Search - Cassandra Wilson :: Point of View

Cassandra Wilson's striking 1985 debut album, Point of View, has been remastered (to 24-bit digital) and repackaged (in a sturdy box set containing the original art work) on this excellent JMT reissue. The Mississippi-raised singer became involved early with Steve Coleman's M-Base collective in Brooklyn, and the eclectic, multifaceted music presented here reflects the stylistic range of that group. Mixing elements of funk, hip-hop, and rock with a solid jazz grounding, Wilson and mates create an original brew. Wilson's husky contralto, with its hints of Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, and Betty Carter, is fully integrated into the stop-and-start rhythms and unconventional compositions of Coleman, trombonist Grachan Moncur III, and guitarist Jean-Paul Bourelly. Her sultry voice, Coleman's supple sax, and Bourelly's raw guitar all command equal attention as the tunes unfold in unpredictable ways. Expressive, emotional, and streetwise, the music represented a new generation's revitalization of jazz. Over time, Cassandra Wilson has garnered well-deserved acclaim for her more conventional jazz stylings, but Point of View reveals her youthful, risk-taking adventurousness and is a welcomed rerelease. --Wally Shoup