I was searching through the RU-vid archives for tunes from Cassandra Wilson's 1988 album, "Blue Skies", and I was surprised to find so very few posted here. I first thought that it must be because of some contractual conflict but when I discovered that wasn't the case, I became downright stunned. By just about anyone's account, Ms. Wilson's Blue Skies album is considered a masterpiece. Every tune from it is well played by the musicians and what Cass does with the lyrics to songs that have been sung by virtually all of the great jazz singers is something of a revelation. She manages to make all of the tunes seem brand new and never before heard. I think one of the best examples of that is this masterful handling of Rodgers and Hart's "I Didn't Know What Time It Was". While Terri Lyne Carrington keeps a steady fire beneath her, Cass swings the tune, beginning and ending some sung phrases with delightful little scats. She then breaks into a fully improvised scat right before Mulgrew Miller scorches us with his highly inventive solo. Special mention should also be made of rock-steady Lonnie Plaxico's bass work throughout, always vibrant and swinging. I could have chosen any tune from the album to provide as an example of the album's fineness so don't settle on hearing just this tune. If you love jazz, you've got to cop Cassandra Wilson's "Blue Skies".
Lineup:
Cassandra Wilson - vocals
Mulgrew Miller - piano
Lonnie Plaxico - bass
Terri Lyne Carrington - drums
15 окт 2024
