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Terri Lyne Carrington
The Mosaic Project
Concord 33016
HHHH1/2
If there were a search for a new
artistic director for the Kennedy
Center’s Mary Lou Williams’
Women in Jazz Festival, Terri Lyne
Carrington would rank high on the
list. The Mosaic Project embodies
all of the festival’s lofty goals of
shedding light on female jazz artists
and many ways exceeds the festival’s
sometimes stodgy stylistic
limitations.
The Mosaic Project brims with
a multi-generational cast of musicians
that includes pianists Patrice
Rushen, Helen Sung and Geri Allen,
trumpeter Ingrid Jensen and percussionist
Sheila E., along with vocalists Gretchen Parlato,
Carmen Lundy, Dianne Reeves, Nona Hendryx
and Cassandra Wilson. One of the many winning
qualities about The Mosaic Project is that
despite its multifaceted characteristics, which
sublimely mingle the acoustic with the electric
and various idioms and genres, the disc boasts
a consistency and durable compositions for the
musicians to truly delve inside rather than skate
lightly above.
Carrington radiates as a sensitive drummer;
she helps propel rhythmic intensity on material
such as Bernice Johnson Reagon’s “Echo” along
with Sheila E.’s equally propulsive Afro-Latin
percussion beats underneath Reeves’ majestic
voice as she sings about the injustices suffered by
women and wrongfully imprisoned men.
On her original “Insomniac,” Carrington
gets to showcase her gift for modern post-bop as
she steers the rubato swing alongside Esperanza
Spalding’s shadowy bass, providing a festive
springboard for Jensen’s clarion trumpet asides
and Tineke Postma’s tart and serpentine improvisations
on alto saxophone. Still, Carrington
doesn’t overshadow her accomplished band
mates in efforts to prove that she’s the leader.
She knows how to support and caress the music,
perhaps best illustrated on the songs showcasing
the vocalists, such as the shining makeovers
of Al Green’s “Simply Beautiful” featuring
Wilson and Irving Berlin’s “I Got Lost In
His Arms,” and the Beatles’ “Michelle” featuring
Parlato. On the haunting original “Show Me
A Sign,” Lundy turns in one of her finest performances
in recent years.
Another reason why The Mosaic Project
excels is that Carrington and her cohorts have
delivered an album that doesn’t shy away from
gender politics, but the music and themes aren’t
so hermetic and preachy that it sucks all the joy
out if it. —John Murph
The Mosaic Project: Transformation; I Got Lost In His Arms; Michelle;
Magic And Music; Echo; Simply Beautiful; Unconditional
Love; Wistful; Crayola; Soul Talk; Mosaic Triad; Insomniac; Show
Me A Sign; Sisters On The Rise (A Transformation). (71:56)
Personnel: Terri Lyne Carrington, drums, percussion, voice (2, 4,
5, 11, 13, 14); Geri Allen, piano, keyboards (1, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13);
Dee Dee Bridgewater, vocals (10), Anat Cohen, clarinet, bass clarinet,
soprano saxophone; Angela Davis, commentary (5); Sheila E.,
percussion (1, 5, 6, 10); Nona Hendryx, vocals (1, 14); Ingrid Jensen,
trumpet, flugelhorn; Mimi Jones, bass (4); Carmen Lundy, vocals
(13); Chia-Yin Carol Ma, violin; Hailey Niswanger, flute; Gretchen
Parlato, vocals (2, 3); Timeke Postma, alto saxophone; Dianne
Reeves, vocals (5); Shea Rose, vocals (14); Patrice Rushen, piano,
keyboards (1, 2, 5, 10, 11); Esperanza Spalding, bass, vocals (7, 9);
Helen Sung, piano, keyboards (2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12); Linda Taylor,
guitars; Cassandra Wilson, vocals (6).
Ordering info: concordmusicgroup.com
SEPTEMBER 2011 DOWNBEAT 49