COUNTRY

Cassandra Wilson

With her smoky contralto and sophisticated stylings, Cassandra Wilson has become one of the leading voices in jazz. On her new album, Glamoured, she covers such classics as Sting's "Fragile," Willie Nelson's "Crazy" and Bob Dylan's "Lay, Lady, Lay" as well as singing her own originals. We asked Wilson what discs really get her jazzed.

SKETCHES OF SPAIN MILES DAVIS "The album came out when I was 5, and my dad used to play it over and over again. I just loved the sounds. That was Miles stepping outside the boundaries of traditional jazz to take on a different kind of project."

MONK'S DREAM, THELONIOUS MONK "It is Thelonious at his best. On 'Bright Mississippi,' he does a recasting of 'Sweet Georgia Brown.' That album gave me ideas of how I could recast songs in my own way."

A SINGLE WOMAN NINA SIMONE "In that album she reveals her frailty. The lyrics to 'A Single Woman' give me goose bumps every time I listen. Some of the spaces she touches in the song are of such deep vulnerability."

TALKING TO THE SUN, ABBEY LINCOLN "It is a wonderful album that all comes from Abbey, She wrote many of the songs and also arranged them. It serves as a wonderful model of what you can do as a woman in this world of men, in music."

CHARLIE PARKER WITH STRINGS "He steps outside of his usual context of jazz by performing with a symphony orchestra. The music is very complex and has a very calming influence."

BRAZILIAN ROMANCE, SARAH VAUGHAN "This was her last recording, and she is singing with all of her heart. She projects a very powerful image. It is one of the best-produced recordings."