Singer Miriam Klein’s claim to fame lies in the uncanny similarity of her voice and phrasing to that of one of the legends of the music, Billie Holiday. Critic Leonard feather commented that she “suggests a later Billie but without the weaknesses”. For Holiday devotees and the curious, that might be enough to interest them in these sides. However there is much more that these recordings have to offer: tenor saxophone giant Dexter Gordon, trombone great Slide Hampton, and trumpet legend Roy “Little Jazz” Eldridge, who played on some of Billie’s classic 1930’s recordings. Eldridge’s muted trumpet introduces Comes Love, then later twirls around Klein’s lines. A majestically strolling sax solo leads into Eldridge and a Ladylike Mariam restating the theme. What a Little Moonlight Can Do is an up-tempo romp with Miriam in a relaxed mood and “Little Jazz” once again plying muted counterpoint. You’ve Changed is sung and played slow and mellow, while The Man I Love has an open-horned Eldridge playing with the melody, buzz tone in full form before Klein and band jump in, the melted-butter sound of Hampton’s trombone front and center. Fine and Mellow is another Billie Holiday classic, a slow blues with Slide’s beautiful horn weaving in and out of the lyrics. Roy’s solo features his patented “screech” high notes and buzz tone. Yesterdays captures Billie’s pain and yearning in a voice and piano duo before doubling the tempo and inviting the rest of the band to have a say. A sensual Body and Soul ends the album the way it began: carrying the flame that Lady Day lit into the next generations.
