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Song Title Time Price 3:31 $0.99 3:43 $0.99 5:55 $0.99 Visit our audio page for more information Callaways new album is a dynamic and stirring collection of American Songbook classics, mixed with potent and witty original songs. The recording contains several jazz standards, but with arrangements and interpretations that are far from standard. Editorial Reviews I reviewed Jackie Ryan's "Passion Flower" from 2002 with this same title. Since you're not supposed to repeat titles, I add "Part II." Actually, the comparisons between Jackie Ryan and Ann Hampton Callaway are quite apt. Both have very rich, sultry contralto voices that could have been retrained in each case for opera. But both, although nominally jazz singers, are extremely versatile, able to sing in just about any musical idiom. Both have trained their voices, such that each has close to 3 octaves of beautiful sound. Both do wicked versions of "Lover Come Back To Me." And both are underappreciated. I won't say underrated, because I suspect that those fans who know the work of either of these chanteusses are bowled over. But there just aren't enough of "them" in either case. This album features Ms. Callaway in a variety of settings. She shines in all of them. Whether doing her "June Christy" bit ("Swingin' Away the Blues"), channelling her "inner Aretha" in a way to put all those "American Idol" pretenders to shame ("Blue Moon"), doing an "Ethel Waters' torch" on Johnny Mercer's torchiest song ever ("Blues in the Night"), showing off her self-deprecating humor ("Hip to Be Happy" and the tres witty "The I'm-Too-White-To-Sing-The-Blues", complete with a spot-on imitation of both a trumpet and an alto sax in the choruses), singing slowed-down, bluesy torch readings of the normally more ebullient "It's All Right With Me" and "Willow Weep For Me", or doing a terrific duet with her lighter-voiced sister, Liz ("Stormy Weather/When the Sun Comes Out"), Ms. Callaway impresses constantly. I praised Maxjazz recently for releasing such terrific vocal jazz c.d.'s in recent times. Ditto to Telarc. Ann Hampton Callaway is a most worthy addition to a stable of such singers as Tierney Sutton, Cheryl Bentyne, Janis Siegel and Tony Desare. I missed Ms. Callaway's "Slow" from 2 years ago. I can't get to everything on time, but this is an omission I shall soon remedy. RC

Blues in the Night Available from Amazon Price: $14.99 Updated on 11-12-2008.