Flux Music Essentials … [Azymuth, Eigsti, Matorin, Walden & Wilson]

Tags

Andrei Matorin, Azymuth, Cassandra Wilson, Jazz, Myron Walden, Taylor Eigsti

Flux Music Essentials

Hello jazz enthusiasts, welcome back for another tasty brew of some of the absolute finest jazz available from the shelves of “Flux Music Essentials.” In the mix this week, I’ve conjured up another diverse palette of music featuring vocalist Cassandra Wilson, Brazil’s finest Azymuth, saxophonists Myron Walden, pianist Taylor Eigsti and violinist Andrei Matorin. Hopefully, during your travels you’ve met these excellent recordings along the way.

Cassandra Wilson - New Moon Daughter

Cassandra Wilson -|- New Moon Daughter – [Blue Note, 1996]

Without a doubt New Moon Daughter is my favorite Cassandra Wilson album. Not to say that the others weren’t also excellent. They definitely were. I still listen to Blue Night til Dawn and Traveling Miles regularly. But New Moon Daughter is something else entirely. It’s not that New Moon is totally different than any other Cassandra Wilson album. It contains no less than five cover songs which are all excellent. Especially the quietly powerful strange fruit. She really adds another dimension to that song. Her version of love is blindness is just as spellbinding as u2 original. I’m so lonesome I could cry is as heartbreaking as any other version that I’ve heard. And her rendition of The Last Train to Clarksville makes you forget that a group called the Monkees ever made such as song. And her version of harvest moon blew me away. But the true strength in New Moon Daughter are the original songs. Of those my favorites are Solomons song and until, both songs are sung with an almost lovers intimacy. It feels as if she singing to you. Overall an excellent album that will please most if not all fans of Cassandra’s Wilson’s music. –-Amazon.com

Cassandra Wilson | Glamoured

Tags

African Ameircan, Blues, Cassandra Wilson, Female Vocalist, Jazz, Pop

Within the next couple of months the wait for new music is nearing and end by one of the most substantial, celebrated, and provocative voices in jazz composer and musician Cassandra Wilson has a new album for her fans on Blue Note Records. Now, until this manifests lets take a moment and revisit “Glamoured” by the Jackson, Mississippi native to rejuvenate our spirit and encompass an intricate collaboration of vocal, and lyrics equaling in a tone of near perfection. —Rob Young | The Urban Flux

Cassandra Wilson | Glamoured – [Blue Note Records, 2003]

Cassandra Wilson - Glamoured

One of the simple pleasures of life is putting a Cassandra Wilson disc into the player and hitting “start“. Her voice takes me to a spot that few singers know how to reach…and “Glamoured” proves, once again, why Cassandra is one of our most important performers.

This release is a great mix of brilliantly conceived covers and incredible originals. One of the fascinating things about being a CW fan is following the growth of her talents as a songwriter. While the promise was always there (think “Redbone“), with each new release, her songwriting skills have grown stronger, to where we now have originals that rival the covers she chooses. No where is this more evident than on the toe tapping “I Want More“, with an outstanding drum contribution from Terri Lyne Carrington, and “On This Train” where that haunting smoky voice just shines through – this is the type of song that reminds you why you love Cassandra’s vocals.

Lonnie Plaxico | Westside Stories

Tags

African American, Bass, Cassandra Wilson, Funk

Lonnie Plaxico | Westside Stories – [Plaxmusic, 2006]

Lonnie Plaxico, Westside Stories

LONNIE PLAXICO Bassist, Composer, Producer the middle child in a family of musicians, Chicago-born Lonnie Plaxico inherited a gift for music that was discovered and nurtured early. By the age of twelve he had taught himself to play the electric bass, and he was soon venturing into Chicago’s music scene, renowned for its mix of jazz, funk and blues. It was not long before the young musician made his first recording, featuring his family’s band. At the age of fourteen, having already performed alongside several prominent Chicago jazz figures, Lonnie Plaxico turned professional, playing the electric and acoustic basses with equal facility.

In 1980 Plaxico moved to New York and soon began to appear with such artists as Chet Baker, Dexter Gordon and Wynton Marsalis. His first extended tenure was with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers: between1983 and 1986, Lonnie performed on twelve of Blakey’s albums, including the Grammy Award-winning, New York Scene.

Source: CDBaby.com

Cassandra Wilson | Closer to You: The Pop Side

Tags

African American, Blues, Cassandra Wilson, Female Vocalist, Jazz, Pop Music, Soul Music

I know, you’re probably saying were have you been dude this recording by Cassandra Wilson came out back in April of this year. Yes, you’re so right! However, being a huge fan of her “Loverly” project I couldn’t resist myself after listening to this record on several occasions undoubtedly set the tone for a new season I’ve encountered. Perhaps, I’ll say this about her. The signature of her sound is unmistakable, while her voice is deeply provocative she transforms each song to perfection, and her timbre … wow simply just does it for me. It’s true, a lot of these songs on “The Pop Side” you’ve heard before. Nevertheless, Cassandra is truly one of the most unique song stylists on the music scene today regardless of genre. ~ The Urban Flux

Cassandra Wilson

Cassandra Wilson | Closer to You: The Pop Side [Blue Note Records]

Singer Cassandra Wilson is a master interpreter of American music. With her unmistakable honeyed husky voice and quaintly rustic aesthetic she has made intimate and personal statements with jazz, blues, R&B, country, and pop chestnuts- few artists can reveal the sensual earthiness of the Monkees tune “The Last Train to Clarksville.”

Closer to You: The Pop Side celebrates the finest pop moments from her seven album, decade plus legacy with Blue Note. In addition to the aforementioned 1960s nugget, this release features her stark and achingly vulnerable take on U2’s “Love Is Blindness” as well as her transcendent take on Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” that evokes fireflies and shooting stars. Among its 11 tracks are favorites from Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and a tenderly romantic version of Sting’s “Fragile“.

Source: Amazon.com

Cassandra Wilson -|- Loverly [Review]

Tags

African American, Blue Note Records, Cassandra Wilson, Female Vocalist, Jazz, Jazz Vocalists

Cassandra Wilson, Loverly

Cassandra Wilson -|- Loverly [Blue Note, 2008] Review

The enormity of vocalist Cassandra Wilson songbook has grown considerably since her debut on Blue Note Records. Now, as the summer arrives she blesses us with another stunning recording titled “Loverly.” As jazz enthusiast, we know the competition is steep within the ranks of jazz vocalist. Nonetheless, Cassandra continues to out rival her peers as one of the premier female vocalists in jazz.

Great songs, style and strong vocal presence are the foundation of what has always captivated me about Ms. Wilson as a vocalist. With her new album, she still amazes even the doubters and haters as she croons poetically within the context of fluent organic nuances and visionary interpretations on these compelling classic songs.