Fine and Mellow - Lady Day and Prez

[Neil Foxlee]

(that's Billie Holiday and Lester Young to the uninitiated) Not to mention Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster and Stan Getz... [Sorry, Gerry Mulligan, as Rob points out below]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=n20GuVWoRVk

[Rob Hall]

Thanks for this Neil, I don't get out into YouTube-land often enough. But the white guy isn't Stan Getz, it's Gerry Mulligan, bringing a little boplicity to the proceedings. I must say, the trumpet solo (Roy Eldridge?) struck me as out of sympathy with the overall tone of the performance, but that's a minor grouse. This clip shows that, late in her career, Billie Holiday was still a class act.

There's so much around nowadays that demands our attention, it's all too easy to forget what's gone before.