Compared to most singers—particularly the American Idol clones who substitute melisma and vocal bungee jumping for craft—jazz chanteuse Cassandra Wilson is a goddess. Her blue-smoked contralto is one of the most distinctive voices of her generation, and her latest album, Loverly, proves once again that she needs no artifice to soar musically.
The premise is impeccable: a program of standards like “Lover Come Back To Me,” “St. James Infirmary,” and “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” (from Broadway’s My Fair Lady), performed straight up with world-class sidemen like pianist Jason Moran, bassist Lonnie Plaxico, drummer Herlin Riley, and guitarist Marvin Sewell. Wilson has set her artistic bar high, but previous albums have revealed some bad habits—like the customarily long, meandering vamping that peppers her songs. Loverly mostly avoids them. There are some misfires and dull patches here (“Gone With The Wind”), though they’re far outweighed by the album’s triumphs, among them her sweetly gut-stirring version of “Till There Was You” (of The Music Man and Beatles fame). And when it all comes together, as on “Caravan,” with Moran channeling Duke Ellington, and Nigerian percussionist Lekan Babalola spurring the rhythm section, Wilson is beyond good. She’s heavenly.
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