Turning to Commodore Records after Columbia passed on releasing the racism-lamenting ballad “Strange Fruit,” Billie Holiday wound up cutting a prized run of heart-wrenching sides for the smaller label. “I Cover the Waterfront” captures her distinctive balance of whimsy and sadness, while the self-deprecating “Billie’s Blues” makes the most of her famously idiosyncratic phrasing. Stripped down to intimate backing, these 16 tracks find Holiday escaping the bluster of big bands to settle into a smoky, low-slung groove that she’d return to for years to come.