Like her idol Billie Holiday, Carmen McRae could own a ballad and make it her own. She could also swing every bit as hard as her other main influence, Ella Fitzgerald. Coming up during the bebop era, under the musical sway of Thelonious Monk, Carmen made a series of recordings for the Decca label that would cement her reputation and launch her career. Whether in small groups or backed by a studio orchestra, Carmen McRae recorded definitive versions of songs that make up the backbones of jazz and the Great American Songbook.