Genius Of Lady Day

Entertainment for Home Video's (aka Efor Films) Billie Holiday: The Life & Artistry of Lady Day now finds itself part of the Jazzmemories series from Music Video Distributors, here given the alternate title The Genius of Lady Day. On the front cover MVD uses a Scott Yanow quote from AMG, which -- plus a few more paragraphs on the back -- is just about all of the written information the viewer can expect on this otherwise generous package of Billie Holiday film clips merged with a 30-minute biography. The narrator's name is not revealed (sounds like the same uncredited voice on MVD's Nat King Cole package) and his commentary is adequate for those who want a quick sketch of the legend's life, though an accompanying booklet would have been more welcome. Outside of that, this is an audiovisual feast for fans of Holiday as well as those who would like to know more about the vocalist. Her story was, strangely enough, brought to life on Lou Reed's hard rock masterpiece Rock 'n' Roll Animal, and Reed's live version of the "Lady Day" track from his Berlin album is a good reflection of the story told in this documentary: dark and full of sadness. There are generous bonus tracks here -- selected books, a selected discography, the chilling lyrics to "Strange Fruit," a list of Holiday's musical compositions, 13 TV appearances and clips, as well as four scenes from director Arthur Lubin's 1947 film New Orleans. The "Dark Lady of the Sonnets" is mesmerizing on this release and the imperfections and age of the video material only add to its charm. ~ Joe Viglione|