A tribute to Anita O'Day's idol Billie Holiday -- who had died less than two years before the making of this recording -- O'Day's performances here are more notable for what she didn't borrow from her vocal role model. Selections like the title track find her generating a slightly bitter tone quality and languorous phrasing in the manner of Holiday, but most of this beautiful record find O'Day going her own way in a more forthright, less vulnerable manner. While O'Day's version of "God Bless the Child" doesn't really make it, just about everything else is marvelous. Half of the tracks feature a small group led by guitarist Barney Kessel while the other half -- the more effective tracks, actually -- feature now-exuberant, now-exquisite arrangements for big band by Johnny Mandel that make haunting use of muted brass at ballad tempos. This was O'Day's favorite among her Norgran/Verve albums.
Anita O'Day
Trav'lin' Light
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AllMusic Review by Richard S. Ginell
Track Listing
| Sample | Title/Composer | Performer | Time | Stream | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3:36 | SpotifyAmazon | |||||
| 2 | 3:58 | SpotifyAmazon | |||||
| 3 | 3:12 | SpotifyAmazon | |||||
| 4 | 2:40 | SpotifyAmazon | |||||
| 5 | 2:28 | SpotifyAmazon | |||||
| 6 | 2:30 | SpotifyAmazon | |||||
| 7 | 4:03 | SpotifyAmazon | |||||
| 8 | 2:10 | SpotifyAmazon | |||||
| 9 | 2:56 | SpotifyAmazon | |||||
| 10 | 2:16 | SpotifyAmazon | |||||
| 11 | 2:52 | SpotifyAmazon | |||||
| 12 | 3:25 | SpotifyAmazon |
