“No Regrets: The Music & Spirit of Billie Holiday”, aired on WDNA

Savage Content/Miami, Kent Savage, Executive Producer, New Media Productions/Boston, Steve Robinson, producer and writer, and Jazz historian, Willard Jenkins, present a thirteen-part series exploring Billie Holiday’s musical genius and legacy. 

“No Regrets: The Music and Spirit of Billie Holiday,” examines Holiday’s early life, the evolution of her singing style, how her haunting rendition of “Strange Fruit” played a vital role in the birth of the Civil Rights movement and other topics related to her astonishing career. 

The focus throughout is Holiday’s singular musical artistry, her independent spirit, how her unique approach to her music became one of the strongest influences in the evolution of jazz, and how she continues to influence performers today. 

The series includes interviews with musicians and scholars including: Karrin Allyson, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Angela Davis, Lara Downes, Dr. Farah Jasmine Griffin, Corky Hale, Alan Harris, Rene Marie, Professor Robert O’Meally, Dan Morgenstern, Fred Plotkin, Adam Clayton Powell III, Beth Roars, Dianne Reeves, Phil Schaap, Andromeda Turre and Casandra Wilson. The program also includes archived interviews collected by Linda Kuehl including Count Basie, Teddy Wilson, Silvia Syms, Jo Jones, Milt Gabler, John Hammond, Billie Taylor, Mal Waldron, Bobby Tucker and others. The narrator is veteran Jazz host, Rhonda Hamilton.