Cassandra Wilson Belly Of The Sun CD

Feat.Olu Dara,India-Arie,M. Sewell,J.Haynes

Personnel: Cassandra Wilson (vocals, guitar, sardo); Kevin Breit (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, National steel guitar, slide resonator guitar, E-bow guitar, 12-string banjo, bizouki, mandolin, ominichord); Richard Johnson (vocals, guitar); Cyro Baptista (vocals, bass drum, percussion); India.Arie, Rhonda Richmond, Patrice Moncell, Jewell Bass, Henry Rhodes, Vasti Jackson (vocals); Olu Dara (trumpet); Boogaloo Ames (piano); Marvin Sewell (acoustic & electric guitars); Mark Peterson (acoustic & electric basses); Xavyon Jamison (drums); Jeffrey Haynes (steel pans, plastic tub, percussion); Children Of M.S. 44.
Recorded in Clarksdale, Mississippi and at Allaire Studios South, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Michael Simanga.
Personnel: Cassandra Wilson (guitar); Richard Johnston (vocals, guitar); Kevin Breit (vocals, electric guitar, slide guitar, resonator guitar, National guitar, E-bow, banjo, mandolin, omnichord); Cyro Baptista (vocals, bass drum, percussion); Henry Rhodes, India.Arie, Jewel Bass, Vas-tie Jackson (vocals); Marvin Sewell (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Olu Dara (trumpet); Mark Peterson (acoustic bass); Jeff Haynes (steel pan, percussion).
Audio Mixer: Danny Kopelson.
Liner Note Author: Michael Simanga.
Photographer: Jack Spencer.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Jeff Haynes; Cassandra Wilson.
Cassandra Wilson continues to move down a highly eclectic path on Belly of the Sun, the somewhat belated follow-up to Traveling Miles. While displaying a jazz singer's mastery of melodic nuance and improvisatory phrasing, Wilson draws on a variety of non-jazz idioms -- roots music, rock, Delta blues, country, soul -- to create a kind of earthy, intelligent pop with obvious crossover appeal. Her core band includes guitarists Marvin Sewell and Kevin Breit, who blend marvelously, Sewell mostly on mellow acoustic and Breit adding atmospheric touches on electric, 12-string, and slide guitars, as well as mandolin, banjo, and even bouzouki. Bassist Mark Peterson and percussionists Jeffrey Haynes and Cyro Baptista provide a superbly sensitive rhythmic foundation. But because Wilson returned to her home state of Mississippi to record most of this album, she made sure to book some time with local musicians. Thus guitarist Jesse Robinson guests on (and co-writes) the funky "Show Me a Love," and the octogenarian pianist "Boogaloo" Ames plays an unpolished yet utterly heartfelt duet with Wilson on the classic "Darkness on the Delta." Other guests include drummer Xavyon Jamison, trumpeter Olu Dara, pianist and vocalist Rhonda Richmond (who penned the slowly swaying "Road So Clear"), guitarist Richard Johnston, backup vocalists Patrice Monell, Jewell Bass, Henry Rhodes, and Vasti Jackson, and the children of New York's Middle School 44. Wilson delves into vintage blues with Mississippi Fred McDowell's "You Gotta Move" and a brief yet dynamic rendition of Robert Johnson's "Hot Tamales." But the best tracks are the rock/pop covers: the Band's "The Weight," Bob Dylan's "Shelter From the Storm," James Taylor's "Only a Dream in Rio," Jobim's "Waters of March," and Jimmy Webb's "Wichita Lineman" (a 1968 hit for Glen Campbell). Wilson and band are in peak interpretive form on these ethereal reinventions. While her own lyrics may not rise to the level of a Robbie Robertson or a Bob Dylan, her versatility and focus come through clearly on the originals "Justice," "Just a Parade" (a collaboration with neo-soul rookie India.Arie), and the Caribbean-tinged "Cooter Brown." ~ David R. Adler
BELLY OF THE SUN may be seen as the end of a trilogy wherein Cassandra Wilson redefines boomer rock/pop repertoire from a contemporary jazz singer's perspective. From its intro of sultry jazz bass and syncopated percussion, you'd never guess you were about to hear a version of the Band's '60s country-rock classic "The Weight." Jimmy Webb's "Wichita Lineman," best known as aRolling Stone (6/6/02, p.80) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Wilson is the perfect jazz singer for people who don't particularly like jazz singing. She covers rock songs...but doesn't pretend to be a rocker, while the semi-acoustic arrangements have the airy sophistication of Joni Mitchell's HEJIRA..."
Entertainment Weekly (3/29/02, p.75) - "...Wilson's nobility, throaty voice, and jazz-folk mesh remain estimable..." - Rating: B-
Uncut (9/02, p.123) - 3.5 stars out of 4 - "...she...has a sharp ear for a suitable rock cover and a mellowness that draws in the more adventurous end of the Tracy Chapman market...exquisite...majestic...powerful..."
Down Beat (June 2002, pp.54-56) - 4 out of 5 stars - "...An ingenious intersection of art song, jazz, the bules and a good deal in between..."
Living Blues (7-8/02, p.61) - "...A noble experiment, there are some fine moments, and the more eclectic-minded Wilson fans will find a lot to enjoy..."
Mojo (Publisher) (6/02, p.106) - "...A triumphant return to the spirit and style of her great 1955 album NEW MOON DAUGHTER."