Cassandra Wilson

In the rock world, cover bands are too often dismissed as cop-outs who either can’t or won’t be bothered to come up with their own original repertoire. There’s more tolerance for such cribbing in the jazz realm, where so much of the genre’s best music still cries out for spontaneous reworking. Still, it’s a rare recording artist who’ll cover the Monkees without so much as a wink, let alone a jazz singer as competent and captivating as Cassandra Wilson. Proven as a fearless, well-rounded interpreter of familiar standards and unlikely selections from the pop, rock, and blues canons, the Mississippi-born and Manhattan-transplanted Wilson consistently surprises. Belly of the Sun—her first new album since 1999’s Miles Davis tribute Traveling Miles—falls right in that same beautifully crooked line, offering emotive twists on songs like the Band’s “The Weight” and Glen Campbell’s classic “Wichita Lineman.” We’d be tempted to write off this brand of calculated spontaneity as novelty. But she’s got killer pipes, spellbinding presence, some lovely originals, and genuinely eclectic musical ideals to back it up. Great taste in the studio, too, but the live stage is where this lady shines.