Description
Personnel: Cassandra Wilson (vocals); Olu Dara (cornet); Don Byron (clarinet); Charlie Burnham (violin, mandocello); Tony Cedras (accordion); Brandon Ross, Chris Whitley (guitar); Gib Wharton (pedal steel guitar); Kenny Davis, Lonnie Plaxico (bass); Lance Carter, Kevin Johnson, Bill McClellan, Jeff Haynes, Cyro Baptista, Cyro (percussion).
Engineers: Danny Kopelson, Jamie Staub, Jimmy Douglas.
BLUE LIGHT 'TIL DAWN was nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Performance in the 37th Annual Grammy Awards.
Personnel: Cassandra Wilson (vocals); Vinx (vocals, percussion); Brandon Ross (guitar, steel guitar, classical guitar); Chris Whitley (guitar); Gib Wharton (steel guitar); Charlie Burnham (mandocello, violin); Tony Cedras (accordion); Don Byron (clarinet); Olu Dara (cornet); Lance Carter (drums, snare drum, percussion); Bill McClellan (drums, percussion); Kevin Johnson (snare drum, percussion); Billy Earl McClellan, Jeff Haynes, Cyro Baptista (percussion).
Audio Mixers: Danny Kopelson; Jimmy Douglass.
Recording information: Greene St. Studios; RPM; Sear Sound Studios, New York, NY; Sound on Sound.
Arrangers: Chris Whitley; Gib Wharton; Jeff Haynes; Kenny Davis ; Cyro Baptista; Brandon Ross; Cassandra Wilson.
Possessed with both a spirit of innovation and a sultry, textured voice that lends itself to any number of styles, Cassandra Wilson was one of the most exciting vocal talents to gain prominence in the 1990s, and her '93 Blue Note debut, BLUE LIGHT 'TIL DAWN, may be her finest moment. Though Wilson's earliest albums specialized in the jazz fusion characteristic of the M-Base collective (a Brooklyn-based group of musicians to which she belonged), BLUE LIGHT finds her bringing her skills to a set of acoustic standards and covers with a rootsy, blues-based feel.
The choice of material is eclectic, with Ann Peebles's "I Can't Stand the Rain," Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey," Robert Johnson's "Hellhound On My Trail," and two of Wilson's originals in the mix. This is vintage wee-small-hours music: moody, spacious, atmospheric, with Wilson's deep, evocative voice curling up like a train of smoke through the darkness. Beautifully conceived and performed, BLUE LIGHT 'TIL DAWN is a quiet masterpiece, and one of the best vocal jazz albums of the '90s.
- Format: CD
- Genre: Jazz
- Released: 1993-11-06