The Phoenix Network:
 
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
CD Reviews  |  Classical  |  Live Reviews  |  Music Features
BMP_concert-top-banner-fixed

Cassandra Wilson

THUNDERBIRD | Blue Note
By JON GARELICK  |  April 24, 2006
3.0 3.0 Stars
ENHANCED ROOTS: Cassandra Wilson gets her groove back on Thunderbird.On 2003’s Glamoured, a decade after shaking up ideas about jazz vocal records and repertoire with producer Craig Street and guitarist Brandon Ross on Blue Light til Dawn (Blue Note), Cassandra Wilson seemed to have settled into a steady state of artful, loose-tempo, dreamy jazz pop. Which is why it’s so refreshing to hear her singing over actual grooves on Thunderbird. New producer T-Bone Burnett combines the rootsy elements that have become part of her musical identity with contemporary trip-hoppy production. So the standout tracks — “Going to Mexico,” with its Wild Tchoupitoulas “Hey Pocky A-Way” sample, and “It Would Be So Easy,” with its ticka-ticka keyboard and guitar figures — groove, giving a flexible spine to Wilson’s mile-wide alto and free-flowing delivery. On dependable ancient blues like “Easy Rider” and Willie Dixon’s “I Want To Be Loved,” Burnett isn’t afraid to lay on the slide guitar and a rock beat. It’s deliberate but unfussy production, especially effective when the beats clear for some acoustic jazz piano chords and Wilson sings, “You know, the man I love/He must be out of town.” Reginald Veal’s bass playing underscores the jazz sensibility throughout. After a couple of listens, I even got to like Wilson’s “Red River Valley.”
Related: Cassandra Wilson | Loverly, Year in Jazz: Playing for keeps, Sense in the sound, More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Willie Dixon, T-Bone Burnett, Cassandra Wilson,  More more >
  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • RSS feed
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article
Comments

Today's Event Picks
--> -->
ARTICLES BY JON GARELICK
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   SCHOLARSHIP GIGS  |  July 22, 2009
    Newpoli and Steven Bernstein do their homework
  •   JOY, NOT JAMMING  |  July 17, 2009
    King Sunny Adé and his African Beats, live at the Courtyard at the Museum of Fine Arts, July 15, 2009
  •   BILL FRISELL | DISFARMER  |  July 15, 2009
    Nonesuch (2009)
  •   BOYS' LIFE  |  July 14, 2009
    Hung and Entourage measure success
  •   MUSIC AS MEMORY  |  July 07, 2009
    Marco Benevento, live at the Museum of Fine Arts, July 1, 2009

 See all articles by: JON GARELICK

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2009 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group