New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Shore Fire Media) Wilson Plans 20th Anniversary Concert for 'Blue Light 'Til Dawn,' Tapped By Musical Supervisor/Producer T Bone Burnett to Record for HBO's New Series 'True Detective,' Is Hitting the Studio For Billie Holiday Homage Album
Highline Ballroom Jan 13 8PM - Cassandra To Play 'Blue Light' In Full, w/Members of Original Band
Cassandra Wilson, widely considered the greatest singer of her generation, changed the way that people thought of jazz with her landmark album 'Blue Light 'Til Dawn' in 1993. Now, 20 years later, the vaunted musician is revisiting her artistic breakthrough with a concert, "Blue Light To A New Dawn," that marks the beginning of an eventful year. Wilson will be heard on HBO's True Detective early in the year, has major touring in March through June with the 'Blue Light' material, has a headline show at Lincoln Center Out of
Doors in August, and is hitting the studio to record an album of Billie Holiday songs. And for late spring, an expanded edition of 'Blue Light 'Til Dawn' is in the works.
'Blue Light 'Til Dawn' (Blue Note) was hailed for its adventurous forays outside the American Songbook, with Wilson incorporating blues, country, and folk music into her work in a brand new way. The album earned her widespread critical acclaim, mainstream commercial success with over 1 million sales worldwide, and the unqualified title "America's best singer" in Time Magazine. The Mississippi born and bred musician has one of the most distinctive voices around; in the New York Times, Nate Chinen described the "earthy majesty of her voice, a contralto as rich and supple as vintage leather."
Here's what Cassandra Wilson's 2014 is looking like:
*January 13 @ Highline Ballroom at 8PM - 'Blue Light To A New Dawn' concert. Wilson's band includes the core musicians that contributed to the success of the original album:
Brandon Ross, Lonnie Plaxico, and Charlie Burnham. Her band is rounded out with
Gregoire Maret, John Davis and Jon Cowherd. Wilson plans to play the entire album in order along with other songs from the same fertile period, so that classics like her reinterpretation of Robert Johnson's "Come on In My Kitchen," or her legendary version of "Tupelo Honey" will have the chance to resonate with audiences once more.
*Wilson was recently in the studio in Los Angeles with T Bone Burnett, to record the classic spiritual song "
Sign Of The Judgement" for a forthcoming episode of HBO's True Detective. Burnett is scoring the original series, which stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson.
*Visiting the studio in the first half of 2014 to begin work on an album of Billie Holiday songs to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Holiday's birth in 2015.
*March: Wilson will tour with the black roots music collective Harriet Tubman &
Cassandra Wilson Present
Black Sun.
*Spring: An expanded edition of 'Blue Light 'Til Dawn' will be reissued by Universal, with newly found extra content.
*April/May: Wilson will tour
Europe and the US with "Blue Light To A New Dawn."
*August 8: Headlining show at Lincoln Center Out of Doors.
