Terri Lyne Carrington – The Mosaic Project
However you want to shake it up, Terri Lyne Carrington’s Mosaic (Concord Jazz, 2011) captures the essence of the title in a big way.
For her fifth album as a leader, Carrington calls on the talents of 20 musical sisters, both instrumentalists and vocalists. From the liner notes: “As with mosaic artwork, the goal for this project is to vibrantly connect colorful pieces together to create something integral, using thoroughly composed song forms, some abstract improvising, and also the human voice – to create sharp shapes, with blurred edges.”
Seldom does a recording meet such a goal so effectively, diversely and beautifully. From Carrington’s arrangements of the Beatles’ “Michelle” and Al Green’s “Simply Beautiful,” to the originals, “Wistful” and “Crayola,” penned by Carrington and Esperanza Spalding, respectively, this set is as good as it gets, giving the listener some straight jazz instrumentals as well charming vocals.
Smooth Jazz Daily 