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Loverly
(more) »rank: 901by: Cassandra Wilson
:Album Description:Long considered one of the finest singers in the jazz world, Cassandra Wilson's new album is a tour de force of emotion, technique, interpretation and style as she brings her considerable powers to this collection of classic songs. Once again she has gathered a band of shining talent, featuring the brilliant Jason Moran on Piano with guitarist Marvin Sewell and Lonnie Plaxico on bass - a band that is so good together that Cassandra was happy to sit in the producer's chair and let the songs speak for themselves. Featuring incredible interpretations of the ...
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New Moon Daughter
(more) »rank: 17862by: Cassandra Wilson
: essential recording:Her luscious alto has the depth and texture of a great tenor saxophonist, but Cassandra Wilson's defining asset is a postmodern song sense that enables her to surf through Son House, Neil Young, Johnny Mercer, Billie Holiday, and (gasp!) the Monkees in pursuit of strong songs that can provide that instrument with a canvas. Her second Blue Note album extends Wilson's seductive pilgrimage beyond the conventions of jazz repertoire and accompaniment, yet it's her instincts as a jazz singer that inform these brilliant readings. The settings again step away from traditional small group ...
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Belly of the Sun
(more) »rank: 8515by: Cassandra Wilson
:Album Description:Belly of The Sun, her fourth release for Blue Note Records, is the classic Cassandra Wilson journey, where borders and boundaries are sometimes pushed, sometimes expanded, sometimes eliminated but always discounted as limitations. Embracing Blues, African, Jazz, R&B, Brazilian and pop sensibilities, Belly of the Sun, is an invitation into the many sounds that have filtered through the musical landscape of the South. Featuring both original material and startling interpretations of material by other songwriters such as The Band, Bob Dylan and Robert Johnson, Belly of The Sun is full of the power of ...
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Blue Light 'Til Dawn
(more) »rank: 3985by: Cassandra Wilson
: essential recording:Cassandra Wilson is a postmodern jazz singer, a conceptualist who sees no dividing lines between genres. If her career had commenced in the 1970s rather than the label-conscious 1990s she would have been marketed as a mainstream pop diva. Her magnificent voice and interpretive genius mark her as a jazz singer for the ages, however. She finds her material wherever her fancy takes her and remakes it in her own image, whether it be the country blues of Robert Johnson's 'Come On in My Kitchen' and 'Hellhound On My Trail,' the soul of ...
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Thunderbird
(more) »rank: 22756by: Cassandra Wilson
: : With a series of terrific albums, Cassandra Wilson has established herself as one of the day's great vocalists and, in branching out from jazz into blues and folk and pop, paved the way for genre-crossing stars including Norah Jones. But the Mississippi native has rarely sounded as relaxed or winning as she does on 'Thunderbird,' which teams her with the stalwart O Brother Where Art Thou? producer T Bone Burnett. Recorded mostly in Los Angeles, the album is noteworthy not only for its roomy, atmospheric sound and experimental touches, but also for its improvised-in-the-studio ...
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Traveling Miles
(more) »rank: 13066by: Cassandra Wilson
: :Cassandra Wilson's tribute to Miles Davis, Traveling Miles, is nothing if not ambitious--easily on par with the other slew of Davis tribs. Covering the great trumpeter's long career is alone quite a challenge, but Wilson sets her goals even higher by writing new lyrics and arrangements that make these tunes her own. The result is a pleasure that ends up capturing Wilson's spirit as well as Davis's. Never one to hew to traditional jazz's formats, Wilson adds acoustic and slide guitars, percussion, harmonica, and other instruments that give the album an enormously varied feel. 'Right ...
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Glamoured
(more) »rank: 55913by: Cassandra Wilson
:Album Description:'Glamoured' is a Gaelic word meaning to be whisked away, says vocalist and songwriter Cassandra Wilson, explaining the title of her new CD. 'It's like being in a daydream, those split seconds when you're transfixed and your eyes don't move and you have to shake yourself out of it. This album captures the feeling of that reverie.' Indeed, Wilson sets such a mood with her trademark mix of first-rate originals and adventurous covers of other songwriters' works, this time picking material by Sting, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Muddy Waters and Abbey Lincoln. Such eclectic ...
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War of the Worlds
(more) »rank: 38846by: John Williams
: :John Williams continues his longtime collaboration with Steven Spielberg in this adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel of the same name (previously filmed in 1953). Considering that the movie depicts a gigantic Martian invasion, you'd think Williams would have fully gone into his familiar bombastic mode, but he's refrained from doing so. While the composer makes full use of the outsize orchestra at his disposal, he prefers juxtaposing layers and building atmosphere rather than hitting you over the head with dramatic arias. 'The Intersection Scene,' for instance, begins slowly and minimally, then progressively builds into ...
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Rendezvous
(more) »rank: 63091by: Jacky Terrasson & Cassandra Wilson
: essential recording:Throughout Cassandra Wilson's career, jazz critics have been presuming to tell her what to do. Instead, she maintains her own impressive balance among jazz standards, other popular songs, and originals, and among a 'jazz' approach, a guitar-based country blues spareness, and art-pop inspired by one of her greatest influences, Joni Mitchell. Here she reminds us that she can bring tremendous freshness to standards. Star pianist Jacky Terrasson makes it almost easy for her. His standout contribution, though, is a tinkling, decidedly late-autumnal solo 'Autumn Leaves.' Bassist Lonnie Plaxico and percussionist Mino Cinelu contribute ...
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Let's Get Lost
(more) »rank: 100694by: Terence Blanchard, Cassandra Wilson
: :Like George Gershwin and Cole Porter, the music of Jimmy McHugh is an essential part of the American popular song canon, and jazz musicians have always been the canon's greatest interpreters. On this CD, New Orleans-born trumpeter Terence Blanchard delivers fresh renditions of McHugh's songs with four of the brightest singers on the scene. The cool Canadian chanteuse Diana Krall tickles the title track with her Shirley Horn-like vocals and pianisms, while Jane Monheit graces the ballad 'Too Young to Go Steady' and the bouncy 'I Can't Give You Anything but Love' with her quiet-storm ...
