( CNN ) -- She 's a drummer , a producer , a vocalist and a mom . Terri Lyne Carrington knows a lot about transformation . In fact , `` Transformation '' is the title of the first track on Carrington 's Grammy-nominated CD , `` The Mosaic Project . '' The vocals on the track `` Transformation '' are performed by Nona Hendryx , perhaps best known from her days as part of Labelle , the singing group from the '70s that helped launch the career of the iconic singer Patti LaBelle . Carrington explained the song was originally written and recorded by Hendryx in the 1980s . `` I remember growing up listening to it and it was always a song I felt connected to on some level , '' Carrington said . In later years the two performed together and Carrington said when she started to put `` The Mosaic Project '' together , she thought , `` Why do n't we do a jazz version of 'Transformation ' ? '' The song varies quite a bit from the original and Carrington said she was n't sure Hendryx would even like her arrangement . She said when she played it for Hendryx , `` First she had to really get used to it and then she ended up really loving it and she sang it great as well . '' `` The Mosaic Project '' is Carrington 's fifth album . A child prodigy , she has toured with some of the greatest names in jazz over the past two decades , including luminaries such as Herbie Hancock , Dizzy Gillespie , Al Jarreau , Joe Sample and Stan Getz . In fact , Carrington , now 46 , was only 11 years old when she performed with drummer Buddy Rich on a television show , impressing him with her clean technique and solid coordination . She said `` The Mosaic Project '' makes her feel , `` a little bit like a trailblazer , '' because when she was a kid starting out there were n't any other female drummers that she knew of and only a few female instrumentalists . `` It 's good to see a lot of younger women not having any preconceived notions about what they can do , '' Carrington said . `` It seems normal for a lot of them to play male-dominated instruments and I think that 's a beautiful thing . Everything about this recording is about making a larger picture out of many various elements . '' To that end , she gathered most of her closest friends ( who happen to be great musicians and great singers ) and had them help out with the project . Carrington said she envisioned the project for awhile , then `` ... it came together . The stars aligned and everybody was on board , so I was very fortunate . '' Included in that list of `` friends '' are some of the most prominent female jazz artists of the last few decades , including , besides Hendryx : Esperanza Spalding , Dianne Reeves , Dee Dee Bridgewater , Sheila E. , Cassandra Wilson , Geri Allen and more . The 14-song set weaves a story of transformation , using everything from jazz to hip hop to the spoken word . Civil rights and women 's rights activist Angela Davis introduces a track called `` Echo , '' which Carrington said brings together three women who have been very influential in her development as a black woman and `` just figuring out who I am . '' Those three are : Bernice Johnson Reagon of the group `` Sweet Honey In The Rock , '' who originally wrote the song , Reeves , who performs the vocals , and Davis . Carrington said she 's most proud of that song . Listeners might be surprised to learn `` The Mosaic Project '' also includes a cover of the Beatles classic `` Michelle . '' Carrington makes no secret of her affinity for the Beatles ' music . On her last CD , `` More to Say , '' she covered `` Let it Be . '' Carrington said she wrote the arrangement of `` Michelle '' a few years back and played it live , but this seemed like the right time to record it . `` I 'm already thinking about the next Beatles song '' she said with a chuckle . Drumsticks in hand , Carrington is helping trumpet the joys of jazz to new generations and new audiences and she 's optimistic about its future . `` It 's a high art form , '' she said . `` I do n't think it 's going anywhere . '' She said people often ask her if jazz is dead . `` I still put on the classic jazz and it 's still very much alive , '' she said . `` What 's happening is it morphs and changes . But the library that 's being created under the umbrella of jazz is incredible and it 's just more and more music that people will have access to . ''
`` The Mosaic Project '' is Terri Lyne Carrington 's fifth album . It was released in 1994 on the label of Warner Brothers Records and it contains 12 tracks, including two bonus tracks : " I'm a man with no name / Carrington says `` The Mosaic Project '' makes her feel , `` a little bit like a trailblazer ''