First Listen: Kandace Springs takes on a classic with “You’ve Changed”

(January 26, 2025) I had just entered the Billie Holiday rabbit hole from which I never fully reemerged when I discovered Lady In Satin, Lady Day’s penultimate album and the final project released during her lifetime. That 1958 album marked a departure from the albums Holiday cut during that decade and featured her singing tunes she had made famous such as “Solitude” backed by a small jazz combo – mainly a rhythm section and saxophone.

A 40-piece orchestra arranged by bandleader Ray Ellis, who had done similar albums for Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, backed Holiday on Lady In Satin. Holiday was familiar with singing in front of orchestral arrangements, but she had not done so since he 1940s when she was on the Decca record label. The songs Holiday performed on Lady In Satin were songbook tunes, but Holiday had never sung them.

Critical reaction to Lady In Satin was mixed when it was released and remains so now. The primary concern centers around Holiday’s vocals, which by 1958 showed the strain years of societal abuse and self-harm. Holiday’s voice had lost much of its upper range after years of substance abuse, but her phrasing, rhythmic timing, honesty and vulnerability she brought to every remained as pristine as ever.

Holiday’s ability to navigate through her limitations might explain why fans, as well as artists like Kandace Springs, hold this album in higher estimation than the critics. Springs, who has put her unique spin on songs by John Coltrane, Nina Simone and others during her career, wraps herself in the lushness of the 1950s on her loving cover of “You’ve Changed,” a song included on Lady In Satin.

The arrangement on Springs’ version of “You’ve Changed” is like the one Ellis crafted for Holiday back in 1958. Some critics didn’t like hearing Holiday backed by a full orchestra, saying It was too clean. I didn’t agree with that assessment of Lady In Satin and my view is validated after hearing Springs’ version.

Springs is as natural singing in front of a swelling orchestral arrangements as she is performing R&B. In fact, she displays her mastery of both on this tune. Her jazz phrasing is on point, and she manages to include R&B vocal runs in her delivery as well. Check out Kandace Springs’ homage to Lady Day here.

By Howard Dukes

Kandace Springs

"You've Changed"

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