Blue Light Til Dawn

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
Cassandra Wilson is a postmodern jazz singer, a conceptualist who sees no dividing lines between genres. If her career had commenced in the 1970s rather than the label-conscious 1990s she would have been marketed as a mainstream pop diva. Her magnificent voice and interpretive genius mark her as a jazz singer for the ages, however. She finds her material wherever her fancy takes her and remakes it in her own image, whether it be the country blues of Robert Johnson's "Come On in My Kitchen" and "Hellhound On My Trail," the soul of Ann Peebles's "I Can't Stand the Rain," the elegant R&B of Charles Brown's "Tell Me You'll Wait for Me," the melodic pop of Joni Mitchell's "Black Crow," and Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey," or her own "Redbone"--and the title track, accompanied by steel guitarist Gib Wharton. --John Swenson

Tracks:

You Don't Know What Love Is
Come On In My Kitchen
Tell Me You'll Wait For Me
Children Of The Night
Hellhound On My Trail
Black Crow
Sankofa
Estrellas
Redbone
Tupelo Honey
Blue Light 'Til Dawn
I Can't Stand The Rain

Amazon.com essential recording

Cassandra Wilson is a postmodern jazz singer, a conceptualist who sees no dividing lines between genres. If her career had commenced in the 1970s rather than the label-conscious 1990s she would have been marketed as a mainstream pop diva. Her magnificent voice and interpretive genius mark her as a jazz singer for the ages, however. She finds her material wherever her fancy takes her and remakes it in her own image, whether it be the country blues of Robert Johnson's "Come On in My Kitchen" and "Hellhound On My Trail," the soul of Ann Peebles's "I Can't Stand the Rain," the elegant R&B of Charles Brown's "Tell Me You'll Wait for Me," the melodic pop of Joni Mitchell's "Black Crow," and Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey," or her own "Redbone"--and the title track, accompanied by steel guitarist Gib Wharton. --John Swenson

Customer Reviews:

Repeatedly unexpected. Serious jazz remakes old favorites........2006-03-23

Repeatedly unexpected. Spare, care-ful arrangements, each specifically formulated for each song, each matching her rich, dark alto. First and foremost, serious jazz, but also something entirely different, reflecting an eclectic song choice (e.g., Robert Johnson, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Ann Peebles, herself). Sometimes a primal awareness, but mainly a remarkable artistic sensibility. She DEMANDS attention, completely remaking even old favorites into something totally new. S: tr 2-Come on in my kitchen; tr 4-Children of the night, tr 5-Hellhound on my trail; tr 7-Sankofa; tr 10-Tupelo honey.

Sweet as Tupelo honey.......2004-11-23

Hands down one of the best covers of Tupelo Honey I've heard. For some reason this stands out as one Cassandra's best recordings to me. Great range of voice and songs in this outing.

One of the Best of the '90's.......2004-01-25

Of all of the vocal jazz albums released in the 1990's, this remains one of the best. Ms. Wilson shows tremendous range and diversity here: from a cover of "Tupelo Honey" that outdoes Van Morrison (if that's even possible), to a wonderfully evocative "Hellhound on My Trail", to "You Don't Know What Love Is". to the African-based trio in the middle of the set, it doesn't get much more eclectic than this. Yet, it's all interesting, with always interesting instrumentation. I think Cassandra Wilson falls in the mold of Billie Holiday--one with a relatively limited voice who just brings it all to the table--but with wider diversity. Very highly recommended.

A fine song stylist.......2003-10-25

Ms. Wilson has a wonderful voice that reminds me somewhat of that of Cleo Laine. The problem for great voices--now I'm also thinking of Whitney Houston--is that they don't always make great albums.

This one is what I would describe as late night music, the kind of thing that you put on when you have arrived home having drunk rather too much, and want to hear something clear and pure to clear your head.

My favorite track on this is the Robert Johnson number Hellhound On My Trail, which is beautifully done with solo guitar accompaniment. I would like to have heard more of Ms. Wilson in this mode, but this album is a bit of a sampler--eclectic if you like--mixing blues, jazz and country, with violins creeping in every now and again.

Not a bad album at all, but I suspect that Ms. Wilson is capable of an even better one, so I reserve judgement a bit. I also have a feeling, and this is just a hunch, that this album may appeal more to female listeners than to the guys.

My star rating system goes like this:

5 stars--an absolute classic
4 stars--the artist is on top form here, a good buy
3 stars--fans of this artist should enjoy this album
2 stars--some good stuff, but inconsistent
1 star--just not good enough

learn to love it.......2003-03-28

So Cassandra's "New Moon Daughter" is a gem too, but this album is less known and, while it didn't make an immediate impression on me, I now listen to it a lot more. There's basically more variety in song style and arrangement and, if you like Cassandra, then just the sound of her voice is heaven. (If you haven't heard her, her voice is about as distinct as Nina Simone's.) The key point with Cassandra is: nobody sounds like her so if she isn't in your collection then nothing like her is in your collection. Her voice is deep and sultry, her music spacious, unrushed -- there's something distinctly southern about it. She is one of Nora Jones' inspirations, but where Nora's voice is a gentle breeze, Cassandra's is a gathering cloud, and there is no lounge sound to Cassandra's music -- the instruments bleed raw notes.

Average customer rating:

Billie's Blues/Blue Light 'til Dawn

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000CDVRN
Release Date: 2004-02-10

Tracks:

Announcement By Leonard Feather - Bille Holliday
Blue Moon - Bille Holliday
All Of Me - Bille Holliday
My Man - Bille Holliday
Them Their Eyes - Bille Holliday
I Cried For You - Bille Holliday
What A Little Moonlight Can Do - Bille Holliday
I Cover The Waterfront - Bille Holliday
Billie's Blues - Bille Holliday
Lover Come Back To Me - Bille Holliday
Blue Turning Grey Over You - Bille Holliday
Be Fair With Me Baby - Bille Holliday
Rocky Mountain Blues - Bille Holliday
Detour Ahead - Bille Holliday
Trav'lin' Light - Bille Holliday
Bonus Track - Bille Holliday

Tracks:

You Don't Know What Love Is - Cassandra Wilson
Come On In My Kitchen - Cassandra Wilson
Tell Me You'll Wait For Me - Cassandra Wilson
Children Of The Night - Cassandra Wilson
Hellhound On My Trail - Cassandra Wilson
Black Crow - Cassandra Wilson
Sankofa - Cassandra Wilson
Estrellas - Cassandra Wilson
Redbone - Cassandra Wilson
Tupelo Honey - Cassandra Wilson
Blue Light 'Til Dawn - Cassandra Wilson
I Can't Stand The Rain - Cassandra Wilson

Album Description

Double disc collection featuring Billie Holiday's Billies Blues & Cassandra Wilson's Blue Light Till Dawn. Blue Note. 2003.

Music:

Music

Music