April sees the centenary of the birth of Billie Holiday, and it is significant that two of the finest jazz singers anywhere today, one male and one female, have issued their own tributes.
José James’ is more orthodox than Cassandra Wilson’s Coming Forth By Day also released soon and it takes fewer risks with song choices certainly. A very strong quartet accompany him: Selma composer Jason Moran on piano and his Charles Lloyd quartet colleague James Farm’s Eric Harland on drums plus Wayne Shorter bassist John Patitucci.
Yesterday I Had the Blues was recorded at New York studio Sear Sound, no recording date given, Don Was producing, and it is far better than the undercooked soul album While You Were Sleeping James released last year although perhaps this latest album released at the end of March is not as good as the marvellous No Beginning No End which I think is his best album to date even better than The Dreamer.
James includes ‘Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be),’ which Wilson oddly leaves out and he also goes for the tried and tested route by including ‘God Bless the Child,’ again a song Wilson’s more rock-oriented production puts to one side. The early tracks are among the best of the lot: Patitucci’s really fat superbly recorded bass opening up a perfectly aimed ‘Fine and Mellow’ James adding plenty of feeling and atmosphere his voice always warm and welcoming and capable of a lot of power and tenderness.
The album could do with a bit more joy perhaps something despite all the heartache Holiday always seemed to project on her records. But where James’ approach scores most is that this record captures the singer and band together as one Moran delivering some really cracking solos and set-ups, for instance on ‘What A Little Moonlight Can Do’ later switching to Rhodes very engagingly on ‘God Bless the Child’ where James really relaxes into the song and is at his best as he also is on the spiritualised treatment of ‘Strange Fruit’ another album highlight kept right to the end.
In his career James continues to flirt between soul and jazz, this new album obviously more the latter direction, and I think ultimately he will always be a bit hit and miss depending on which aspect of his sound you respond to most, this tribute definitely more hit than miss. Wilson’s tribute is the better of the two albums, if push comes to shove, but you’ve really got to have them both especially if you love Billie Holiday’s music. SG