bunny Berrigan, etc. Nothing. Billie was more alive, her voice was stronger, there was more joy in her heart, and no heroin in her bloodstream. Above all, on these sessions she was challenged by a total jazz environment, Jazz masters of her calibre, and an improvisational freedom to the most of the Columbia sessions that seems to have died by the time we get to these Commodore recordings.

Just one word about Mildred Bailey. Yes, Billie's work was a triumph compared to Mildred's. One can appreciate that because Bailey was jealous and spiteful to Billie when Billie first came on the scene. Famously, Bailey hired Billie's mother who catered parties, to cater one of her own parties in the early 1930s, knowing Billie's mother would bring Billie along to help serve the food to her guests. Bailey alledgedly gloated to her guests at the scene of Billie Holiday in a maid's uniform serving her guests and thus put in "her place." That wasn't nice.

One gets the idea that Bailey who had significant Native American ancestry and who was the first well known white female Jazz singer trying to sing in Black style (Bailey had started doing this shortly after World War I), was a bit touchy about her own whiteness. In an age before television, Bailey continued to have fans white and Black who did not know she was white. This remains true even recently when I have loaned tapes of Mildred to other African Americans without any liner notes or anything and had them ask why they had never heard of this great Black singer.

However, I do find it distressing that Mildred Bailey seems to be so forgotten. She was the first prominent female band singer in Jazz. She was and is fun to listen to and a great voice. Mildred was actually able to swing and swing hard even with Paul Whiteman. She produced masterpieces using some of the same small groups as Billie's for HER Columbia recordings, although Baily semed to prefer Herschal Evans to Lester Young. Bailey was also pretty out front for the time as a white female singer performing with an all black combo--"Mildred Baily and Her Oxford Browns." Mildred was simply magnificent in the small combos her husband Red Novro organized, She had a sense of humor about her performances and a bit of salaciousness that you won't find in Billie's recordings.

I don't think it was just out of sentimentality, but in tribute to her artistry, that Sinatra and Bing Crosby (who owed his career to Bailey's bringing him in contact with Whiteman)spent thousands of dollars helping her out in the last years of her life when health problems and the end of her career led her to very hard times.

More people need to listen to Mildred Bailey. I think I will put one of the Commodore disks and one of my Mildred Bailey disks on the CD player now and let the random mix blend all those good sounds together.

5 out of 5 stars Billie's Masterpieces.......2004-08-06

The remastering is spectacular, great sound, better than what I expected. Includes a nice booklet with over 40 pages and session details. A casual fan will probably prefer to buy the master takes CD instead. The only thing about this CD I dont like is that hey should have put the alternates takes at the end, and all the master takes in sequence. But it is a stellar reissue all around.

5 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC COLLECTION OF BILLIE & THE SOUND IS SPLENDID!.......2003-02-08

All the old Commodore Jazz recordings have been taken over by MCA Records and an extensive reissue of the labels
recordings is currently underway. One release that will instantly appeal to every Jazz fan is this new Billie Holiday 2 CD set The
Complete Commodore Recordings. Of the 16 tunes featured you actually get a total of 45 tunes recorded between '39-'45
for the Commodore label because all are multiple takes with the exception of "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" & "Fine And
Mellow". Some of the classics included are "I Cover The Waterfront (4 takes)," "Billies Blues" (3 takes), "Embraceable You"
(2 takes) and probably the most controversial classic of all Billie's recordings...The landmark recording "Strange Fruit" offered
in 2 different takes. The booklet is breathtaking! A walloping 40 pages full of great historical info on these recordings and the
great Lady Day during these years is excellent. Rare pix, complete recording data and producers' info on putting this
masterwork together is also included so you get the inside story correctly. All this material has been digitally remastered and
should come as a very big surprise to many when you hear the playback. A must!
Complete Original American Commodore Recordings
Average customer rating: 1 out of 5 stars
  • Stay away!!
 Complete Original American Commodore Recordings
Billie Holiday
Manufacturer: Jazz Factory
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Styles | Music
Traditional Jazz GeneralTraditional Jazz General | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music
Vocal Jazz GeneralVocal Jazz General | Vocal Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
Classic VocalistsClassic Vocalists | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
Traditional Vocal PopTraditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music
Traditional PopTraditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music
Broadway & VocalistsBroadway & Vocalists | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00005EBU9
Release Date: 2004-04-05

Tracks:

  1. Strange Fruit
  2. Yesterdays
  3. Fine and Mellow
  4. I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues
  5. How Am I to Know?
  6. My Old Flame
  7. I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You)
  8. I Cover the Waterfront
  9. I'll Be Seeing You
  10. Strange Fruit
  11. Yesterdays
  12. I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues
  13. How Am I to Know?
  14. How Am I to Know?
  15. How Am I to Know?
  16. My Old Flame
  17. My Old Flame
  18. My Old Flame
  19. I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You)
  20. I Cover the Waterfront
  21. I Cover the Waterfront
  22. I Cover the Waterfront
  23. I'll Be Seeing You
  24. I'll Be Seeing You

Tracks:

  1. I'm Yours
  2. Embraceable You
  3. As Time Goes By
  4. He's Funny That Way
  5. Lover, Come Back to Me
  6. Billie's Blues
  7. On the Sunny Side of the Street
  8. I'm Yours
  9. I'm Yours
  10. Embraceable You
  11. Embraceable You
  12. As Time Goes By
  13. He's Funny That Way
  14. He's Funny That Way
  15. He's Funny That Way
  16. He's Funny That Way
  17. Lover, Come Back to Me
  18. Lover, Come Back to Me
  19. Lover, Come Back to Me
  20. Billie's Blues
  21. Billie's Blues

Album Description

All the masterworks recorded by Lady Day for this legendary small label between 1939 and 1944, with small groups leaded by the great Eddie Heywood and others. Newly remastered. 2 CD set.

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars Stay away!!.......2005-03-22

This is a terrible version of these recordings. Way too much hiss, this sounds like it was just a bad needle drop (copied from an old LP to a CD) with no mastering whatsover. Worst of all, some of the songs have the end clipped!! Stay away and look for the domestic release on Verve (cheaper by the way).
Complete Original American Commodore Recordings
Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
  • Superb sound quality...
  • Bad sound
 Complete Original American Commodore Recordings
Billie Holiday
Manufacturer: Jazz Factory Spain
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Styles | Music
Traditional Jazz GeneralTraditional Jazz General | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music
Vocal Jazz GeneralVocal Jazz General | Vocal Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
Classic VocalistsClassic Vocalists | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
Traditional Vocal PopTraditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music
Traditional PopTraditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music
Broadway & VocalistsBroadway & Vocalists | Indie Music | Stores | Music
GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Vocal JazzVocal Jazz | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Broadway & VocalistsBroadway & Vocalists | Imports | Stores | Music
JazzJazz | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00005MLXP
Release Date: 2001-06-12

Tracks:

  1. Strange Fruit
  2. Yesterdays
  3. Fine And Mellow
  4. I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues
  5. How Am I To Know
  6. My Old Flame
  7. I'll Get By
  8. I Cover The Waterfront
  9. I'll Be Seeing You
  10. Strange Fruit
  11. Yesterdays
  12. I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues (Alternate Take)
  13. How Am I To Know (Alternate Take)
  14. How Am I To Know (Alternate Take)
  15. How Am I To Know (Alternate Take)
  16. My Old Flame (Alternate Take)
  17. My Old Flame (Alternate Take)
  18. My Old Flame (Alternate Take)
  19. I'll Get By (Alternate Take)
  20. I Cover The Waterfront (Alternate Take)
  21. I Cover The Waterfront (Alternate Take)
  22. I Cover The Waterfront (Alternate Take)
  23. I'll Be Seeing You (Alternate Take)
  24. I'll Be Seeing You (Alternate Take)

Tracks:

  1. I'm Yours
  2. Embraceable You
  3. As Time Goes By
  4. He's Funny That Way
  5. Lover Come Back To Me
  6. I Love My Man (Billie's Blues)
  7. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
  8. I'm Yours (Alternate Take)
  9. I'm Yours (Alternate Take)
  10. Embraceable You (Alternate Take)
  11. Embraceable You (Alternate Take)
  12. As Time Goes By (Alternate Take)
  13. He's Funny That Way (Alternate Take)
  14. He's Funny That Way (Alternate Take)
  15. He's Funny That Way (Alternate Take)
  16. He's Funny That Way (Alternate Take)
  17. Lover Come Back To Me (Alternate Take)
  18. Lover Come Back To Me (Alternate Take)
  19. Lover Come Back To Me (Alternate Take)
  20. I Love My Man (Billie's Blues) (Alternate Take)
  21. I Love My Man (Billie's Blues) (Alternate Take)

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Superb sound quality..........2004-08-30

Never mind the other reviewer all he does is leqve negitive reviews about sound quality, mabe he needs a hearing aid. In anycase the sound is fine, what you'd expect from music recorede over 50 years ago. Holidays' voice is flawless and is well featured here, a great cd for fans of Holiday who want something a little more rare... exellent

1 out of 5 stars Bad sound.......2004-07-23

There are other versions of these amazing sides out there, with better sound. These sound like they were taken directly from an old LP. The surface noise is always there. Also, seems that they click the stop button before many of the tracks finished. I am happy with most of the Definitive releases, but this one fails the test.

Music:

  1. The Early Years: 1930-34 [Box set]
  2. The Girl in the Other Room [DualDisc]
  3. The Great Summit: The Complete Sessions [Limited Edition]
  4. The Jazz Singer
  5. The Key
  6. The Mind of Gil Scott-Heron [Original recording remastered]
  7. The Peacocks
  8. The Source [Import] [CD-single]
  9. The Still of the Night
  10. The Voice

Music

Music