Jazz Moods: 'Round Midnight

Billie Holiday recorded so much excellent material, and her finest moments are so well-known to even neophytes, that labels stray from the canon at their own risk. Holiday's volume in Columbia/Legacy's Jazz Moods series (subtitled 'Round Midnight) is marketed toward those neophytes, and it includes only a few of the songs with which she's most identified. "God Bless the Child," the opener, is the highlight, Holiday's (partially) self-written hymn to self-reliance exhibiting just as much spirit and grace a half-century later as it did upon first appearance in the early '40s. All this material comes from Holiday's prewar Columbia period, when she recorded many of her best-known songs. Unfortunately, not all of them are here; "God Bless the Child," "I Cover the Waterfront," "He's Funny That Way" and "I Must Have That Man" are essential to understanding Holiday's genius, but the rest of the inclusions are merely excellent performances that aren't necessary for such a brief overview of Billie Holiday.