Our Lady: Catholic Billie Holiday

Join us for a lecture and concert featuring the Fordham Jazz Quartet. Iconic jazz artist Billie Holiday received her only formal vocal instruction at the Catholic convent where she was sent to live as a child. She received the sacraments, prayed the rosary, and maintained a friendship with Paulist “jazz priest” Norman O’Connor until the end of her life. Tracy Fessenden, the author of Religion Around Billie Holiday, discusses Lady Day’s Catholic immersions and the difference they made for her life and sound, her reception, and the history of American music