Blue Skies

by Cassandra Wilson

Overview

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. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	06/09/2015
Label:	WINTER & WINTER
UPC:	0025091719914

Tracks

1. Shall We Dance
2. Polka Dots and Moonbeams
3. I've Grown Accustomed To His Face
4. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
5. I'm Old Fashioned
6. Sweet Lorraine
7. My One and Only Love
8. Autumn Nocturne
9. Blue Skies

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Cassandra Wilson   Primary Artist,Vocals
Mulgrew Miller   Guest Artist,Piano
Terri Lyne Carrington   Drums
Lonnie Plaxico   Bass,Bass (Acoustic)

Technical Credits

Stefan Winter   Packaging,Producer
Jerome Kern   Composer
Angela Gomez   Assistant Engineer
Andy Razaf   Composer
Irving Berlin   Composer
Alan Jay Lerner   Composer
Joe Ferla   Engineer
Clifford R. Burwell   Composer
Kim Gannon   Composer
George Gershwin   Composer
Ira Gershwin   Composer
Lorenz Hart   Composer
Josef Myrow   Composer
Johnny Mercer   Composer
Robert Mellin   Composer
James Van Heusen   Composer
Guy Wood   Composer
Mitchell Parish   Composer
Hiroshi Itsuno   Executive Producer
Don Redman   Composer
Cliff Burwell   Composer
Oscar Hammerstein II   Composer
Richard Rodgers   Composer
Annie Watson   Wardrobe,Clothing/Wardrobe
Johnny Burke   Composer
Guenter Mattei   Cover Design
Steve Byram   Cover Design
Adrian von Ripka   Mastering
Nat King Cole Trio   Composer
Clifford Burwell   Composer
Frederick Loewe   Composer