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05/05/2004 Cassandra Wilson at the Royal Festival Hall
Last night's performance by Cassandra Wilson and her band at London's Royal Festival Hall was from the top drawer. Just as you'd expect from the world's leading female jazz vocalist. Wilson isn't the greatest songwriter, so her gigs (like her albums) rely on her selection of covers. Fortunately, she has eclectic tastes and generally chooses well. She can turn even the slightest pop song - the Monkees' 'Last Train to Clarksville' being the best example - into a masterpiece of free-flowing improvisation. Promoting Glamoured, the current album release, last night's set ranged between songs made famous by Dylan and Muddy Waters, Patsy Cline and Van Morrison. Her interpretations of classic material made the songs grow before your eyes. Who would have thought that 'Lay Lady Lay' was the perfect template for extended scatting improvisation? Or that Van Morrison wrote political songs? Though I've seen 'Tupelo Honey' performed by its writer many times, I'd never seen the "freedom" verse as anything more than a sketch for a generic early '70s hippy anthem. Cassandra Wilson's stunning version last night - with the six African-Americans on stage playing for keeps - suggested that it had been Van Morrison's subtle espousal of the Civil Rights struggle all along. A sly quote from 'Foggy Day in London Town' was inserted as an obvious crowd-pleaser towards the end. The single disappointment of the setlist was the prosaic redneck rumination, 'If Loving You Is Wrong'. The essence of Cassandra Wilson's art is a supreme, sultry contralto, exploited to its limits as a jazz instrument. She swings like no other vocalist around. As always, she dominated the stage, with her considerable charisma. Her audience interaction is outstanding. The occasional joke is as well-timed as the scatting. Her waspish side is never far below the surface, either: you wouldn't have liked to have been among the latecomers she "welcomed", ten minutes into the gig. Wilson's five piece band is equal to the task of backing such a formidable diva. It's unfair to pick out any of the musicians, but Terry Lyne Carrington must be a contender for world's best female drummer, and Brandon Ross is an exceptionally talented guitarist. BBC Radio 3 is broadcasting this set on Jazz on 3 at 1130pm (BST) on Friday 21 May. Check out the website for internet broadcast details. You'd be unwise to miss this.
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