Unique AB production in which an impressive voice of modern jazz - José James – releases his vocal glory upon the musical heritage of Billie Holiday, or “Lady Day”. Let's just say: one of the most impressive voices American jazz history has ever known.

Coincidence or not: Billie Holiday – or Eleanora Fagan Gough – was born on 7 April 1915. So José James intentionally chose this symbolic date (read: anniversary).
Time to give the word to the founder of the project, José James himself, on his love for Lady Day.

José James - vocals, loopstation
Takuya Kuroda - trumpet
Michael Campagna - tenor saxophone
Kris Bowers - piano
Solomon Dorsey - bass
Richard Spaven - drums

Kris Bowers is very special: he plays with Aretha Franklin, Ludacris + Marcus Miller

José James about Billie Holiday
“Billie Holiday stands in our history as the most important jazz singer of all time. She remains the finest interpreter of the human heart, finding the notes, words, and feeling to describe that most complex human emotion - love.
Her father, Louis Armstrong, gave her the harmonic language, jazz phrasing, and risk taking of a instrumentalist. Her mother, Bessie Smith, the Empress of the Blues, gave her the personal voice, style, feeling, and artistry of a powerful storyteller. Together she combined these skills into a new vocabulary of expression, taking the words and music of some of America's finest songwriters - Ellington, Mercer, Gershwin, Kern, Berlin, Arlen, Porter, Rodgers and Hart - to the level of a new art form. Jazz singing. She did not invent it but she perfected it and set the bar for every generation of singers to follow. This night is a tribute to her mastery of song, and to her indomitable spirit.
Billie Holiday has brought me out of my darkest nights with her poetry and warm voice that, world weary and timeless, calls upon the wisdom of the ages. She reminds us that the human heart is a most fragile thing - and is perhaps the only way possible to understand our choices, passions, and paths that we must take in our life. She reminds us of the power of memory, of our cherished moments with loved ones that - though they reside in the past - are kept alive through our devotion of feeling.

José James

An Afternoon with Billie Holiday…
Ready for an afternoon totally focused upon Lady Day? No, we won't be reading from her seriously ‘cleaned up’ (auto)biography ‘Lady Sings The Blues’ that she published in ’56 with the assistance of her ghostwriter William Dufty (which also once bore the working title ‘Bitter Crop’) and we won't be falling back upon the biopic of the same name from ’72 starring Diana Ross. We'll be attempting to dig just a little deeper and with more modern day relevance so as to delight even the biggest Lady Day fan. Expect readings, interviews, a listening session or even new revelations.
You can register free of charge via info@abconcerts.be with An Afternoon with Billie Holiday…… as subject. Please also mention the number of people who will be attending with you. Please note: numbers are limited!