TERRI LYNE CARRINGTON: The Mosaic Project
Concord, 2011

MAINSTREAM JAZZ – Drummer Carrington leads an all-female cast through a diverse set of tunes, often heavy on the r&b crossover angle but without sacrificing any jazz cred. There are several big names here, including pianist Geri Allen and trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, a whole raft of rising stars like bassist Esperanza Spalding and clarinetist Anat Cohen, and nine different vocalists. Some really good stuff here, all tracks FCC clean (but #9 cuts it close).

Fo’s Picks: 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14

1. 5:33 – smooth r&b groove, solid Nona Hendryx voc and cool bass touches
2. 4:58 – modernized standard: breathy Gretchen Parlato voc vs. tough horns
3. 6:52 – Beatles: Parlato whispers the intro, then straight-up instrumental jazz
4. 3:45 – sweet soul vocal is wrapped in Helen Sung’s dreamy piano
5. 7:14 – strong commentary: Angela Davis intro, great Dianne Reeves vocal
6. 4:30 – Al Green tune: low and very sexy with Cassandra Wilson vocal
7. 5:56 – gentle yet sweeping flow, lovely Esperanza Spalding wordless voc
8. 4:48 – slow yearning instrumental, with jabbing interludes, interesting horns
9. 4:29 – quick, playful Esperanza Spalding vocal, scurrying keyboard
10. 5:56 – slinky Dee Dee Bridgewater vocal over very cool creeping groove
11. 5:59 – uptempo, angular track with strong piano and some wordless vox
12. 5:13 – rolling instrumental with fluid tempo shifts, sax/trumpet handoffs
13. 2:28 – slow, spiritual surge with filtered Carmen Lundy voc, wild drums
14. 3:59 – hiphop featuring delicious Shea Rose rap and a feminist message

[ Fo ] 07/16/11