CASSANDRA WILSON - Blue Skies (1988) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

On 1988's Blue Skies, Cassandra Wilson took her first step away from the home she had built with Steve Coleman's M-Base organization. She'd done standards before, all the way back to 1985's Songbook. There are no M-Base players on this JMT set. She fronts a very conventional trio comprised of pianist Mulgrew Miller, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, and bassist Lonnie Plaxico. The last of these is very significant because it would be Plaxico who directed her very startling and focused transformation when she signed to Blue Note Records in 1993 and released Blue Light 'Til Dawn. The program is pure standard fare, from "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" and "Shall We Dance?" to the title track and Rodgers & Hart's "I Didn't Know It What Time It Was." This cut is the most startling break from the rest in that it is much more forceful and hard-swinging than other readings, and showcases for the first time Wilson's tremendous individuality as a vocalist. There is much of Betty Carter still in her style here, but on this cut, she's pure Wilson, even the scatting comes not from jazz but from the blues of Wilson's Mississippi homeland. Another standout is Carter Burwell's "Sweet Lorraine," which wasn't quite a standard at the time but is quickly becoming one covered by many singers and is delivered in the classic repertoire's lineage. Not a masterpiece, but a really compelling first experiment with the more intimate forms and smaller groups Wilson would employ later on. by Thom Jurek
Tracklist :
1     Shall We Dance? 7:21
Oscar Hammerstein II / Richard Rodgers
2     Polka Dots and Moonbeams 5:46
Johnny Burke / James Van Heusen
3     I've Grown Accustomed to His Face 5:15
Alan Jay Lerner / Frederick Loewe
4     I Didn't Know What Time It Was 4:51
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
5     Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You 5:04
Andy Razaf / Don Redman
6     I'm Old Fashioned 3:07
Jerome Kern / Johnny Mercer
7     Sweet Lorraine 5:31
Clifford R. Burwell / Mitchell Parish
8     My One and Only Love 6:02
Robert Mellin / Guy Wood
9     Autumn Nocturne 5:01
Kim Gannon / Josef Myrow
10     Blue Skies 3:07
Irving Berlin
Credits :
Double Bass [Acoustic Bass] – Lonnie Plaxico
Drums – Terri Lyne Carrington
Piano – Mulgrew Miller
Vocals – Cassandra Wilson