Personnel: Billie Holiday; Louis Armstrong (vocals); Tiny Grimes, Barney Kessel (guitar); Benny Goodman (clarinet); Benny Carter (alto saxophone); Lester Young, Ben Webster (tenor saxophone); Doc Cheatham, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Charlie Shavers (trumpet); Vic Dickenson (trombone); Eddie Heywood, Oscar Peterson, Dave Bowman (piano); Joe Benjamin, John Levy (bass instrument); Cozy Cole (drums); Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra, Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra.

Liner Note Author: Ashley Kahn.

Meticulously selected, lovingly assembled, and beautifully packaged, this two-CD/one-DVD collection is a true retrospective, featuring representative cuts from the length of Billie Holiday's career across a range of labels. While most compilations focus on one period of the legendary singer's career, THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION includes recordings Holiday cut for Decca, Verve, Columbia, Commodore, and others. The backing bands range from small combos to large ensembles, and include such luminaries as Roy Eldridge, Ben Webster, Benny Goodman, Teddy Wilson, Johnny Hodges, Louis Armstrong, and Lester Young.

The set begins with Holiday's 1935 Brunswick dates. The chronological arrangement allows the listener to observe the transformation of Holiday's vocal style, from the light, buoyant early work through her definitive '40s middle period and on to her final sessions from the late '50s, when her voice was broken and life-torn. No matter the phase, Holiday's performances are masterful, gripping, and immediately seductive (not to mention--in cases like the 1939 recording of "Strange Fruit"--historically important). The DVD, which features 10 television and film performances, a timeline, and bonus audio features, is almost too good to be believed. Opinions will continue to differ about the "greatest female jazz vocalist," but be warned: THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION might make any case but Lady Day's hard to argue.

Although Columbia's LADY DAY: THE BEST OF BILLIE HOLIDAY is one of the finest collections of the revered jazz vocalist's work, Verve's 2005 set, GOLD, is on par with its predecessor. While LADY DAY puts Holiday's peak years (1933-44) into sharp focus, the two-disc GOLD draws from various stages of her career, starting with a handful of mid-to-late-'30s tracks (most notably the giddy "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" and the haunting "Strange Fruit," songs that showcase the polar extremes of Holiday's distinctive and nuanced vocals) and concluding with late-'50s sessions recorded just before her death (including the wonderfully mellow "Body and Soul" and the sad, string-laden "I'm a Fool to Want You"). For a thoughtful, wide-ranging Holiday retrospective, it's tough to beat this excellent compilation.