Cassandra Wilson adds new luster to a tantalizing collection of jazz standards on her first standards album since 1988. "Wilson seduces with sensuous arrangements."--BBC Music. " ... terrific."--Downbeat. " ... Wilson is beyond good. She's heavenly."--Vibe. " ... she stays impeccably cool even when things get hot."--Rolling Stone. " ... she transforms the old tunes into her own heartfelt vision ..."--Billboard. "It's slow, chic and often extremely...

"Comprehensive introduction to recorded blues ever assembled, drawing styles, record labels, and eras together with the efficiency of a spider#x92;s web. These five discs--tied to the hit-and-miss PBS film series Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues--embrace field hollers, early queens Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith, the music#x92;s first composer W.C. Handy, Delta slide guitarists, string bands, piano barrelhousers, jazz geniuses Count Basie and Lionel...