企鹅爵士指南3星高度评价 　　  　　堪称爵士史上最伟大歌手的传奇女伶比莉．哈乐黛Billie Holiday(1915-1959)，在她短暂的40馀年生命中，以她无人能及深情诠释与沧桑楚楚动人的嗓音，留给世人无穷而深刻的感动。而其投入演唱的专注与坚持，更为爵士歌手建立了最好的典范。50年代后期，比莉的歌喉虽因健康因素的影响，不如以往的高亢明亮，然其丰富的生活历练与反而让她的歌唱变得愈形简练而富于诗意，宛如真实地倾诉歌词中的情节，让人不自觉地发出心灵共振。 　　  　　这张比莉哈乐黛于154-56年间于Verve旗下所灌录的专辑，收录了15首比莉歌唱生涯中相当重要的代表性作品，包括了Lady Sings the Blues，Strange Fruit、God Bless the Child，以及Willow Weep for Me等，颇有为比莉．哈乐黛这位人们心中的永远第一爵士女主角作传的意味，相当值得乐迷们珍藏。 　　 　　by Stephen Cook 　　Taken from a pair of sessions taped during 1955-1956, Lady Sings the Blues finds Holiday in top form and backed by the sympathetic likes of tenor saxophonist Paul Quinichette, trumpeters Charlie Shavers and Harry Edison, pianist Wynton Kelly, and guitarists Kenny Burrell and Barney Kessel. And while these autumnal sides bear some of the frayed vocal moments often heard on Holiday's '50s Verve sides, the majority here still ranks with her best material. This is especially true of the cuts from the June 1956 date, which produced unparalleled versions of "No Good Man," "Some Other Spring," and "Lady Sings the Blues." See why many fans prefer the "worn out" Holiday heard here to the more chipper singer featured on those classic Columbia records from the '30s.