Record Reviews

CASSANDRA WILSON ~ COMING FORTH BY DAY SONY 888750636225 (Barcode: 888750636225) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2014 Released: 2015 Celebrating the 100th Birthday of Billie HolidayFind albums by this artist, American vocalist / composer Cassandra WilsonFind albums by this artist dedicates this album to her memory, performing some of the songs forever associated with Lady Day´s career. Of the twelve songs on this album two were written by Holiday and the rest are standards she used to perform often, except for the last song which is an original by Wilson. Wilson is performing these song accompanied by a basic piano trio, which comprises of pianist Jon CowherdFind albums by this artist, bassist Martyn CaseyFind albums by this artist and drummer Thomas WydlerFind albums by this artist. Several guest musicians add their input on selected tracks and lush orchestral arrangements are present on most tracks. The overall atmosphere is rather distant from the Jazz / Blues setting which surrounded the original interpretations of these songs, but sounds more like a cabaret / musical performance. Wilson´s throaty contralto sounds as good as ever of course, but sadly the passion and fire, which are present in Holiday´s performances, are lost in the process of wrapping these songs in cellophane. The album is beautifully overproduced, which means that a lot of listeners will love it to bits, but somehow it is like a meal in a fancy restaurant; you leave hungry but you can´t even think about food any more. Reading the liner notes I realize that there was a lot of good intensions invested in this album…

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