Cassandra Wilson: Sings Standards

When Blue Note brought out Cassandra Wilson's new album Belly of the Sun in April, maybe the company assumed there wouldn't be many serious rivals on the singer's own territory this summer, least of all from Wilson herself. But Universal has shrewdly repackaged a selection from Wilson's much more conventionally jazzy material from the 1980s and early 1990s, in time for her UK gigs this weekend.

The music might come as something of a surprise for anyone who only encountered the starkly dramatic, purple-toned vocalist after she began exploring rootsy guitar-driven acoustic blues over the past six years. But for listeners approaching from a contemporary jazz angle, there's a strong case for these tracks being among the most convincing, revealing and spontaneous music Wilson has so far committed to disc.

These tracks feature only duos, trios or quartets, often resembling Betty Carter's ensembles (as Wilson often echoes Carter's free-falling vocal flexibility) in their percussive and emphatic reactions and challenges. Wilson's dark and grainy sound contrasts sharply with pianist Mulgrew Miller's melodic brightness on Polka Dots and Moonbeams; her dynamic control and rhythmic boldness results in a superb remake of Round Midnight against James Weldman's stabbed piano chords; and a third pianist - Rod Williams - sounds exhilaratingly like a rocking Herbie Hancock on Chelsea Bridge.

Wilson is less at ease with slow ballads such as I've Grown Accustomed to his Face, but her abstract improvising against Lonnie Plaxico's walking bass on Blue Skies shows just how much commanding spontaneity Wilson nowadays keeps in check.