The music of legendary jazz vocalist Billie Holiday will fill the Charleston Music Hall at a Feb. 7 concert with the Charleston Jazz Orchestra. Led by Music Director Robert Lewis, the CJO will bring a big, brassy sound to Holiday classics like “Ain’t Nobody’s Business,” “Don’t Explain,” “All Of Me” and “God Bless The Child.”
The program, called Ode to Billie Holiday, is scheduled for two shows at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Lewis told the Charleston City Paper that for a lifelong jazz musician and educator like him, loving Billie Holiday is as natural as breathing.
“She’s always been there for me,” Lewis said. “As soon as you find out you’re a jazz fan, you start hearing Billie Holiday. She’s obviously one of the icons of the music and one of its creators, and she’s never really been matched. The sound of her voice and the way she phrases are very influential, both for singers but even instrumentalists.”
And standing center stage delivering those classic songs will be vocalist Tonya Nicole, wearing a gardenia in her hair to echo Holliday’s signature look.
Nicole is a former Charleston City Paper R&B Artist of the Year, and she’s shared the stage with Leela James, Felicia P. Fields, Grammy-nominated Jazzmeia Horn and two-time Grammy award-winner Quiana Parler of Ranky Tanky. Nicole has performed with the CJO before, as part of its Ray Charles tribute show in 2019.
“Our director of performances has worked with Tonya a few times, and he spoke really highly of her,” Lewis said. “She’s doing a really good job, and she and I worked together to come up with the set list. She’s been a total pro the whole time; she’s terrific.”
Nicole said she was ecstatic after her first rehearsal recently with the group.
“Holiday is someone I’ve followed since I was 12. I’ve always loved performing her work, but to do it with an orchestra — I’m getting chills.”
Nicole said she discovered Billie Holiday’s music the way a lot of Gen Xers learned about different artists back in the day.
“Do you remember the Columbia House Record Club?” Nicole laughed. “You could get like 20 CDs for a penny. I’d wondered, ‘Why is everyone talking about this woman?’ So I listened and it drew me in. It wasn’t just how she was singing but what she was singing.
“I was mesmerised. She was just different, and I loved it.”
Nicole isn’t wrong about the content of Holiday’s songs. Holiday spent much of her life in abusive relationships and addicted to heroin. Many of the songs she chose to sing reflected that reality.
“The song ‘Ain’t Nobody’s Business’ has these lines in it,” Nicole said. “ ‘I’d rather my man hit me then get up and leave me/I swear I won’t call no copper if I’m beat up by my papa.’ So I’m singing it, and after we were done, one of the musicians asked, ‘Are we going to change those lyrics?’ I said no, because this is what she’s saying and she’s not afraid to say it, because that was her truth. And that’s why I love her.”
Most vocalists aim for perfection, but Holiday’s voice was closer to perfectly flawed. She’s acknowledged by everyone from Frank Sinatra to Count Basie as one of the greatest singers ever, but her voice was etched with fragility, as if it could shatter at any moment.
Nicole said that makes her own approach to Holiday’s material a perfect fit.
“I sing based on what I’m feeling,” she said. “I never sing a song the same way twice because it’s about what I’m feeling at the time for. And I think that’s how she operated. For me, it’s not about perfection. If I feel it, the audience will feel it.”
IF YOU WANT TO GO: Shows on Feb. 7 at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., with doors opening an hour earlier, Charleston Music Hall, 37 John St., Charleston. Tickets range from $10 to $77; charlestonmusichall.com.
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