Lizz Wright’s debut album Salt (2003) introduced her as both an accomplished songwriter and an effortlessly magnetic performer, delivering subtly persuasive vocal performances in understated jazz/R&B settings. Salt won international acclaim, earning Wright comparisons with such formidable figures as Nina Simone and Abbey Lincoln. It also struck a chord with the public, reaching the number two slot on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz chart. In 2010, Verve Forecast released Wright’s fourth studio album Fellowship. The 12-track gospel-tinged record features a number of traditional songs long held sacred by Wright alongside originals by guest performers Angelique Kidjo, Toshi Reagon, Bernice Johnson Reagon and Me’Shell Ndegéocello. Fellowship is the follow-up to Wright’s 2008 record The Orchard, which CBS News Sunday Morning declared one of the best albums of the year while the Los Angeles Times called it a creative breakthrough for Lizz Wright, whose smoldering sensual voice now has a vision to go with it. For her album Fellowship, Lizz Wright won in summer 2011 the first prize at the Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll, category Beyond Record of the year.