Edward Albee on Samuel BeckettSharon Olds on John DonneBranford Marsalis on...
A playwright, a poet, and a jazz musician all weigh in on the artists that mean the most to them. Produced by Trey Kay.
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lost Jazz Finds a Home in Harlem
Before yesterday, I had never heard of Bill Savory. For this, I'm thankful: If I had known about Savory, I would have wasted a lot of time and energy being very upset with him. As a sound engineer in...
View ArticleBillie Holiday's Story and Music Hits Broadway in Lady Day
Billie Holiday’s voice and image are icons of 20th century America and the jazz world. Now her story comes to the stage in the musical biography Lady Day at the Little Shubert Theater.Writer and...
View ArticleAudra McDonald is Broadway’s Lady Day
One of the most celebrated voices of our era meets one of the most distinctive voices of an earlier era. Audra McDonald, the five-time Tony-winning singer and actress, becomes the latest performer to...
View ArticleGuest Picks: Audra McDonald
5-time Tony winner Audra McDonald was on the Leonard Lopate Show recently to talk about her role as Billie Holiday in Broadway's "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill." She also told us that she loves...
View ArticleThe Full Cast Recording of Lady Day on Broadway
This week on The Headliner, Mike Shobe takes a look at the full cast recording of Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill. The Broadway production stars Audra McDonald in her Tony winning performance as...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cassandra Wilson Sings One Last Song for Lady Day
Cassandra Wilson is arguably the most important jazz singer of her generation — Time magazine called her“America’s Best Singer.” But Wilson’s records are anything but traditional jazz. When she signed...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Billie Holiday Songbook
This month Steinway & Sons Records released “A Billie Holiday Songbook” an album by pianist Lara Downes. The connection between this classical musician and the late Billie Holiday goes back as far...
View ArticleLady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia
After she was discovered by talent agent John Hammond in Harlem, Billie Holiday cut her first commercial record at the young age of 18 with band leader Benny Goodman. They recorded two songs in...
View ArticlePrez and Lady Day
In 1934, Billie Holiday met a person who would change her life forever, the tenor saxophone player, Lester Young. There was an immediate closeness between the two musicians, and they even gave each...
View ArticleBecoming Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday (or Eleanora Fagan as she was known at the time) arrived in New York City in 1930 and it wasn't long before she was making a name for herself. Working in the speakeasies of Harlem,...
View ArticleThe Debate About Billie Holiday
There is a good deal of debate surrounding the beginning of Billie Holiday's life - the basic facts such as her name and place of birth. However, there are a few things that everyone can agree on....
View ArticleNew Reases: A Billie Holiday Songbook, French Baroque Suites and Fischer's...
This week, pianist Lara Downes pays homage to Billie Holiday, Ivan Fischer delivers bracing Brahms and Tempesta di Mare present French Baroque theater music.A Billie Holiday SongbookLara Downes,...
View ArticleBillie Holiday Centennial: Behind The Harlem Premiere of 'Strange Fruit'
In the late 1930s, the legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday moved to New York City in the first wave of the Great Migration and soon began working in the jazz clubs and speakeasies of Harlem. She is...
View ArticleI’m A Hit Record!
My the mid 1930s Billie Holiday was a regular name in the speakeasy circuit of Harlem and around the country. She'd gained wide recognition with the song "Riffin' The Scotch", and was working as a...
View ArticleChoices: Billie Holiday & Addiction
You can't have a complete conversation about Billie Holiday's life without discussing her relationship with drugs. Her struggle with addiction and the impact it had on her life is a big part of her...
View ArticleConcert Calendar: Billie Holiday Birthday Edition
Queen Esther Sings Billie Holiday: The Rare Sides @ Minton’s (New York, NY) In honor of Billie Holiday’s centennial, singer/songwriter Queen Esther will be recreating the program from Billie Holiday’s...
View ArticleGod Bless The Child
In 1941, Billie Holiday co-wrote the lyrics to her well known song, God Bless The Child. Holiday partnered with composer/songwriter Arthur Herzog Jr. Throughout her career, the two often worked...
View ArticleDon't Call It A Comeback
In 1947, when Billie Holiday was released from Alderson Federal Prison, her career stood on shaky ground. The arrest had been accompanied by loss of privilege, her license to perform in the nightclubs...
View Article'Strange Fruit'
Billie Holiday came of age in the nightclubs and speakeasies of Harlem. Of the many songs that she performed on the stages of New York, she is probably most known for "Strange Fruit". MoMA curator Leah...
View Article
