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Stevie Wonder is the Gershwin of our era, and jazz musicians have been performing his tunes for years. His harmonically complex compositions are an improviser's dream. Here, the deliciously feline vocalist Nnenna Freelon interprets some well-known and lesser-known Wonder songs with excellent taste and mature ingenuity. She does not radically alter Wonder's harmonies, but her ebullient phrasing and changes of tempo and mood extend and elaborate Wonder's music into interesting and inventive directions. Supported by a good combo featuring Dave Samuels on vibraphone and marimba, bassist Gerald Beasley, and guitarist Chuck Loeb, Freelon and her cohorts add some Brazilian tinges, light funk, and straight-ahead and jazz-fusion contours to compositions such as "Overjoyed," "My Cherie Amour," and "Superstition." As this loving tribute shows, Freelon does not merely sing a lyric--she embraces it. That rare ability puts her far ahead of the pack and does the music of Stevie Wonder justice. --Eugene Holley Jr.
Tales of Wonder: Celebrating Stevie Wonder, Music, Nnenna Freelon, Ballads, Contemporary Jazz, Jazz, Jazz Music, Pop, Standards, Vocal Jazz
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Music
Music