Cassandra Wilson, Loverly

Cassandra Wilson is best known for singing originals and unusual covers, but standards are where she started. Loverly was produced in a rented house in her Mississippi hometown, with assembled invited musician friends who got down to the business of recording then and there.

It’s impressive to hear the class and character Cassandra has injected into these 20th century songs. With the help of Yoruba percussionist Lekan Babalola she knits West African rhythms into stripped-down arrangements, featuring Lonnie Plaxico (bass), Jason Moran (piano) and Herlin Riley (drums).

Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most is a true eye-opener. Cassandra's voice is so deep and resonant it's tangible, and she tells her story of loneliness backed only by Marvin Sewell's silvery acoustic guitar. He reappears playing ethereal slide guitar on Black Orpheus, supported by Cuban-sounding percussion and piano, under Cassandra's whispered, desolate vocals.

The Very Thought of You, a sublime duet with guest bassist Reginald Veal, features a rhythmic solo and sinuous vocals, but Wouldn’t It Be Loverly is a strange choice. It's polished off skilfully enough, but lacks the spark of originality of other songs on the album.

It is the up-tempo tracks that succeed in turning sparks to flame here. A traddish version of Lover Come Back To Me smears Cassandra's mellifluous vocals across Jason Moran’s wild piano playing and Arere, the only original on the album, is a frenetic fusion of unstoppable, cascading rhythms. On Caravan too, hectic percussion tumbles over jumbled piano and guitar, with Cassandra's voice at the other side of the room one moment and eerily close the next.

The Mississippi house feels so much a part of this recording that it deserves to be credited on the sleeve. Cassandra sounds as though she heads to the kitchen in Caravan, then pops out of the bathroom in The Very Thought of You, before looming up close and husky. The occasional word with the band, a slightly off-key entry to a chorus and the laugh that follows it are all left in the mix, making this recording so relaxed and personal that it feels like a live set in your own living room. And wouldn’t that be loverly?

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Vienna State Opera says conductor Seiji Ozawa out with back injury

VIENNA, Austria - The Vienna State Opera says music director Seiji Ozawa is out for five weeks with a back injury.

The prestigious opera house says Ozawa has cancelled all of his June dates there, as well as a concert that he had planned to conduct Thursday evening at Vienna's Musikverein. The opera house issued a statement Monday saying only that Ozawa needed rest after suffering an injury to a vertebra in his back.

It said conductor Andris Nelsons of Germany's Herford Philharmonic would fill in for Ozawa.

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Heath Ledger post-mortem results inconclusive

Results of a post-mortem on Hollywood star Heath Ledger are inconclusive, US authorities said today.
The 28-year-old actor was found dead at his New York apartment yesterday.
Police are treating his death as possibly drug-related and said sleeping pills were found close to his body.
But a spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office said an autopsy had proved inconclusive and further tests were needed - which could take around 10 days.
There were unconfirmed reports today that the 'Brokeback Mountain' star was suffering from pneumonia at the time of his death.
The actor's family have said that his death was a tragic accident.
Reading a statement outside the family home in Perth, his father Kim said: "We, Heath's family, can confirm the very tragic, untimely and accidental passing of our dearly loved son, brother and doting father of Matilda."
New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said: "We are investigating the possibility of an overdose... There were pills within the vicinity of the bed." He added that the prescription medicine included sleeping pills.
The star's housekeeper found him at 3:26pm (US time) yesterday, and tried to wake him for his appointment with a masseuse.
Paying tribute to Heath Ledger, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said: "Heath Ledger's diverse and challenging roles will be remembered as some of the great performances by an Australian actor."
The actor's compatriot and 'The Patriot' co-star Mel Gibson said: "I had such great hope for him. He was just taking off and to lose his life at such a young age is a tragic loss."
Australian actress Nicole Kidman said: "What a terrible tragedy. My heart goes out to his family."
The bosses of Warner Bros, Alan Horn and Jeff Robinov, said: "The studio is stunned and devastated by this tragic news. The entertainment community has lost an enormous talent. Heath was a brilliant actor and an exceptional person. Our hearts go out to his family and friends."
Ledger was nominated for an Oscar for his part in the film 'Brokeback Mountain' and had recently finished work on the Warner Bros blockbuster 'The Dark Knight'.
Last year he broke up with actress Michelle Williams, who played his wife in 'Brokeback Mountain' and was the mother of their two-year-old daughter.
The actor had recently been working on 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' with director Terry Gilliam; they previously collaborated on 'The Brothers Grimm'.
To view our photo gallery on the life and career of Heath Ledger click here.