When Tropical Breeze was recorded in 1980 by the Brazilian group Jasmine, the music world had yet to hear of Cassandra Wilson. 24 at the time, the singer was still six years away from her first album as a leader and her second appearance on records (with altoist Steve Coleman) was five years in the future. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Cassandra Wilson had had seven years of classical piano lessons, learned guitar, and played clarinet in her high school’s concert and marching bands. But it was as a singer that she began working professionally in the mid-1970s, gaining experience in a variety of situations in the South during the five years before she recorded with Jasmine. 　　 　　Even many of the most devoted Cassandra Wilson fans have probably not heard her debut although virtually every jazz listener now knows who she is. Wilson recorded with Jasmine during a year when she lived in New Orleans, a period when she also worked with Ellis Marsalis and Earl Turbinton. In 1982 she moved to East Orange, New Jersey and began singing in New York including with Dave Holland. An important early turning point was when she met up with Steve Coleman, who at the time was involved in creating new music with a co-op called the M-Base Collective. 　　 　　The music of M-Base tended to feature crowded ensembles, unpredictable funk rhythms, and very adventurous solos. As the only singer in the collective, Cassandra Wilson had to carve out her own role and somehow she succeeded at not being buried in the ensembles. She also did well singing with Henry Threadgill in the group New Air. 　　 　　But Cassandra Wilson was too strong a musical personality, and had too many fresh ideas, for her to remain a side person forever. In 1986 she recorded her debut as a leader, Point of View. While that and its follow-up Days Aweigh were outgrowths of her associations with M-Base, 1988’s Blue Skies found her for the first time interpreting standards. Her singing, while strongly influenced by Betty Carter, hinted at her future directions. 　　 　　A few albums later, she had her real breakthrough with 1993’s Blue Light ‘Til Dawn. Rather than performing avant-garde jazz or free funk, she had found a way to mix her Southern heritage (acoustic country blues and aspects of several jazz and blues styles) with her own contemporary vision. Although she occasionally performs standards in her own way, Wilson has opened up her music to include current and vintage pop tunes along with originals that sound like they should be standards. On such recordings as New Moon Daughter, Traveling Miles, Belly Of The Sun and Loverly, she became a highly original and influential force, and the success of those recordings and her live performances have made Cassandra Wilson a regular poll winner in the jazz world. 　　 　　Her dominance of the current scene and her fame make Jasmine’s Tropical Breeze both a collector’s item and a historic find. Here she is in 1980, before she even moved out of the South, interacting with a Brazilian-oriented group led by harpist Patrice Fisher. The instrumentation is particularly colorful, featuring the leader’s harp, violinist Sun Kim, Kent Jordan on flute, bassist Jim Markway, drummer James Black and percussionist Mark Sanders. 　　 　　Wilson is featured on five of the eight selections, scatting very well on the opening “O Pepita: Daughter To Be,” caressing the melody of the ballad “Jasmine,” sounding appropriately dreamy and haunting on “Dream Dancer,” and being most recognizable on the rhythmically tricky “Dream Street.” While her voice is higher than it would become, Cassandra Wilson was off to a strong start on the obscure release. 　　 　　The violin-flute frontline, with prominent harp in the background, gives Jasmine a unique sound. “Pretty Black One,” a surprisingly laidback version of “Malaguena,” and the hypnotic “Tropical Breeze,” the set’s instrumentals, display the group’s potential. 　　 　　But it is for Cassandra Wilson’s participation that Tropical Breeze is of greatest interest. Her inventive singing on “Rose Tower” lets one know that it would only be a matter of time before she made an impact on the music world. –Scott Yanow