New Moon Daughter
Her luscious alto has the depth and texture of a great tenor  saxophonist, but Cassandra Wilson's defining asset is a postmodern song sense  that enables her to surf through Son House, Neil Young, Johnny Mercer, Billie  Holiday, and (gasp!) the Monkees in pursuit of strong songs that can provide  that instrument with a canvas. Her second Blue Note album extends Wilson's  seductive pilgrimage beyond the conventions of jazz repertoire and  accompaniment, yet it's her instincts as a jazz singer that inform these  brilliant readings. The settings again step away from traditional small group  jazz (for starters, there's no piano) to evoke the emotional core of these  songs. Anyone who can turn the Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville"  into a slow-burning erotic vignette deserves your attention.--Sam  Sutherland