Album Review: The Mosaic Project by Terri Lyne Carrington

Discussing The Mosaic Project, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington explained: "There's one part of me that's kind of a jazz head who likes complex, thought-provoking melodies and harmonies, and then there's another part of me that really likes funk and pop and things that are accessible. " Of course, the two are not mutually exclusive, and Carrington balances them with exciting results on this 2011 release. The Mosaic Project has one foot in the intellect and complexity of post-bop and the other in the soulful, groove-oriented funkiness of R&B; both are important parts of the equation for Carrington, who is joined by an impressive list of guest vocalists that includes Cassandra Wilson, Dianne Reeves, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Nona Hendryx (of Labelle fame), Esperanza Spaulding, and Gretchen Parlato.

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Anyone who caught American drummer Terri Lyne Carrington's performance at the recent Barbican show featuring Dianne Reeves, Angelique Kidjo and Lizz Wright will want to check out this star-packed session. Like the Barbican gig, its focus is women's jazz-making. Here, however, there is a much bigger cast, including Reeves, pianist Geri Allen, Cassandra Wilson, Esperanza Spalding, Gretchen Parlato, Nona Hendryx, saxist Tineke Postma and more.

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A fantastic all-female line-up features on Carrington’s fifth album. Lara Bellini 2011 The Mosaic Project, Terri Lyne Carrington’s fifth album as a leader is, as she puts it, a celebration of "the artistry of many women I had worked with and felt a sisterly bond with, women that were close friends and musical partners". It is an album of songs arranged or written with its impressive line-up firmly in mind – amongst those contributing are vocalists Gretchen Parlato and Dianne Reeves, and the best new artist at the 2011 Grammy Awards, Esperanza Spalding.

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Thomas Dybdahl For most of the last decade Thomas Dybdahl has been the singer-songwriter equivalent of a connoisseur’s blend: complex but mellow, faintly exotic, so appreciably good that his fans could feel ambivalent about spreading the word. That was true in the United States, at least, not in Mr. Dybdahl’s native Norway, where he’s famous. “Songs” (Strange Cargo) is his first album to see release here, and it’s perhaps best described as a greatest-hits compilation liberated from the pressure of, you know, hits.

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