June 29th, 2008 | 
Author: 
“While Cassandra Wilson emerged in the early ’90s as the foremost “new standards” pioneer for reimagining contemporary pop music in the jazz vein, her musical pulse was informed by vocal predecessors who swung and scatted within the tradition. After widely divergent collections in recent years, she re-enters the standards zone with “Loverly.” Unlike other vocalists who let the music’s inherent melodic strength carry the show, she transforms the old tunes into her own heartfelt vision, such as when she reinvigorates “Caravan” with a gleefully syncopated groove and gives “Black Orpheus” a luscious new shine. On the latter, guitarist Marvin Sewell contributes an eerily beautiful serpentine guitar glow. Other top-tier support comes from pianist Jason Moran (brilliantly surprising breaks) and master percussionist Lekan Babalola (African rhythm specialties). The sole original and one of the album’s highlights, “Arere,” combusts with rollicking rhythms. —Dan Ouellette”
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