Traveling Miles
Traveling Miles is the thirteenth studio album by American jazz vocalist Cassandra Wilson. Released on the Blue Note label in 1999, it is a tribute to Miles Davis, taking many of its cues from Davis' catalog of recordings with Columbia Records. The album was nominated for the Grammy Award as Best Jazz Vocal Performance.[10]
Traveling Miles | ||||
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Studio album (Tribute album) by | ||||
Released | March 23, 1999 | |||
Recorded | December 1997 at The Hit Factory, NYC; May & September 1998 at Bearsville Studios, Bearsville, NY | |||
Genre | Jazz | |||
Length | 62:21 | |||
Label | Blue Note | |||
Producer | Cassandra Wilson | |||
Cassandra Wilson chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
All About Jazz | (favorable)[1] |
Allmusic | [2] |
The Buffalo News | [3] |
laut.de | [4] |
Penguin Guide to Jazz | [5] |
Robert Christgau | :)[6] |
Rolling Stone | [7] |
Tom Hull | B+[8] |
Q | [9] |
Reception
Jeff Simon of The Buffalo News wrote, "Cassandra Wilson is, paradoxically, very much her own woman at the same time that she may be overly in thrall to her friends. The results are bound to be some discs where her extraordinary gifts fail to connect as they should. "Travelling Miles" is one of them. It's never less than interesting but seldom more than that."[3] A reviewer of Dusty Groove stated: "Cassandra Wilson's tribute to Miles Davis – a pretty brave and ambitious move, writing lyrics to classic Miles compositions – and a winning one! Wilson produced the record, too, and her genuine love of the material makes it worth – as does her fairly earthy, timeless production. Made in the late 90s, and it honestly hasn't aged a day. Very impressive!"[11] Scott Yanow of AllMusic wrote: "A tribute album by Cassandra Wilson to Miles Davis seems like a very logical idea, but this CD is actually less than one would expect... her interpretations smooth down most of the melodies, robbing them of their personality."[2]
Track listing
- "Run the Voodoo Down" (Miles Davis, Cassandra Wilson) – 4:36 *
- "Traveling Miles" (Wilson) – 4:52
- "Right Here Right Now" (Marvin Sewell, Wilson) – 5:57
- "Time After Time" (Rob Hyman, Cyndi Lauper) – 4:08
- "When The Sun Goes Down" (Wilson) – 6:05
- "Seven Steps" (Victor Feldman, Davis) – 6:44
- "Someday My Prince Will Come" (Frank Churchill, Larry Morey) – 3:53
- "Never Broken" (Wayne Shorter, Wilson) – 5:13
- "Resurrection Blues (Tutu)" (Marcus Miller, Wilson) – 6:11 *
- "Sky & Sea (Blue in Green)" (Davis, Wilson) – 5:24 *
- "Piper" (Wilson) – 5:03
- "Voodoo Reprise" (Davis, Wilson, Angelique Kidjo) – 4:15
- Japanese Bonus Track
- "Prancing" (Davis, Wilson) – 6:24
* Links for these tracks are to original Miles Davis recordings, from which Wilson's recordings adapt and take inspiration.
Personnel
- Cassandra Wilson – vocals, acoustic guitar
- Doug Wamble – acoustic guitar
- Eric Lewis – piano
- Jeffrey Haynes, Kevin Breit – acoustic, electric, resophonic & e-bow guitars, electric mandolin, mandocello, bazouki
- Lonnie Plaxico – acoustic bass
- Marcus Baylor – drums, percussion
- Marvin Sewell – acoustic, classical & electric guitars, bazouki
- Mino Cinelu – percussion
- Perry Wilson – drums
- Vincent Henry – harmonica
- Dave Holland – bass
- Olu Dara – cornet
- Steve Coleman – alto sax
- Pat Metheny – classical guitar
- Angelique Kidjo – vocals
- Regina Carter – violin
- Stefon Harris – vibraphone
Chart positions
Year | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|
1999 | Billboard Top Jazz Albums | 1 |
Billboard Heatseekers | 5 | |
Billboard The Billboard 200 | 158 |
References
- All About Jazz review
- Allmusic review
- Jeff, Simon (26 March 1999). "MISSED CONNECTION CASSANDRA WILSON JUST CAN'T MAKE MILES' MUSIC HER OWN". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- Kopp, Kai. ""Meine Musik kann problemlos neben all dem bestehen, was im Radio gespielt wird"" (in German). laut.de. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- Hull, Tom. "Penguin Guide to Jazz Diffs: 4th vs. 5th Editions". Tom Hull. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- Christgau, Robert. "CG: Cassandra Wilson". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 2015-05-15.
- Rolling Stone review
- "Tom Hull: Grade List: Cassandra Wilson". Tom Hull. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- Glasser, Brian. "Review: Cassandra Wilson - Travelling Miles". Q. EMAP Metro Ltd (July 1999): 125.
- "Cassandra Wilson". GRAMMY.com. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- "Cassandra Wilson: Traveling Miles". Dusty Groove. Retrieved 15 January 2019.