What’s immediately striking is her clear, strong, vibrant voice. Then, it’s the host of genres and styles jostling about: Celtic folk, Appalachian traditions, Maghrebi and Mediterranean influences, blues, gospel. Accompanying herself on the banjo and violin, brilliantly supported by multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, and violist and cellist Kate Ellis, with Joe Henry at the helm, Ms. Giddens blithely transcends borders and takes us on a formidable journey around the musical planet.
