''Point of View'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American jazz singer

Cassandra Wilson Cassandra Wilson (born December 4, 1955) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. She is one of the most successful female Jazz singers and has been described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed wi ...

, recorded in Brooklyn, New York, in December 1985, as the fourth release of the German JMT label in 1986.Shimada, T.
JMT label discography
accessed September 26, 2014 It was also one of the first albums of a group of musicians around

Steve Coleman Steve Coleman (born September 20, 1956) is an American saxophonist, composer, bandleader and music theorist. In 2014, he was named a MacArthur Fellow. Early life Steve Coleman was born and grew up in South Side, Chicago. He started playing al ...

, that became known as

M-Base The term "M-Base" is used in several ways. In the 1980s, a loose collective of young African American musicians including Steve Coleman, Graham Haynes, Cassandra Wilson, Geri Allen, Robin Eubanks, and Greg Osby emerged in Brooklyn with a new sound ...

Reception

Writing for

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

on the occasion of the albums reissue on

Winter & Winter Winter & Winter is a record label in Munich, Germany that specializes in jazz, classical and improvised music. It was founded by Stefan Winter following the demise of his JMT Records label. Since 1997 Winter & Winter has released records by Da ...

in 2001,

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

gave the album a star rating of four out of five and praised Wilson's effort to "find a role for her voice" among "overcrowded ensembles". He described Wilson as a "chance-taking singer in a funky

setting."

Track listing

# "Square Roots" (

) – 4:39 # "

Blue in Green "Blue in Green" is the third tune on Miles Davis' 1959 album, ''Kind of Blue''. One of two ballads on the LP (the other being "Flamenco Sketches"), the melody of "Blue in Green" is very modal, incorporating the presence of the Dorian, Mixolydi ...

" (

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

, Wilson) – 4:10 # "Never" (

, Wilson) – 4:41 # "Desperate Move" (Coleman) – 7:58 # "Love & Hate" (

Grachan Moncur III Grachan Moncur III (June 3, 1937 – June 3, 2022) was an American jazz trombonist. He was the son of jazz bassist Grachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonist Al Cooper. Biography Born in New York City, United States, (his paternal gran ...

) – 8:19 # "I Am Waiting" (Wilson) – 3:39 # " I Wished on the Moon" (

Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhap ...

Ralph Rainger Ralph Rainger ( Reichenthal; October 7, 1901 – October 23, 1942) was an American composer of popular music principally for films. Biography Born Ralph Reichenthal in New York City, United States, Rainger initially embarked on a legal career, ...

) – 3:35 # "I Thought You Knew" (

Jean-Paul Bourelly Jean-Paul Etienne Bourelly (born November 23, 1960) is an American guitarist whose music crosses the boundaries of jazz fusion and rock. Bourelly was born in Chicago, Illinois, to parents from Haiti. His grandmother taught him Yoruba music. When ...

) – 5:36

Personnel

Band *Cassandra Wilson – vocals, guitar *

– trombone *

– alto saxophone, percussion *

– electric guitar *

Lonnie Plaxico Lonnie Plaxico (born September 4, 1960) is an American jazz double bassist. Biography Plaxico was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a musical family, and started playing the bass at the age of twelve, turning professional at fourteen (playing both ...

– electric and acoustic bass *Mark Johnson – drums Production *Stefan F. Winter – producer *Steve Coleman – producer *Joe Marciano – engineer *Adrian Von Ripka – mastering *Christine Paxmann;– cover design *Scott Sternbach – photography *Günter Mattei – cover design for the reissue *Joseph Gasu Rittenberg – photography for the reissue

References

1986 debut albums Cassandra Wilson albums JMT Records albums Winter & Winter Records albums {{1980s-jazz-album-stub