Billie Holiday is one of the most complex figures in American music. In her hey day she was the highest paid Black female entertainer in the world. She became a target of harassment by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. She was a heroin addict and heavy drinker. She spent time in prison and continued to perform after her release. She died at age 44 in 1959, a broken woman who embodied the blues she sang so hauntingly.
Diana Ross played Billie Holiday in the movie about her life, “Lady Sings the Blues.” When it was announced that she had been selected, people were quite surprised. Ross neither looked nor sounded like Billie Holiday. She said, “One of the things that I didn’t want to do is try to copy Billie Holiday. I didn’t want to try to copy her sound. I didn’t try to imitate it in any way, I just lived with the music for almost a year before we actually recorded the music.” She won an Oscar for her role and universal acclaim.
Last year Audra McDonald played Billie Holiday on Broadway in “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill.” The play is about a single night’s performance by Holiday in 1959. McDonald channels the older Billie, wiser perhaps but drinking too much and falling to pieces, slowly, before her audience. She says she listened to Holiday for a year and a half to prepare for the role adding,”But eight months ago, once I discovered all of these recordings of her rehearsals, of her speaking where she’s been drinking and she really lets loose, her speaking voice is very similar to my grandmother’s. I thought, ‘Oh, she sounds like Nana when she speaks. Maybe that’s my way in.’ And through that I ended up finding her singing voice.” She won a Tony for her role and universal acclaim.
José James, a rising star in the world of jazz vocals, is the latest artist to do homage to Lady Day. His album that celebrates the centennial of Billie Holiday’s birth, “Yesterday I Had the Blues,” will drop on March 31 from the respected Blue Note label. James will be in Atlanta at the Variety Playhouse on Saturday, April 4. He agreed to a brief interview via email while touring to promote his album in Europe.
José James is a genre bending jazz singer and band leader. Music is a lifetime passion for him and “Yesterday I Had the Blues” is his sixth album. His albums alternate between jazz, experimental and neo-soul/hip-hop. His new album is a return to jazz and a tribute to the singer he calls his “Musical Mother.” He recently posted about his relationship with Billie Holiday’s music on his Facebook page, “This story begins 34 years ago in Minneapolis. I am 3 years old and looking through my mother’s vinyl collection which is on a shelf on the floor. This is my first memory. I pause when I see an image of a beautiful woman looking like a queen with a white flower in her hair. She looks away from the camera and radiates a power like I’ve never seen. I ask my mother to play the album and soon the voice of Billie Holiday fills our living room and flows through our home. I sit and listen, fixating on the line “God bless the child that’s got hizo.” I have no idea what “hizo” means, but I’m pretty sure she’s singing about me.”
We contacted James with a few questions about his life in music and love of Billie Holiday. Here is what he had to say,
From your Facebook page I see you are reading Hendrix on Hendrix, a compilation of interviews by the great Jimi Hendrix. Many of his interviews include references to his difficult childhood and the hard road he had to travel as an artist before he knew success. Could you share a little about your early years in Minneapolis? Tell us a little about your family, your Irish-Panamanian ancestry, your first memories of music?
Having a hard childhood isn’t interesting, it’s the transformation into an artist that fascinates me. Like Hendrix I was driven to seek out like-minded people – actors, musicians, dancers, poets, artists – who were highly creative. There are a lot of jazz musicians from South Detriot and Chicago, most notably Donald and Kevin Washington, Carei Thomas, and Douglas Ewart. They along with the poet Louis Alemayehu mentored me and showed me that creativity is a freeing thing, that self expression is healthy and positive.
Your latest album celebrates Billie Holiday and the 100th anniversary of her birth. In researching Miss Holiday and her music, what were the things that sent chills down your spine?
The fact that she was targeted by the U.S. Government for recording “Stange Fruit.” They ruined her life and career because of her stance on systematic racism and oppression. It’s well documented.
You are a very busy man with touring and recording. You have an interesting stage presence that is both hot and cool. How do you take care of yourself between performances and how do you prepare to perform and record?
I eat well and drink a lot of tea on the road. I’m currently doing the Insanity workout which has been amazing. Janelle Monae’s tour manager posted about it and it’s a game changer as you don’t need weights and can do it in your hotel. I also do daily vocal warmups and don’t smoke or drink anymore. The voice is a delicate instrument and we eventually learn how to take care of it.
In a genre driven music industry you are a shapeshifter. You can move fluidly between jazz, rock, soul and hip hop. Where do you find the grace to do this?
From God. All the ideas flow from the divine and we have to be open to them. I don’t question what comes I just vibe with what feels right and go for that. It’s not about trends, it’s about a human expression that goes back to our origins. I love all types of music!
You have shared your black dragon tattoo on your Facebook page. What about the black dragon drew you to the image? Is the black dragon are part of your magic and if so how so?
(Laughs) I don’t know. I went through a divorce and a lot of life changes and I wanted a powerful transformational symbol. I’m very connected to Japanese culture including tattooing and the dragon is a sacred power symbol.
I heard James perform last year when he was touring with his last album, “While You Were Sleeping” and he rocked the audience with his audacity and verve. There is no doubt he is a powerful singer and will give the performance his all. The question remains, what will he do with Billie Holiday? Following in the footsteps of Diana Ross and Audra McDonald is bold. Being a male singer taking on the repertoire of Lady Day is perhaps bolder. His performance at The Variety Playhouse is eagerly anticipated by his fans who wonder like me if he has “hizo.” We also wonder what Billie Holiday will do with Jose James. She might smile on him as she did with Diana and Audra. It would come as no surprise if Jose (and Billie) didn’t walk away with a Grammy this year.
Franklin Abbott is an Atlanta psychotherapist and poet who also loves jazz.
