CASSANDRA WILSON
What, then, was Wilson’s Park West performance, in which she and her five-piece band (drummer, miscellaneous percussionist, acoustic bassist, guitarist, and a multiinstrumentalist who played violin, mandolin, and harmonica) played a set featuring Van Morrison’s “Tupelo Honey,” Robert Johnson’s “Come On in My Kitchen” and “Hellhound on My Trail,” Hank Williams’s “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” and a smattering of originals? Was it jazz, pop, or something else altogether?
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Wilson’s singing is rarely less than impressive, but it often fails to persuade. She possesses a rich, warm voice, one that moves effortlessly from dark to darker, but she often uses it in ways that seem more mannered than moving. On “Tupelo Honey,” singer, song, and style came together seamlessly. On many songs, though, her singing seemed to be a collection of striking effects that failed to offer emotional resonance. Her stage manner, too, represented an odd and ultimately disconcerting mix of the striking and the disconnected. She rarely seemed at home onstage. Often she would wander about aimlessly. And her remarks between songs frequently seemed forced and brittle.
