Crawford Grill Presents Billie Holiday!
By Vernell A. Lillie

The Characters
Mr. B., Billy Eckstine (Charles Timbers)
Roy Eldridge (Pete Henderson)
Errol Garner (Spencer Bey)
Art Blakey (Ernie Davis)
Freddie Greene (Mark Strickland)
Ray Brown (Calvin Hughey)
Buzzy Robinson (Birl McCord)
B.J. Grier (Teri Bridgett)
Taxi Driver (Alvin McCray)
Billie Holiday (Sandra Dowe)
Norma Barnes (Norma Jean Barnes)
Emerging Jazz Dancers (Tiffany Ellis, Tony Dixon, Ellen McCord, Monica Hilliard)
Waiters, Waitresses, Club Patrons (Deneene Brockington,
Kelly Maddox, Ta-Tanisha Hill, Matthew Twyman, Delores Matthews, Douglas Ligons)

Roy Elridge had appeared with Lady Day and Teddy Wilson on numerous recordings in the late 30's. Freddie Greene was considered by Buck Clayton and others as one of the world's greatest guitarists. He was one of the three positive romantic interests Lady Day had in her earlier life. The others were Bobby Henderson, a protege of the great Willie "The Lion" Smith, and Joe Guy, a young trumpet player.

It is important for all to realize that both Melody Maker (August, 1957) and Downbeat Magazine (September, 1957) document that Lady Day was in fine voice for the after hour jam sessions in September of 1957 at the Five Spot in New York, and for her performance in Canada (August, 1957) at the prestigious Shakespeare Festival held in Strafford, Ontario, and for follow-up bookings at the Town Tavern in Toronto

Lady Day lives up to greatness for this short engagement at Crawford Grill. She shares her humor, her pain, her point of view about jazz, its musicians, managers, club owners, and promoters. While musically she has a ball demonstrating her vocal flexibility, unique interpretive qualities, and her voice as an instrument, Lady Day feels good about herself because of her recent successes in Canada, summer concerts in Central Park, and jam sessions after hours a New York's Five Spot. For the Crawford Grill patrons, she does what she does best -- communicates her feelings about life, her world, the haunting memories of abuse by relatives, friends, lovers, the criminal justice system, female oppression, racism, death, and about her difficult life. But those who knew her well felt that she was in pain. Even though she compromises her social values as a person, she stands firm against opposition of her aesthetic values and musical styles.