WE CURRENTLY HAVE MORE THAN 500 LISTED ITEMS
Click here to see ALL our ROCK auctions Our PSYCH PROGRESSIVE auctions Our PUNK NEW WAVE auctions Our JAZZ auctions Our BLUE NOTE JAZZ auctions Our BLUES auctions Our CLASSICAL auctions Our COUNTRY auctions Our FUNK auctions Our LATIN auctions Our METAL auctions Our REGGAE auctions Our SOUL auctions Our STILL SEALED ITEMS Our PROMO auctions Our ACETATE auctions Our TEST PRESSING auctions Our AUDIOPHILE auctions
BILLIE HOLIDAY with BEN WEBSTER, HARRY EDISON, BARNEY KESSEL, JIMMY ROWLES, RED MITCHELL AND JOE MONDRAGON - ALL OR NOTHING AT ALL - ORIGINAL 1957 VERVE RECORDS/CLEF SERIES MONO LP MGV-8329 WITH COVER ART BY DAVID STONE MARTIN
ORIGINAL U.S. PRESSING
BEAUTIFUL AND PAINFULLY EXPRESSIVE COVER ARTWORK BY DAVID STONE MARTIN IS EASILY ONE OF HIS FINEST AND BEST KNOWN WORKS.
RARE MONO PRESSING, MANY TIMES RARER THAN FAKE ELECTRONICALLY RECHANELLED STEREO
DEEP GROOVE PRESSING
ULTRA-RARE ORIGINAL BLACK VERVE/CLEF SERIES LABEL WITH SILVER PRINT AND DAVID STONE MARTIN S TRUMPETER LOGO
THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.S. PRESSING THIS IS NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.
THICK CARDBOARD COVER, AMERICAN STYLE.
CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS
THICK, HEAVY VINYL PRESSING
PLEASE SEE THE IMAGE OF THE COVER, LABEL OR BOTH, SHOWN BELOW
Note: this is a REAL image of the ACTUAL item you are bidding on. This is NOT a recycled image from our previous auction. What you see is what you ll get. GUARANTEED
I d rather hear Billie Holiday now. She s become more mature. Sometimes you can sing words every night for five years, and all of a sudden it dawns on you what the song means . So with Billie, you know she s not thinking now what she was in 1937, and she s probably learned more about different things. And she still has control, probably more control now than she did back then. No, I don t think she s in decline. MILES DAVIS, 1958.
At the top of every page of this website, you ll find a photo with Jazz History Online emblazoned from side to side. The image is from Billie Holiday s segment on the classic TV show, The Sound of Jazz . I m sure that the relaxed setting of Fine and Mellow fron The Sound of Jazz made her feel eminently comfortable and that certainly contributed to her magnificent performance. Even though she s placed opposite the rhythm section, she is surrounded by some of the greatest jazz musicians of the time most of whom she had recorded with back in the thirties . She might have preferred to sing a pop standard, but the show focused on the blues, and Fine and Mellow fit the bill to perfection. I don t know what kind of setup was used when Holiday recorded for Norman Granz in August 1956 and January 1957, but I d like to think that it was something similar to the Sound of Jazz staging, for the recordings issued on the LPs All or Nothing At All , Body and Soul and Songs for Distingu Lovers The Billie Holiday on Verve Story, Volume 7 : All or Nothing At All have the same relaxed feel and musical chemistry as on the Fine and Mellow kinescope. In the scraps of surviving studio chatter only available on the 10-CD set Complete Billie Holiday on Verve Granz is in the control booth encouraging the group and looking out for Holiday s best musical interests. Like Bobby Troup, Granz calls her Baby all the time, and while it sounds patronizing to modern ears, it seemed to soothe Holiday.
Miles Davis quote was his answer to a question about Holiday s classic recordings of the 1930s, and while no jazz historian in their right mind certainly not me will tell you to ignore Holiday s early recordings, true Holiday fans recognize that her later recordings contain great moments of interpretive genius, even when Holiday s voice was in bad shape. And when her voice was working well, as on these Verve sessions, Holiday s artistry achieved levels that it rarely reached before and again. For these sessions, Granz assembled a wonderful group of musicians who shined as much when backing Holiday as they did on their solos. The front line was covered by Harry Edison and Ben Webster, both longtime friends of Holiday and each a specialist in accompanying vocalists. Holiday s pianist was the exceptionally sensitive Jimmy Rowles, who had rehearsed the songs with Holiday before the sessions. Barney Kessel provided both harmonic and melodic support on guitar, and the rhythm section was filled out with Red Mitchell and Joe Mondragon alternating on bass, and Al Stoller and Larry Bunker swapping duties on drums. All of these musicians were based in LA at the time and had all worked together, so the fine ensemble playing was a given, and the group easily put together all of the arrangements on the recording dates.
EXCERPT FROM AN ONLINE REVIEW BY THOMAS CUNNIFFE
TO SEE IF WE HAVE OTHER LISTED ITEMS BY THIS GROUP OR ARTIST CLICK HERE
CONDITION:
THE RECORD
IMPORTANT NOTE: unless otherwise noted, ALL records are graded visually, and NOT play-graded we grade records under the strong, diffuse room light or discrete sunlight
a WE GRADE THE VINYL AS EXCELLENT. This is one of those albums that are somewhat difficult to grade. It is somewhere between VG and NEAR MINT, just a notch below NEAR MINT. A few light abrasions ARE visible, but they are extremely shallow, superficial and only moderately visually distracting nothing significant .For the most part, the vinyl looks impeccable without any MAJOR visual flaws or imperfections. Much of the original luster is intact, and the vinyl shines and sparkles almost like new.
b The record has a deep groove an indent in the label about 1/2-inch from the edge of the label, which on SOME labels is associated with very early or first pressings .
c The record is pressed on a beautiful, thick, inflexible vinyl, which was usually used for the first or very early pressings. Usually, the sound on such thick vinyl pressings is full-bodied, vivid, and even dramatic. Do not expect to obtain such a majestic analog sound from a digital recording
d Mono pressing of this title is much rarer, and by far more preferable to its FAKE electronically rechannelled stereo counterpart. We estimate that FAKE stereo copies of this album outnumber monos by a ratio of at least 15:1.
e True Stereo copies of this album are NOT known to exist.
f Of course, this is a full-bodied ANALOG recording, and not an inferior, digital recording
THE COVER
