Billie Holiday: Mean to Me

I guess Im not the only one who heard their first good jazz in a whorehouse, Billie Holiday recalled of a childhood running errands for a Baltimore madam. Billie later turned tricks herself, but didnt take to the life. Music was her salvation. Here she demonstrates what distinguishes jazz singers from other vocalists. She takes liberties with the melody, but remains true to the song. And her rhythm! In an age of delivery as stilted as a filibuster by Senator Fogbottom, Billies is playfully conversational. Her stylistic sophistication is matchless. Madam, nobody ever heard jazz like this in a whorehouse.