Billie Holiday songs with restrained dynamics interprets subtle.

This year, the great Billie Holiday would have been on 7 April 100. Your eventful, more tragic than joyful life ended in 1959 at the age of only 44 years and is still always occasion for many documentaries and biographies. The film adaptation of her life story ('Lady Sings the Blues'), some Oscar nominations received, including one for the lead actress Diana Ross.

With his sixth solo album 'Yesterday, I Had The Blues', presents José James from the current Billie Holiday Tribute albums for my taste now remains one of the most impressive. The singer, born in 1983 in Minneapolis with ancestors from Panama and Ireland, showed up on almost all of his solo albums produced to date - less than traditional Jazzvokalist - but as yet young, innovative mediator of jazz, blues, hip hop, soul and R & B.

But no matter what styles José James puts it: his music is automatically assigned an extremely subtle, unmistakable imprint thanks to its special, warm, smoky velvet baritone voice and the way he deals with it. I'm actually very surprised that he is not much more popular in Germany. When US Downbeat Critics Poll in 2014, it ranks at number 8 of all selected jazz singer!

'Yesterday I Had The Blues' has become, with the exception of the song "What A Little Moonlight Can Do' classic, but also an average modern inspired jazz ballads album. In this song the pianist Jason Moran shines in furious solos and José James purrs not without elegance - adapted to the pace-piece - as a moderate excited hangover. But joy can never be the overwhelming pace of Billie Holiday-tribute.

So fanned his tender voice particularly in 'Lover Man' ('Man', he omits and remains simply the 'Lover') always a little sad-mysterious when he sings of his conjuring nocturnal solitude and his love longings. Piano, bass and drums clearly setting the tone to the lyrics - and in '... but no one to love me' breaks out a short, painful-bitter outcry from him.

Each of these famous Billie songs sung and played with utmost dedication and absolutely genuine. Interprets is rather subdued and deliberately - to places almost meditative. But still pervades the whole album a 'José-own' subliminal dynamics! At the very beginning of the album perceive at 'Good Morning Heartache'. Every word gets here the right emphasis, close in sound: just as if he is sitting in front of a listener and entrusted him with his melancholy mood. For this purpose there is a wonderful piano solo.

In 'Body and Soul' must sing José also relatively high marks - they are soft, delicate and pastel-like. A contemporary inspired Arrangement and the play of the pianist are interwoven in this title especially contemplative with the voice of José James.

In Blues 'Fine and Mellow' it's about what you can barter for or what you're willing to do - if you're in love. The play will be this time dominated by deep, rich bass. José's vocals are energetic, entirely devoted to the idiom of the Blues.

Just as the bass music stands in the foreground with 'Fine and Mellow', the predominant sound of the drummer takes over in 'God Bless The Child' (except the singer's voice) time with his haunting drums. The pianist switches to softer-sounding Fender Rhodes piano, while José James the distinctiveness of his singing once again proves with its Blue phrasing and this beguiling rough velvety aftertaste of its timbre.

In 'I Thought About You' this bittersweet ballad full of romance, pianist Jason Moran unfolds once more be free playful melodic piano - which he even briefly staged a chime - or imitated. Here, and also in the love song par excellence 'Tenderly', José James has his tenderest, brightest and most intimate tones.

His masterpiece but on this CD maintains José James is. Until the very end Infinitely much has been written about the song 'Strange Fruit'. Infinitely he was interpreted by the great jazz vocalists. Billie Holiday sang the highly political, dramatic song that openly directed against Skalverei and the usual lynchings in the US Southern States, already for the first time in 1939. was exciting there and is: the song was composed not by a colored or active apartheid opponents but by the Russian-Jewish teacher Abel Meeropol.

No other song is so very indentifiziert with Billie Holiday. She sang 'Strange Fruit' always so perfect and poignant that any comparison is (almost) prohibits. Nevertheless, there have always been good versions - because of great songs give it time and again good performers. Nina Simone, for example, so what a!

So now José James. His version does not use any accompanying instruments. From a still quiet, dark sums up voices develop. Clapping hands at regular intervals throughout until the end of the song. At the same sounds José voice - haunting, intensely. Initially, this idea sounds like a prayer - the longer you listen to her, however, she clarified as empathic indictment and then disappears at the end becoming quieter - almost like a protest resigned. What remains is the silence after that and the echoing, now silent accusation.

I have great admiration for how José James has designed the inclusion of such well-known, difficult to re-interpret songs. There is no too much and not too little. Nowhere a Überakzentuierung with which he could dramatize words and tune effectively. In the rest of this version is enough despair.

In a concert review to José James (2010), I wrote enthusiastic at the end: Certainly José James is a fascinating innovator of jazz singing. I can see that still the case.

Equally excited I also see that he is now with 'Yesterday, I Had The Blues' convincingly proves -and Blue ballads than adequate, highly artistic sustainer of great classical jazz. Polyphonic as his jazz ballads album 'For All We Know "(2010) is still him and his musicians with this Billie Holiday Tribute fantastic, already timeless jazz album succeeded.