Guidance regarding 2 female Jazz legends please..

I am probably less familiar with Nina Simone than Rec, but I can recommend "Nina Simone sings the Blues". I have this on DCC vinyl. The sound is good, but it is an old recording and is not a stellar one. I have not heard "Nina Simone and Piano", but it sounds like I should. As for Billie Holiday, the famous "Lady in Satin" is my favorite. I also have this on LP, rather than CD. It is a very, very good recording, but I have no idea about the CD.

check allmusic.com for suggestions. a terrific web site overall that doesn't get quirky with its suggestions. many jazz artists recorded with multiple labels over their careers, so it can be tricky finding just one cd that contains all of the essential stuff. with billie holiday, i'd go with something from columbia, although some of the well-known songs, like strange fruit, were done on other labels.

Simone is hard to reccomend just one LP/CD.Check out listings on www.allmusic.com.Billy well that's much easier.You could check out her voluminous catalog on Colombia (13 CD's or more I believe).Not the best fidelity but her voice was young and fresh.I would say the single CD "Best of the Commodore" years or 2 CD best of Decca.Some folks like her latter Verve stuff but drugs and alchohol had burned her throat out by the 50's and I find it depressing.Go Decca or Commodore.Others you might like would be Ell Fitzgerald "Clap hands here comes Charlie",Sara Vaughn "With Clifford Brown",and Dinah washington "Dinah Jams" (Also with trumpeter Clifford Brown.The greatest of the great would include Billy,Ella,Sarrah and for the modern 60's Betty Carter.I used to help folks build jazz libraries when I worked in a record store for 5 years so if you have any other questions just email me.Best single reference is the book "The Allm usic Guide to Jazz" miller/freeman press.It has music maps so you can easily see who were the best performers on an istrumnet (inlcuding voice) for a particular era or style.Well worth the cost of 2 CD's since one spends so much you want the best not a shot in the dark.There web site is something I used daily when ordering for mytslef or the shop (www.allmusic.com).Enjoy you have a beautiful world ahead of you.

Dolphin,

I realize this is not an answer to your question but please indulge me.
If you ever run accross a record or cd that's cover is simply a picture of Sarah Vaughn with her name on it, get it. Every song on it is standard. . stuff like A Train ,Moonlight in Vermont,Georgia Brown ,and so forth.
The album contains no other information at all. Most persons who heard her late in her career heard a 2 pack a day habit plus 30-40 years. This album,from her prime, might stun you.

Regards,
Pragmatist

I'll add another vote for "Songs For Distingue Lovers" and also the Commodore collection for Billie. I recently got "Lady In Satin" on cd (remastered by Columbia Legacy) and I'm not sure if I'd recommend that one yet--my speakers seem to be a bit too revealing of her by then ravaged voice, but I need to listen to it a bit more.

As far as Nina Simone, I have been listening to "Best Of the Colpix Years" alot lately. Sound quality varies wildly from track to track (this is a hodgepodge of singles and live recordingings from the early 60s), but there is a lot of good stuff on it. In particular, it contains a stunning rendition of "House of the Rising Sun" (sadly somewhat marred by iffy sound quality).