Released on March 31, 2015, “Yesterday I Had the Blues: The Music of Billie Holiday” is an album-tribute to the legendary singer by José James, backed by Jason Moran, John Patitucci and Eric Harland.
(Source Released on March 31, 2015, “Yesterday I Had the Blues: The Music of Billie Holiday” | Yesterday I Had the Blues: The Music of Billie Holiday | The official site of Jose James)
Billie Holiday” ‘ />The Wall Street Journal
But the range and ease of his backing musicians—the all-star trio of pianist Jason Moran, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Eric Harland—keep making him sound slightly stiff by comparison. Their version of “Good Morning Heartache” suffers from an overdose of restraint. [...]
allmusic
He does so without embalming her music as a museum piece or smothering his own voice, thereby adding a real contribution to her legacy. This is his most intimate, powerful, and masterful date. [...]
The Guardian
Moran’s remarkable piano solos are both dramatically independent tributes, and at one with the prevailing mood. James’s silky purr and unsettling calmness bring a scary resignation to Good Morning Heartache; Lover Man emerges over a slow bass vamp and sounds wistful, until ..... [...]