Gardenias for Lady Day is the eighth album by saxophonist James Carter featuring tracks associated with Billie Holiday which was released on the Columbia label in 2003.

Continuing to display a unique and singular vision, Carter has crafted a fittingly urbane, elegant, and unnerving album that celebrates both Holiday's haunting spirituality and earthy sexuality".

The disc satisfies Carter's aptitude for repertory, his gift for personal interpretation, his saxophone obsession, his historical ken and even his devotion to the art of surprise.

Her deep, inner strengths, her don’t-quit attitude, and her remarkable perseverance all show up in the musical arrangements that James Carter has adopted for his debut on Columbia".

Naming the album "Dud of the Month", he suggested that Columbia executives had steered Carter toward recording a "mess" and wrote in conclusion: "Eight songs, only half even vaguely associated with Holiday; strings that would gag Charlie Parker; excited vocals by an Ella wannabe.