Landmark West has an upcoming event dedicated to Billie Holiday, the jazz legend whose last home was on the Upper West Side. She lived in the garden apartment at 26 West 87th Street, and a lot happened here.
It was in this modest space that she basked in the glorious reviews for her 1958 triumph, Lady in Satin, suffered the ill-effects of an abusive husband and substance abuse, and, perhaps most traumatic of all, grieved the death of her best friend and musical collaborator, tenor saxophonist Lester “Prez” Young, who preceded Holiday in death by four months. Here is where she also planned to recover and was plotting a second solo act in London, a city she had come to love.
The name of the event is “Violets For Her Furs: The Upper West Side’s UnSung Neighbor, Billie Holiday”, and it will take place on October 16th from 6:30-7:45pm at 35 West 67th Street.
Dr. LaShonda Katrice Barnett will spotlight the unmatched contributions Billie Holiday made to our national culture during her too-short lifetime and underscores just why she deserves greater recognition, especially in Manhattan. Join Landmark West for a special evening of history, music…and even a few musings on the kind of neighbor she might have made (culled from her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues, published in 1957, just two years before her death). Come celebrate the Upper West Side treasure that was and always will be…Ms. Billie Holiday.
Landmark West has set aside 25 free tickets for our readers! To redeem the offer, go here, scroll down to select the number of tickets you want next to “I Love The Upper West Side Readers”, and then apply the coupon code “UWS”.
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