Ann Hampton Callaway

On her seventh album, a varied collection of standards and novelty numbers, Ann Hampton Callaway is joined once again by jazz heavyweights: Kenny Barron on piano, Rodney Jones on guitar, Ben Wolfe on bass, and Lewis Nash (or Neal Smith) on drums. Callaway's voice falls somewhere between jazz and Broadway, which can be a liability on weighty ballads like "Good Morning, Heartache" and "For All We Know" (Freddy Cole joins her on the latter). But her feel for swing is convincing ("You Turned the Tables on Me," "A Kiss to Build a Dream On," "The Best Is Yet to Come") and her scatting is seasoned and adroit ("Mr. Paganini," the elaborate "Pick Yourself Up"). Wynton Marsalis and Frank Wess turn in a number of understated solos; the vocal group New York Voices does some nice horn-section simulation on "Route 66" and "Twisted." ~ David R. Adler, All Music Guide