Kim Nalley: “Rethinking Billie Holiday on Her Centennial” | Talks at Google

U.C. Berkeley History Ph.D. candidate and jazz & blues singer Kim Nalley sketches the life and music of Eleanora Fagan. Awarded “Most Influential African-American in the Bay Area” and shortlisted for a Grammy, Nalley portrayed Holiday on stage in the theatrical biopic “Lady Day in Love” in 2005, followed with a tribute CD entitled “Ballads for Billie,” a sold-out concert series at Jazz at Lincoln Center and will reprise her tribute on July 17, 2015 for SFJAZZ. As a popular writer, Nalley has written for Sfgate.com “CityBrights” and for JazzWest. As a scholar, Nalley has written several jazz themed history papers including “This Bitter Earth: Infertility in Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan” and “Two Gardenias for Civil Rights: Robin Carson’s Portrait of Billie Holiday.” Her research of Holiday includes interviews of people who knew Billie personally, painting an intimate singing portrait of the woman whose name is synonymous with jazz-singer. The audience will be invited to ask questions for the Q & A portion of the talk.