Loverly
Loverly is a studio album by American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson, released in 2008 via Blue Note label. This is her second-ever album of jazz standards. "Loverly" won the Grammy Award as the Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2008. Reception. Andy Gill of "The Independent" wrote: "For Loverly, she reverts to the bread-and-butter of traditional jazz vocals, with a set consisting almost entirely of standards recorded with a small combo featuring the exploratory piano of Jason Moran and the diffident guitar of Marvin Sewell. The decisive player, however, is Nigerian percussionist Lekan Babalola, whose polyrhythmic flurries  perk up Duke Ellington's 'Caravan' and a version of 'Gone With the Wind' whose elegant unison guitar and piano recalls Steely Dan." John Fordham of "The Guardian" state: " It's one of this enigmatic artist's most satisfying albums in a long time." "The Buffalo News" review by Jeff Simon noted, "...that's what "Loverly" is—the jazz vocal disc of the year, thus far, at the very least. No one else could have made this disc. It's joy from beginning to end." Kathryn Shackleton of BBC commented: "Cassandra Wilson is best known for singing originals and unusual  covers, but standards are where she started. Loverly was produced in a rented house in her Mississippi hometown, with assembled invited musician friends who got down to the business of recording then and there. It’s impressive to hear the class and character Cassandra has injected into these 20th century songs." John Bungey of "The Times" added: "Wilson’s smoky alto remains one of the most beguiling sounds in jazz and blues."