Loverly

• filed under Music

Cassandra Wilson’s packed run last week at the acoustically perfect Blue Note in New York City was a good reminder of what makes her so special.  She is a beguiling performer with a marvelous taste in material and a voice that can wrap itself around whatever song she is singing and make it her own.

On her most recent album, Loverly, Wilson treats St. James Infirmary as a near romp — live she slowed it down to a crawl, drawing out the song’s pathos. (A great website devoted to the song can be found here.) The Beatles’ Till There Was You was a pre-Valentine’s treat, Wilson embracing the melody and investing the lyrics with depth.  Caravan was a journey to the MidEast, preceded by a magic carpet ride of a solo by guitarist Marvin Sewall.  Her rendition of Dust My Broom, sung from a woman’s perspective, was enough to convince me that Wilson should record an entire album of blues standards.

She didn’t sing Love is Blindness, unfortunately, but I will leave you with it.

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