Billie Holiday was in fine form on 5 October 1958 at the Monterey Jazz Festival; little did anyone know at the time it would be her last recorded live date and a mere 9 months later she would succumb to her vices, dead from heart failure brought on by cirrhosis of the liver. Regardless of what was to come, on that autumnal California night, Billie sang her heart out backed by a small, swinging combo, in stark contrast to the heavily orchestrated Lady In Satin released earlier in the year and, as wonderful as that album is, this is the way Billie was meant to be heard: sultry and swinging, invoking images of smokey nightclubs and back alley gin joints. A classic live recording from one of the most iconic voices of all-time.