Traveling Miles Explained

Traveling Miles
Type:	studio
Longtype:	(Tribute album)
Artist:	Cassandra Wilson
Cover:	Travelingmiles2.jpg
Released:	March 23, 1999
Recorded:	December 1997 at The Hit Factory, NYC; May & September 1998 at Bearsville Studios, Bearsville, NY
Genre:	Jazz
Length:	62:21
Label:	Blue Note
Producer:	Cassandra Wilson
Prev Title:	Rendezvous
Prev Year:	1997
Next Title:	Belly of the Sun
Next Year:	2002

Traveling Miles is the thirteenth studio album by American jazz vocalist Cassandra Wilson. Released on the Blue Note label in 1999, it is a tribute to Miles Davis, taking many of its cues from Davis' catalog of recordings with Columbia Records. The album was nominated for the Grammy Award as Best Jazz Vocal Performance.^[1]

Reception

Jeff Simon of The Buffalo News wrote, "Cassandra Wilson is, paradoxically, very much her own woman at the same time that she may be overly in thrall to her friends. The results are bound to be some discs where her extraordinary gifts fail to connect as they should. "Travelling Miles" is one of them. It's never less than interesting but seldom more than that." A reviewer of Dusty Groove stated: "Cassandra Wilson's tribute to Miles Davis – a pretty brave and ambitious move, writing lyrics to classic Miles compositions – and a winning one! Wilson produced the record, too, and her genuine love of the material makes it worth – as does her fairly earthy, timeless production. Made in the late 90s, and it honestly hasn't aged a day. Very impressive!"^[2] Scott Yanow of AllMusic wrote: "A tribute album by Cassandra Wilson to Miles Davis seems like a very logical idea, but this CD is actually less than one would expect... her interpretations smooth down most of the melodies, robbing them of their personality."

Track listing

1. "Run the Voodoo Down" (Miles Davis, Cassandra Wilson) – 4:36 *
2. "Traveling Miles" (Wilson) – 4:52
3. "Right Here Right Now" (Marvin Sewell, Wilson) – 5:57
4. "Time After Time" (Rob Hyman, Cyndi Lauper) – 4:08
5. "When the Sun Goes Down" (Wilson) – 6:05
6. "Seven Steps" (Victor Feldman, Davis) – 6:44
7. "Someday My Prince Will Come" (Frank Churchill, Larry Morey) – 3:53
8. "Never Broken" (Wayne Shorter, Wilson) – 5:13
9. "Resurrection Blues (Tutu)" (Marcus Miller, Wilson) – 6:11 *
10. "Sky & Sea (Blue in Green)" (Davis, Wilson) – 5:24 *
11. "Piper" (Wilson) – 5:03
12. "Voodoo Reprise" (Davis, Wilson, Angelique Kidjo) – 4:15

Japanese Bonus Track

13. "Prancing" (Davis, Wilson) – 6:24

* Links for these tracks are to original Miles Davis recordings, from which Wilson's recordings adapt and take inspiration.

Personnel

• Cassandra Wilson – vocals, acoustic guitar
• Doug Wamble – acoustic guitar
• Eric Lewis – piano
• Jeffrey Haynes, Kevin Breit – acoustic, electric, resophonic & e-bow guitars, electric mandolin, mandocello, bazouki
• Lonnie Plaxico – acoustic bass
• Marcus Baylor – drums, percussion
• Marvin Sewell – acoustic, classical & electric guitars, bazouki
• Mino Cinelu – percussion
• Perry Wilson – drums
• Vincent Henry – harmonica
• Dave Holland – bass
• Olu Dara – cornet
• Steve Coleman – alto sax
• Pat Metheny – classical guitar
• Angelique Kidjo – vocals
• Regina Carter – violin
• Stefon Harris – vibraphone
• Cecilia Smith - vibraphone and marimba

Charts

Chart (1999)	Peak position
US Billboard 200	158
US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)	1
US Heatseekers (Billboard)	5

Notes and References

1. Web site: Cassandra Wilson . GRAMMY.com . 19 November 2020 . en . 19 November 2019.
2. Web site: Cassandra Wilson: Traveling Miles . . 15 January 2019.