Cassandra Wilson - Belly Of The Sun (2026 Repress) Cassandra Wilson

2026 repress of Pure Pleasure's reissue of vocalist Cassandra Wilson's 2002 LP for Blue Note 'Belly Of The Sun'. Remastered by Ron McMaster at Capitol Studios, this edition is pressed on 180g 2LP vinyl and housed in a deluxe gatefold sleeve.

Cassandra Wilson continues to move down a highly eclectic path on Belly of the Sun. While displaying a jazz singer's mastery of melodic nuance and improvisational phrasing, Wilson draws on a wide range of styles—including roots music, rock, Delta blues, country and soul—to create an earthy, intelligent sound with broad crossover appeal.

Her core band features guitarists Marvin Sewell and Kevin Breit, whose interplay blends mellow acoustic textures with atmospheric electric, 12-string, slide guitar, mandolin, banjo and bouzouki. Bassist Mark Peterson and percussionists Jeffrey Haynes and Cyro Baptista provide a richly sensitive rhythmic foundation.

Returning to her home state of Mississippi to record much of the album, Wilson also collaborated with local musicians. Guitarist Jesse Robinson guests on and co-writes the funky Show Me a Love, while octogenarian pianist Boogaloo Ames joins Wilson for a heartfelt duet on the classic Darkness on the Delta.

Additional guests include drummer Xavyon Jamison, trumpeter Olu Dara, pianist and vocalist Rhonda Richmond—who penned the gently swaying Road So Clear—guitarist Richard Johnston, backing vocalists Patrice Monell, Jewell Bass, Henry Rhodes and Vasti Jackson, as well as the children of New York's Middle School 44.

Wilson explores vintage blues with Mississippi Fred McDowell's You Gotta Move and a spirited rendition of Robert Johnson's Hot Tamales. Highlights also include her inspired interpretations of The Band's The Weight, Bob Dylan's Shelter from the Storm, James Taylor's Only a Dream in Rio, Antônio Carlos Jobim's Waters of March, and Jimmy Webb's Wichita Lineman, famously recorded by Glen Campbell.

Wilson and her band are in peak interpretive form throughout, while original compositions such as Justice, Just a Parade—co-written with India.Arie—and the Caribbean-tinged Cooter Brown further showcase her versatility, imagination and distinctive artistic voice.