Cassandra Wilson – Another Country (CD)
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Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Cassandra Wilson [click here to see more vinyl featuring Cassandra Wilson]
Accordion – Julien Labro
Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar - Fabrizio Sotti
Electric Bass – Nicola Sorato
Percussion – Lekan Babalola, Mino Cinelu
Choir – Nocca (New Orleans Center For Creative Arts) Chamber Choir
Written by Julien Labro (1-3, 5-7, 10), Fabrizio Sotti (1-2-10), Nicola Sorato (1-3, 5-8, 10), Lekan Babalola, Mino Cinelu (1-8, 10), Cassandra Wilson (1-3, 5-8,10)
1 CD, Jewel case
Original analog Master tape : YES
Stereo
Studio
Label : Evosound
Original Label : eOne Records
Recorded at Piety Street Studios, New Orleans, LA - Sotti Studio, New York, NY -Studio Larione 10, Florence, Italy
Engineered by John Fischbach and Max Bacchin
Mixed by John Fischbach and Wes Fontenot
Produced by Cassandra Wilson and Fabrizio Sotti
Mastered by John Fischbach
Originally released in June 2012
Reissued in 2024
Tracks:
1. Red Guitar
2. No More Blues
3. O Sole Mio
4. Deep Blue
5. Almost Twelve
6. Passion
7. When Will I See You Again
8. Another Country
9. Letting You Go
10. Olomuroro
Reviews:
On her 19th album, Cassandra Wilson, ever the musical chameleon, changes directions once more. She is arguably the greatest living female jazz singer. Well known for her blues, soul, pop covers, and jazz standards, her smoky alto bends almost everything to its will. Wilson's phrasing is utterly unique, as original as any horn player's or pianist's music. Another Country, co-produced by Wilson and guitarist Fabrizio Sotti, was recorded in three different studios in Florence, New Orleans, and New York. She wrote all but three selections here: there are two instrumentals by Sotti and a reading of "O Sole Mio." Other players include bassist Nicola Sorato, Julien Labro on accordion, and percussionists Mino Cinelu and Lekan Babalola. Opener "Red Guitar" displays the wisdom of this small-group approach beautifully. Her vocal illustrates a mysterious, sensual jazz blues that is accented by Sotti, hand drums, and an atmospheric, unintrusive accordion. "No More Blues" is more elegiac, a spacy jazz tune with fine syncopation and the suggested undercurrent of a blues backbeat. "Almost Twelve" is an ambitious attempt at bossa nova but it falls short. Wilson restrains herself to fit the song form rather than retrofit it to her voice; it's too much of a compromise. The Latin undertones in "Passion" work far better and the singer is able to engage her lower register and sing in near counterpoint to her accompanists. It's a heady, intoxicating swirl of lyric harmony and rhythmic invention. With its classical trappings and the prominence of the accordion, "O Sole Mio" should sound corny -- it doesn't. Wilson delivers it as a haunting folk song and reinvents it for the 21st century.
The slippery meld of jazz, folk, and pop in the set's longest tune, "When Will I See You Again," makes it the most unusual and engaging track here. Wilson's compositional language is as imaginative as her singing, and Sotti's skeletal yet seemingly lush arrangements are sumptuous. The title track employs samba, post-bop jazz, and nuevo flamenco.
Wilson's voice compels her poetic lyrics to assert themselves over the melody, as Sotti soars in his tasteful solo. Though there are a couple of missteps here, Another Country is a welcome new phase for Wilson. Not only are her boundaries as a singer expanding with her musical choices; her songwriting instincts and languages are developing exponentially as well. Reviews AllMusic Review by Thom Jurek.
"With her Nina Simone-like low register and supple phrasing, charismatic Grammy-winning vocalist Cassandra Wilson could endlessly recycle her successful acoustic folk-blues repertoire. But with 2010's Silver Pony, and this similarly eclectic set made with the Italian guitarist and producer Fabrizio Sotti, she has revealed an eagerness to spread her wings. Sotti, a fine jazz guitarist with an occasional Django Reinhardt ring, has almost as much of the spotlight – and the light touch and subtle shading of this session, recorded in Florence, are also down to a French/Italian/Nigerian lineup featuring two percussionists (Mino Cinelu and Lekan Babalola), accordion and bass. Wilson sounds as unflinchingly rugged as of old on Red Guitar, and likewise on the traditional-sounding No More Blues. Her love affair with Florence somewhat unwisely led to the inclusion of O Sole Mio (sung in eerily inflected Italian), and the samba whispers of Almost Twelve don't entirely suit her, either. But the atmosphere of discovery, uncertainty and anticipation on the musing, low-pitched original Passion (a standout track) balances Wilson's unique vocal strengths, Sotti's elegant improvising and the band's soft glow. Her gliding variations over a chamber choir and accordion on the swaying Olomuroro aren't far behind." The Guardian Music Review by Joh Fordham
Ratings:
AllMusic : 3.5 / 5 ; Discogs : 3.93 / 5 ; The Buffalo News ; 3 / 5 ; The Guardian : 3 / 5 ; Financial Times : 3 / 5 ; Jazzwise : 4 / 5