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Gerry Gibbs Thrasher Dream Trio: Live In Studio
by Dan Bilawsky
Drummer Gerry Gibbs has been living a recurring dream with slight variations for the past few years. In December of 2012, he laid down tracks with two of his idols--the legendary Ron Carter and the estimable Kenny Barron--and dubbed their group the Thrasher Dream Trio. The eponymous debut from that band, featuring fifteen tracks recorded at those sessions, was, not surprisingly, a strong and classy affair filled with standards, some originals, and other jazz-friendly fare, such as Stevie Wonder's “Don't ...
Continue ReadingCassandra Wilson: Coming Forth by Day
by C. Michael Bailey
Cassandra Wilson is the most important jazz vocalist of the past thirty years. There. I said it. I meant it. It is out in the open (not that this was any secret). After an impressive jazz debut with Point of View (JMT, 1985), Wilson would release seven more well- received, if not underrated, recordings before she changed the entire jazz vocals setting with Blue Light 'til Dawn (Blue Note, 1993). Wilson's ...
Continue ReadingCassandra Wilson at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
by Patricia Myers
Cassandra Wilson: “Coming Forth by Day, A Celebration of Billie Holiday" Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Scottsdale, Arizona February 21, 2015 Vocalist Cassandra Wilson delivered a modern homage in honor of the anniversary of Billie Holiday's 100th birthday. Her performance neither replicated the late singer's sound nor did it adhere to the jazz mode of that long-past era. Instead, it was a re-characterization of the songs that made Holiday famous from 1935 to 1959. ...
Continue ReadingCassandra Wilson at Lincoln Center Out of Doors
by Ernest Barteldes
Cassandra Wilson Lincoln Center Out of Doors August 8, 2014 New York, NY Playing before an outdoor capacity audience, Cassandra Wilson performed a concert to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of Blue Night 'till Dawn (Blue Note, 1993), featuring many of the musicians who originally performed on the studio version. Wilson kicked off a soulful rendition of “You Don't Know What Love Is" with incredible subtlety, feeling every ...
Continue ReadingCassandra Wilson: Silver Pony
by Enrique Turpin
Todavía con el eco salutífero de Loverly (Blue Note, 2008), último trabajo de Cassandra Wilson antes de la entrega de su recopilación Pop Side (Blue Note, 2009), la contralto de Misisipí reorganiza su legado musical con el primer directo para la discográfica que mima actualmente sus apetencias. Si Jacky Terrasson no fue la pareja idónea para acompañar las heterodoxias de la cantante, sí puede decirse que Jason Moran cumplió el preceptivo encuentro con nota. Ahí está la espléndida lectura de ...
Continue ReadingCassandra Wilson: Silver Pony
by Lewis J Whittington
Vocalist Cassandra Wilson is known for her genre bending interpretations of jazz and pop standards, though Silver Pony represents a bit of a departure. The liner notes explain that she worked on it during a personal crisis and also was returning to her musical roots. There are studio tracks recorded in New Orleans, mixed with live tracks from Spain, with many of the same musicians. Silver Pony starts with a staccato, pulsing arrangement of “Lover Come Back ...
Continue ReadingCassandra Wilson: Silver Pony
by C. Michael Bailey
Brilliant in spite of its ragged texture, Cassandra Wilson's Silver Pony justly illuminates the important influence Wilson has had on all jazz vocals, since her artistic breakthrough with 1993's Blue Light 'Til Dawn (Blue Note). A sharp solution of live and studio performances, Silver Pony reveals the depth and breadth of both Wilson's enigmatic singing and instrumentation, that rich Delta organic approach disseminating throughout all of jazz vocals of the past 20 years. Always close to the blues, Wilson puts ...
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