Cassandra Wilson - Loverly
|
List Price: Our Price: $6.64 You Save: $12.34 (65%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $4.49 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Loverly
Free Music Review: "Lots of Choc'lates For Me To Eat . . . Wouldn't It Be Loverly?"
Hit: 5 Stars
Listening to this latest album of Cassandra Wilson is such a novelty for me since this is my first taste of her one-of-a-kind vocal artistry. I have enjoyed the whole CD after listening with repeated plays and as a result of my delightful listening adventure, I have added another one of hers, "Rendezvous" to my ever-growing collection. And I'm looking forward as well to owning some of her most remarkable recordings.
With this CD, Cassandra Wilson has totally impressed me with her unique vocal art and flair. Ms. Wilson and her bandmates did a great job on the entire twelve tracks. She called themselves the "magnificent seven musicians"-- Lonnie Plaxico and Reginald Veal (bass), Lekan Babalola (percussion), Marvin Sewell (guitar), Herlin Riley (drums), Jason Moran (piano) and the "Woman on the mirror."
My choicest cuts include an attractive, enchanting and tender interpretation of "Black Orpheus" making it the best vocal version ever recorded; and a stylishly wonderful delivery of a jewel of a song "Till There Was You" from the Broadway musical "The Music Man.
"The Very Thought of You" is the most stirring and eloquently rendered track from this set. The lone accompaniment is courtesy of Reginald Veal's acoustic upright bass.
One of the strongest tracks is "Caravan" wherein her bandmates put a lot of fresh and ingenious styles without deviating from the true essence of the song. The rhythm is vivacious and very engaging. And I simply love how they created a beyond brilliant arrangement for a classic of a song, "Gone With The Wind."
It is such a delight to listen to her take on "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" from one of my favorite musicals, Lerner and Loewe's "My Fair Lady" particularly the sweet and unaffected line..."lots of choc'lates for me to eat." (make it See's please).
Wholeheartedly recommended.
Free Music Review: It's truly loverly...
Hit: 5 Stars
"Loverly" is the fifth album by Jazz chanteuse Cassandra Wilson that I own. Its name is taken from the song "Wouldn't it be loverly" (from the musical "My fair lady" - an album which coincidentally I got on CD for the first time this week) which she covers here in a big band Jazz style.
"Loverly" is actually an album of covers, the lone original number being the heavily African accented "Arere" (thanks to Nigerian drummer Lekan Babalola, as well as Cassandra singing in Yoruba). The album has a rather loose, spontaneous feel which sounds great. Much like its predecessor "Thunderbird", it displays diverse musical hues in a subtle way.
Songs like the swinging piano sprinkled opening cut "Lover come back to me" (with an extensive piano solo as well as tenor sax), and "A sleeping bee" (with a nice guitar solo) are also given the big band Jazz treatment. "Caravan" is rich in percussion with a faint Cuban feel, "Dust my room" has a slide guitar/Blues sound, while "Gone with the wind" has an acoustic, Folk/Jazz feel. The tender "Spring can really hang you up the most" is a truly beautiful acoustic duet between her smoky vocals and guitarist Marvin Sewell's delicate plucking.
My favourites are the upbeat funky Jazz joint "St. James infirmary" (great piano and guitar playing, and funny lyrics about laying her man to rest), her spare reading of "The very thought of you" (her dusky vocals backed by just bass), and the stunning lilting "Black orpheus" (with a very light Cuban feel).
This album is simply a beauty which every music lover should own, truly (to borrow from her) "loverly"!
And finally, to Yinka, who is no longer around to read and tell me how great my reviews are, or to push me on to be the best I can. You were the wind beneath my wings my bro, my hero. This is for you.
Free Music Review: SmoothJazz.com Review
Hit: 5 Stars
Her first album of covers since her Blue Note debut in 1988 (BLUE SKIES)... Cassandra Wilson's new, gorgeous collection of classics, LOVERLY, is filled with the textures, rhythms and style that you've come to expect from the distinctive diva. The Grammy-winning vocalist and her renowned band collected in a rented house in Mississippi where they spent quality time enjoying each other's company, sharing meals and recording an organic and relaxed jazz and blues-tinged album that really stretches out. If you listen carefully, you'll hear little things in the mix like a conversational word or laugh, making this a natural, personal listening experience... as if it were recorded in your own home. Ms. Wilson's earthy, articulate voice wraps around timeless, 20th century pieces with straight-ahead strength and progressive notions. Self-produced, LOVERLY is built from the drums up (not uncommon for this unique craftswoman). Grooves provided by Herlin Riley and Nigerian drummer/percussionist Lekan Babalola, rich baselines compliments of Lonnie Plaxico and Reginald Veal, unpredictable piano performances delivered by Jason Moran, gutsy guitar work courtesy of Marvin Sewell and special guest, trumpeter Nicholas Payton. Not your mother's jazz, LOVERLY employs progressive rhythms and attributes that melt into Cassandra's golden vocal tracks like butter on a warm biscuit. Don't miss her deconstruction of these selective classics including "Caravan," "Lover Come Back To Me" and "Wouldn't It Be Loverly." Indeed!Free Music Review: ... blows a serious blues jones . . .
Hit: 5 Stars
Wouldn't it be? Wilson thinks so, as she inhales a Southern aire and blows a serious blues jones into the lungs of these somewhat shopworn mannequins, breathing heat back into their Broadway bones. "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" is a bittersweet treat. "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?" blithely skips over the crumbling concrete of disappointment. "Black Orpheus" is all haloed streetlamps in a midnight fog. Throughout, Wilson's warmth is palpable, heightened by the "liveness" of the recording. Wilson sings on, over, and around the beat; she clicks, claps, and finger snaps, exhorting her musicians to a communal "one." Let yourself get swept in. Everybody gets the blues; Wilson turns `em into jazzy rainbows.Free Music Review: Wow
Hit: 5 Stars
I purchased this based on a recommendation from TAS. Thanks to TAS this is a welcome addition to my music collection. I love the Latin flavored jazz melodies and harmonics performed with feeling. To top it all off, a big silky smooth voice coming from a small woman. Amazing voice with lots of emotion. This is my first exposure to Cassandra Wilson. This CD is fantastic and I will be on the lookout for her future projects.