BILLIE HOLIDAY – TRAVELIN’ LIGHT: CLASSIC RECORDINGS 1939-1951 (Jasmine CD) (2025)

This collection, while welcome to Billie Holiday newbies, is rather limited in scope, being based on an arbitrarily limited time period and, in particular, her recordings for Commodore and Decca. However, it is a reasonable introduction to a lady whom I consider unassailable in the jazz world. For a broader picture I’d recommend Billie’s ‘At Storyville’ album and the 2008 four CD set with the master takes and singles in the Columbia Original Masters series. Meanwhile, this carefully chosen compilation with a generous booklet to tell Lady Day’s story, will do just fine.