Billie Holiday - The Ultimate Collection (2005)

There's a moment on Billie Holiday: The Ultimate Collection when Lester Young slips into his sax solo and the camera zooms in on Billie Holiday's face. Glistening eyes, arching brow and an uncontrollable smile reveal anticipation, awe and admiration. The pair joins an allstar cast including Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge and Gerry Mulligan among others for a 1957 CBS performance of "Fine And Mellow . Earlier, a scene from the 1947 film New Orleans portrays an exuberant Louis Armstrong bursting with delight during "The Blues Are Brewin' while the stunning, gardenia-encrusted Miss Holiday sings by his side. With ten rare performances, the DVD provides an overview of Lady Day's career and provides a glimpse into the singer's persona.
Witness Billie's dramatic side with Duke Ellington's "Symphony In Black, A Rhapsody Of Negro Life from 1935. Later, her puffy features and gloomy demeanor shock, though her voice quivers with more emotion than ever as she steps into the spotlight in taffeta and rhinestones for a 1956 TV performance of "My Man , "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone and "Billie's Blues .

Tracklist:
Film & Tv Performances
01. Saddest tale (Billie Holiday)
02. The Blues are brewin' (Billie Holiday)
03. Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans (Billie Holiday)
04. My man [Mon homme] (Billie Holiday)
05. Please don't talk about me when I'm gone (Billie Holiday)
06. Billie's blues (Billie Holiday)
07. Fine and mellow (Billie Holiday)
08. What a little moonlight can do (Billie Holiday)
09. St. Louis blues (Bessie Smith)
10. I cover the waterfront (Louis Armstrong)
Audio Performances
01. Swing! Brother, swing!
02. They can't take that away from me
03. Do nothing till you hear from me
04. I'll get by
05. I wonder where our love has gone
Audio Interviews
01. Shraft's Restaurant, New York, NY, July 17, 1972 - John Hammond
02. Markwell Hotel, New York, NY, July 20, 1971 - Papa Jo Jones
03. Jimmy Ryan's, New York, NY, July 21, 1971 - Roy Eldridge
04. The Cookery, New York, NY, December 3, 1971 - Barney Josephson
05. Linda Keuhl's, New York, NY, July 21, 1971 - Tiny Grimes
06. Musso & Frank's, Hollywood, CA, September 8, 1971 - Billy Eckstine
07. Monteceito Hotel, Hollywood, NY, August 23, 1971 - Jimmy Rowles
08. Yonkers Hospital, New York, NY, January 20, 1973 - Sylvia Syms
09. Corky Hale's, New York, NY, November 17, 1971 - Corky Hale


Extra:
- 1955 Audio rehearsal: Billie Holiday & Jimmy Rowles for 'Jeepers Creepers', Los Angeles, August 22nd 1955
- Audio interview with Billie Holiday & Mike Wallace (Dumont Television, Nov. 8, 1956 NY)
- Timeline
- Complete Recording History


Features:
- Interactive Menu
- Direct Scene Access