The indelible jazz artist Billie Holiday, one of the greatest talents to emerge from Baltimore, will be saluted Wednesday by the Pratt Library and Billie Holiday House.
This birthday celebration -- the singer was born on April 7, 1915 (she died much too soon on July 17, 1959) -- will be held at the Central Library. It includes the 11 a.m. opening of an exhibit, "Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday," and the unveiling of a replica of James Earl Reid's striking sculpture of Billie Holiday (the original is located at Pennsylvania and W. Lafayette avenues). At 7 p.m., vocalist Lonette McKee will perform a Holiday tribute.
To me, Billie Holiday is the jazz equivalent of opera's Maria Callas, a singer with an imperfect vocal instrument, but incomparable style. Here's my own birthday salute to Lady Day, from her exquisite "Lady in Satin" album recorded about a year and a half before her death. It doesn't get better than this: