Cassandra Wilson - Vredenburg, Utrecht, Netherlands, 31-3-1996 | Albums That Should Exist

 Cassandra Wilson - Vredenburg, Utrecht, Netherlands, 3-31-1996

Paul notes: A week ago as I write this, specifically September 1, 2026, jazz singer Cassandra Wilson passed away. She was 70 years old. I wasn't that familiar with her music, but I liked what I had heard. So, to mark her passing, I thought I'd post a bootleg concert from her. I chose this one, from 1996.

Here's the Wikipedia entry intro for her: 

"Cassandra Wilson was an American jazz singer, songwriter and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. She was one of the most successful female jazz singers and has been described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack [who has] expanded the playing field" by incorporating blues, country, and folk music into her work. She won numerous awards, including two Grammys, and was named "America's Best Singer" by Time magazine in 2001."

Here's the link to the rest of the entry: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassandra_Wilson

I've mentioned elsewhere in this blog that I'm not a big fan of most instrumental jazz, but I do like a lot of vocal jazz. It's especially easy to like Wilson's stuff, because it's jazz mixed with other genres. Just look at some of the songs she covers here: "Harvest Moon" by Neil Young, "Death Letter" by blues legend Son House, "Love Is Blindness" by U2, "Last Train to Clarksville" by the Monkees, and "32-20 Blues" by Robert Johnson. That's not typical jazz fare, that's for sure!

At the time of this concert, he most recent album was "New Moon Daughter," released in 1995. About half of the songs performed are from that album. The last three songs here, "Solomon Sang," "A Little Warm Death" and "Until," were written by Wilson.

This recording sounds great because it was broadcast on a local radio station at the time. There was some talk in Dutch by a Dutch DJ between the songs, but I cut all that out.

This album is an hour and seven minutes long.

01 Harvest Moon 
02 Death Letter
03 talk
04 Love Is Blindness 
05 Last Train to Clarksville 
06 32-20 Blues 
07 Solomon Sang 
08 A Little Warm Death 
09 Until