With Billie in Mind
By Teddy Wilson
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Track listing
- A1 What a Little Moonlight Can Do
- A2 This Year's Kisses
- A3 When You're Smiling
- A4 Easy to Love
- A5 Sugar
- A6 Easy Living
- A7 Body and Soul
- B1 Miss Brown to You
- B2 If You Were Mine
- B3 Them There Eyes
- B4 I'll Never Be the Same
- B5 I Wished on the Moon
- B6 Why Was I Born
- B7 What a Night, What a Moon, What a Girl
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2 Issues
2 Reviews
Like many Teddy fans, I associate his sound with Billie Holiday and can often hear her voice when I listen to his albums and that is truer with this solo set than any other album, for obvious reasons. Without any accompaniment, Teddy is free to play with the timing, similar to what Billie did with her vocals. And the well-selected set of tunes (expanded to 20 tracks on the reissue) contain many classics, particularly "Body & Soul", "Them There Eyes", "What A Little Moonlight Can Do" and "When You're Smiling". A heartfelt tribute to a unique talent from one of the most qualified musicians to execute such a tribute. One of Teddy's best, highly recommended.
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Teddy Wilson was surprised when young owner of than-completely new recording company ("Chiaroscuro") invited him to record album tribute to his old colleague Billie Holiday.
For years he was performing but nobody was interested to record him and he said "yes" after some thinking how this could be done in a fresh way. In late 1930s he played piano on some of Billie's best recordings for "Columbia" and the work they recorded at the time was considered to be legendary,so if he decide to do it again as piano solo,it has to have something new.
For such old lion,he still had surprisingly light touch and all songs recorded here (+ extra bonus tracks added on CD but not released at the time) sound like bubbles of champaigne - most of them very upbeat,happy and swinging of course. Since we always associate Billie Holiday with doom and gloom,its nice to remember she was young once and this heartfelt tribute from her original piano player presents her as he remembers her - sparkling young woman with beauty and humour,who knew how to laugh and how to party.
Every piano player would love this.
For years he was performing but nobody was interested to record him and he said "yes" after some thinking how this could be done in a fresh way. In late 1930s he played piano on some of Billie's best recordings for "Columbia" and the work they recorded at the time was considered to be legendary,so if he decide to do it again as piano solo,it has to have something new.
For such old lion,he still had surprisingly light touch and all songs recorded here (+ extra bonus tracks added on CD but not released at the time) sound like bubbles of champaigne - most of them very upbeat,happy and swinging of course. Since we always associate Billie Holiday with doom and gloom,its nice to remember she was young once and this heartfelt tribute from her original piano player presents her as he remembers her - sparkling young woman with beauty and humour,who knew how to laugh and how to party.
Every piano player would love this.
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