The Mosaic Project is an album by jazz drummer Terri Lyne Carrington released in 2011 on Concord Jazz Records. The album reached No. 2 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Albums chart and No. 4 on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart.
Overview
The album is part jazz, part rhythm and blues (R&B), with vocals contributed by Cassandra Wilson, Dianne Reeves, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Gretchen Parlato, Esperanza Spalding, and Nona Hendryx.
Carrington wrote five of the songs, including "Magic and Music", a tribute to singer Teena Marie, who died in 2010 seven months before The Mosaic Project was released.
Covers
Lyne Carrington covered Ethel Merman's "I Got Lost in His Arms", "Michelle" by the Beatles and "Simply Beautiful" by Al Green on the album.
Critical reception
Jeff Tamarkin of Jazz Times proclaimed that "Carrington’s percussion and kit playing is potent throughout" on an LP where "seemingly unrelated elements coalesce into a greater, cohesive whole". Lara Bellini of the BBC noted that the album "steers clear of easy compartmentalization with its openness and freedom" and "offers, simply, some of the best jazz around." Nick Coleman of The Independent also described The Mosaic Project as "accessible, song-based contemporary jazz at its most earnest, ordered and empowering".
The Mosaic Project also won a Grammy Award for Best Vocal Jazz Album.