One of her most pop-oriented albums, but also one of her best and most consistent. Most of the songs feature dramatic, swinging large-band orchestration, with the accent on the brass and strings. Simone didn't write any of the material, turning to popular European songsmiths Charles Aznavour, Jacques Brel, and Anthony Newley, as well as her husband, Andy Stroud, and her guitarist, Rudy Stevenson, for bluesier fare. There are really fine tunes and interpretations, on which Simone gives an edge to the potentially fey pop songs, taking a sudden (but not uncharacteristic) break for a straight jazz instrumental with "Blues on Purpose." The title track, a jazzy string ballad version of the Screamin' Jay Hawkins classic, gave the Beatles the inspiration for the phrasing on the bridge of "Michelle."© Richie Unterberger /TiVo

4 stars out of 5 -- "AVENTINE is a strikingly spare album of great, but frosty, beauty."© TiVo

Singing standards, trying to bring something different to or imprint your style on a tune made famous by Sinatra, Garland or Holiday, is a brave venture in the 21st century. The eclectic and unpredictable Rickie Lee Jones, has also always been a sneakily talented, genre-spanning songwriter who approaches covers with the same determination she brings to her own songs. Jones has carefully built a proud though underappreciated career that now gives her the gravitas to have a little fun on the aptly named Pieces of Treasure. As she did for a selection of rock and pop covers on 2019's Kicks, Jones leans into well-known (and well-worn) pop music standards like Jimmy McHugh's' bouncy "Sunny Side of the Street" or Kurt Weill's enchanting ode to age, "September Song." Rather than drowning these chestnuts in sentimentality, she works her nimble vocal way at leisurely tempos that encourage finely detailed renditions, the kind she's always been fabulous at finding. The opener "Just in Time" is an on- target success as is her easy, swinging run through of George and Ira Gershwin's "They Can' Take That Away From Me" where just a bit of scatting is added. While the late Jimmy Scott will always own the Jimmy Van Heusen/Sammy Cohen knockout "All The Way," Jones gives her all here. Set against just an acoustic guitar, she earnestly wends her way through a warm version of "On the Sunny Side of the Street" in which the last note is held for more than a beat. Working again with Russ Titelman who, along with Lenny Waronker, produced her 1979 debut album, Jones says this album made her feel young again and was like a reunion with herself.  Titelman has said of Pieces of Treasure's sessions, "I adore the young Rickie Lee, but I love even more the old dame I watched pour her heart out every time she got in front of a microphone." Recorded with the very spare accompaniment of mostly just pianist Rob Mounsey, with appearances by guitarist Russell Malone and vibraphonist Mike Mainieri, Pieces of Treasure was tracked in New York City at Bass Hit Studio, whose owner Dave Darlington was one of four engineers, and also mixed the album.) As befits the project, Jones is close-mic'd and the instrumentalists are tastefully kept in the background. Rickie Lee Jones sounds reinvigorated by this trip down Tin Pan Alley. © Robert Baird/Qobuz

This joint solo effort by Metheny and regular pianist and collaborator Lyle Mays is an impressive outing. In the process of stretching out away from the confines of the quartet setting of prior albums, Metheny and Mays presage the sleeker and more ethereal sound of the band's Geffen years on portions of the title track. And while this side-long number has some dreamy moments, it also bogs down in a trite climax or two; one gets the sense of a jazz fusion and prog rock marriage Metheny luckily never fully explored. Minor flaws, really, since the piece holds together in spite of the worrisome lapses of taste. The balance of the album is just fine, with the highlight being the Bill Evans remembrance, "September Fifteenth" (the date of Evan's passing, which occurred while the album was being recorded). Metheny and Mays appropriately opt for a serene and slightly elegiac piano and acoustic guitar duet. The set is balanced out by the fleet Americana of "Ozark" and the streamlined swinger "It's for You." Topped off by integral and tasteful percussion by future band regular Nana Vasconcelos, this 1981 Metheny date is certainly a worthwhile disc for fans to seek out, while not being essential.© Stephen Cook /TiVo

Annie Lennox's 2014 covers collection, Nostalgia, finds the former Eurythmics vocalist soulfully interpreting various pop, jazz, and R&B standards. In many ways, Nostalgia works as a companion piece to her similarly inventive 2010 album, the holiday-themed Christmas Cornucopia. As with that album, Lennox eschews predictability by picking an unexpected set of songs and producing them with detailed care. While Nostalgia certainly fits nicely next to any number of other standards albums by veteran pop stars, it does nothing to diminish Lennox's distinctive style. On the contrary, working with producer Mike Stevens, Lennox has crafted an album that brings to mind the sophisticated, contemporary sound of her original studio releases while allowing her to revel in the grand popular song tradition. Moving between evocative piano accompaniment, orchestral numbers, moody synthesizer arrangements, and even some rollicking small-group swing, Lennox takes a theatrical -- yet always personal -- approach to each song, finding endlessly interesting juxtapositions and stylistic combinations to explore. She references Miles Davis' plaintive take on the Porgy and Bess classic "Summertime," tenderly evinces a combination of Billie Holiday and Sade on "Strange Fruit," and draws on both Aretha Franklin and Screamin' Jay Hawkins for "I Put a Spell on You." Elsewhere, tracks like "I Cover the Waterfront" and "Mood Indigo" bring to mind similar recordings from Carole King and Bryan Ferry. Ultimately, even without Nostalgia's impeccable production, in the end it's Lennox's burnished, resonant vocals that steal the focus here, and just like the songs she's picked, their beauty will likely stand the test of time.© Matt Collar /TiVo

In 1954, Chet Baker was named trumpeter of the year by the American jazz press. Miles Davis wrote in his autobiography, “I think he knew he didn’t deserve it over Dizzy and a lot of other trumpet players. [...] Both him and me knew that he had copied a lot of sh*t from me”. Whatever Miles may have said or written, Chet Baker’s name was certainly on everyone’s lips in the 1950’s. Even when he played alongside some of the best musicians in the business like Charlie Parker, Gerry Mulligan and Russ Freeman, Baker still held his own. The angel-faced musician based in Los Angeles played a pivotal role in the development of cool/West Coast jazz and in 1958 he signed a four-album contract with Riverside Records, a New York label who was captivated by his music. The complete collection of The Legendary Riverside Albums, released in autumn 2019, is a compilation of essential tracks showcasing a musician far more versatile than he may at first appear, who glamorized California’s cool jazz but was also able to work alongside hard bop heavyweights from the East Coast. In addition to these four re-mastered albums in Hi-Res 24-Bit, he compiled a number of alternative takes from these sessions into a fifth album. The first of these four albums (Chet Baker Sings) It Could Happen to You, released in October 1958, shows his originality as he has a modern take on standards such as How Long Has This Been Going On? and Old Devil Moon. Unlike his business partner Bill Grauer, producer Orrin Keepnews was initially reluctant to welcome Chet Baker to his label and therefore didn’t produce this first album. But as it happens, after hearing Chet’s singing accompanied by Kenny Drew on piano, George Morrow and Sam Jones on double bass and Philly Joe Jones and Dannie Richmond on drums, Keepnews ended up being seriously impressed. Compared with the great singers of the time Chet Baker was just as innovative with his vocals as he was when playing his instrument. He stayed true to himself and his own style – which is a real testament to his character. One month later he was back in the studio working on Chet Baker in New York, which was released in 1959 featuring Johnny Griffin on saxophone, Al Haig on piano and Paul Chambers on double bass. This album really raised the bar as the musicians take on some exquisite solos in ballads such as Polka Dots and Moonbeams and much more up-tempo hits such as the lively Hotel 49. Perhaps the most impressive of the lot is the album Chet, recorded on December 30 th 1959 and 19 th January 1959, featuring pianist Bill Evans, guitarist Kenny Burrell, flutist Herbie Mann and saxophonist Pepper Adams. You can hear the languor of Chet’s playing more than ever as the music takes on an all-new impressionistic feel and Evans’ wonderful phrases on piano are completely in sync. From the first few seconds of the opening track of this masterpiece, Alone Together, with its stunning cover (Chet with model Rosemary “Wally” Coover, photographed by Melvin Sokolsky), the sensual and minimalist style give the album a more modern style. Later in July of that same year (1959), he recorded Chet Baker Plays the Best of Lerner & Loewe to round off his brief episode with Riverside Records. It covers Broadway hits from musicals such as My Fair Lady, Gigi, Brigadoon and Paint Your Wagon by lyricist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe. Chet is once again joined by Bill Evans, Pepper Adams and Herbie Mann here, as well as saxophonist Zoot Sims. His repertoire is just as distinctive as ever as he makes an esthetic sleight of hand when covering these tracks by adding his melancholic phrasing. Great music. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

4 stars out of 5 -- "AVENTINE is a strikingly spare album of great, but frosty, beauty."© TiVo

Although Fred Gibson’s whirlwind rise to fame has largely occurred over the last two years, his talents were championed throughout the 2010s by the cream of the industry: Brian Eno, Stormzy, Ed Sheeran, Eminem, Headie One, Rita Ora… a list as measureless as it is manifold. After being dubbed Producer of the Year at the Brit Awards in 2020, Gibson began work on the Actual Life project — his début solo venture — the first instalment of which would be released the following year, under the Fred again.. moniker. To borrow the words of good friend Marea Stamper, what came next was indeed ‘marvelous’: a string of wildly successful live shows the world over, a sophomore album, collaborations with such superstars as Swedish House Mafia, Skrillex and Four Tet—and one particularly iconic set from a recent Boiler Room party in London. The music conceived over this period forms the basis for Actual Life 3 – a celebration of freedom, and emancipation from the collective trauma of these past years.There’s always an inherent familiarity in his selection of source material: voice memos recorded on prolonged train journeys and aimless coffee mornings in North West London; tender outpourings from acapella singers and spoken word poets ripped off the internet. Amid a collage of vague-yet-hopeful musings about life, love and loss is an arresting human quality — one which confronts a myriad of complex emotions all at once, and whose essence extends far beyond its creator. It’s this universal approach which seems to inspire adoration among fans, all of whom can find a piece of themselves within his productions. Where other similar artists submit to pastiche, Fred’s music displays genuine emotional commitment, dissolving any hint of cliché sometimes associated with this sort of creative process. A songwriter’s spirit lies at the heart of every track, but poppy tendencies are enriched by a web of genre-spanning influences and intricate, club-ready production fresh from the underground. It’s enough to make a believer out of the most fervent skeptics (if ever there were any). © Finn Kverndal/Qobuz

Fiona Apple demonstrates considerable talent on her debut album, Tidal, but it is unformed, unfocused talent. Her voice is surprisingly rich and supple for a teenager, and her jazzy, sophisticated piano playing also belies her age. Given the right material, such talents could have flourished, but she has concentrated on her own compositions, which are nowhere near as impressive as her musicianship. Most of Tidal is comprised of confessional singer/songwriter material, and while they strive to say something deep and important, much of the lyrics settle for clichés. Apple does have a handful of impressive songs on Tidal, like the haunting "Shadowboxer" and "Sullen Girl," but the gap between her performing talents and songwriting skills is too large to make the album anything more than a promising, and very intriguing, debut.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Soprano Asmik Grigorian has been a star of London operatic stages in the 2020s, and listeners hungry for recordings from her propelled this release onto classical best-seller charts in early 2024. The singer's reputation for originality is upheld here; the piano versions of Strauss' Four Last Songs by Max Wolff and John Gribben (on Im Abendrot) have been performed from time to time, but putting them together with the original orchestral versions seems to be new. The graphics on Grigorian's release are wacky, festooned with nonsense equations and a picture of the singer with sunglasses hanging from her mouth. This seems uniquely unsuited to the material here. The attitude continues with her justification that "'one is never enough for me," but she also points out that the versions require quite different interpretations, and in this, she is correct. Grigorian fills in the additional space offered by the sparser piano accompaniment, resulting in slower performances that have a melancholic feel. All four songs are slower in their piano versions, and accompanist Markus Hinterhäuser gives Grigorian room to work. Sample the two versions of September, with the piano version nearly two minutes slower than the orchestral and Im Abendrot almost as divergent. Grigorian's interpretations of the orchestral versions are unobjectionable but less distinctive on the whole; the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France under Mikko Franck offers rich support. The piano versions were recorded at the Herkulessaal in Munich, which might have worked better for the orchestral versions; intimacy is lost. None of the issues here, however, are likely to dissuade fans of this singer, who is looking like a real original.© James Manheim /TiVo

In 2016, Louis Kevin Celestin, aka Kaytranada, stepped out from behind the sound booth to make his debut solo album, a bold move considering albums made by beatmakers can often become clunky collages of disparate singles with no real artistic unity. Not the case for the excellent 99.9%, for which the Quebecer with Haitian origins joined forces with Craig David, BadBadNotGood, Phonte, Syd from The Internet, Anderson .Paak, AlunaGeorge, GoldLink, Vic Mensa, Karriem Riggins and the Swedes from Little Dragon. Three years later, and his second album also brings out the big guns, this time featuring Kali Uchis, Pharrell Williams, Tinashe, Mick Jenkins, Charlotte Day Wilson, Estelle, GoldLink, SiR, Iman Omari, Masego, VanJess, Eight9Fly, Ari PenSmith, Durand Bernarr, and Teedra Moses. Once again, the eclectic nature of the varying styles and voices on the album never stop Kaytranada from taking the lead. Bubba has the allure of a groove mixtape centred around a core of house and soul, all while touching on a plethora of other styles along the way (indie R&B, smooth hip-hop, chillwave, funky pop, light downtempo). The Canadian, like many of his counterparts of the same generation, consistently manages to deliver an unstoppable and individual beat that allows the featured vocals to blend in perfectly with it. This technique is best exemplified on 10% with Kali Uchis, a banger that exhibits the power of a catchy melody without having to reinvent the wheel. Addictive. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

Streamlining the muted, organic atmospheres of the previous Gone to Earth to forge a more cohesive listening experience, Secrets of the Beehive is arguably David Sylvian's most accessible record, a delicate, jazz-inflected work boasting elegant string arrangements courtesy of Ryuichi Sakamoto. Impeccably produced by Steve Nye, the songs are stripped to their bare essentials, making judicious use of the synths, tape loops, and treated pianos which bring them to life; Sylvian's evocative vocals are instead front and center, rendering standouts like "The Boy With the Gun" and the near-hit "Orpheus" -- both among the most conventional yet penetrating songs he's ever written -- with soothing strength and assurance.© Jason Ankeny /TiVo

With Endling, Kvelertak cement the validity of the second phase of their career. The Norwegian band's first three albums -- especially 2013's Meir -- were widely hailed for their vigorous amalgam of Scandinavian black metal and thrashy party rock. Fronted by guttural wildman Erland Hjelvik, their "black & roll" approach was more power than dour, injecting some fun into a traditionally gloomy scene. When both Hjelvik and drummer Kjetil Gjermundrød called it quits in 2018, many fans feared the party had come to an end. Their comeback album, 2020's Splid, was something of a revelation. Incoming sticksman Håvard Takle Ohr slotted into the instrumental lineup seamlessly and Kvelertak's new frontman Ivar Nikolaisen proved himself a more-than-worthy successor, bringing a newfound melodicism that bolstered the band's already-hooky riffage. The band's new era continues on Endling, which has less to prove yet feels more confident for it. Recorded in the seaside Norwegian city of Bergen, the sessions were done live in the room, often with no click track, giving the set a bit more character and loose swagger. "Krøterveg Te Helvete" spends its first three minutes coming to a frothy boil, then cycles through a thrilling barrage of melodic choruses, punchy breakdowns, and power metal riffs before segueing into a smoky '70s-vibed outro reminiscent of Blue Öyster Cult. And that's only the first song. Throughout the set, Kvelertak touch on a variety of sonic hallmarks, from cocky thrash-punk ("Motsols") and chunky NWOBHM ("Likvoke") to abrasive folk-metal ("Døgeniktens Kvad"), all played with crackling, anxious abandon. Despite their increasing global popularity, the band still sings entirely in Norwegian, this time digging into obscure regional history and lore to create something even better. Nikolaisen's fairly even clean/scream vocal split dovetails neatly with Kvelertak's triple-guitar battery of Vidar Landa, Bjarte Lund Rolland, and Maciek Ofstad, who have rarely sounded so in sync with each other. While there is much to love about Endling (including its title track), Kvelertak have made an instant classic in "Skoggangr," a black & roll banger that is as infectious as it is rowdy.© Timothy Monger /TiVo

This 1954 studio date, a self-titled album recorded for Emarcy, was later reissued as Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown to denote the involvement of one of the top trumpeters of the day. Vaughan sings nine intimate standards with a band including Brown on trumpet, Herbie Mann on flute, and Paul Quinichette on tenor, each of which have plenty of space for solos (most of the songs are close to the five-minute mark). Vaughan is arguably in the best voice of her career here, pausing and lingering over notes on the standards "April in Paris," "Jim," and "Lullaby of Birdland." As touching as Vaughan is, however, Brown almost equals her with his solos on "Lullaby of Birdland," "Jim," and "September Song," displaying his incredible bop virtuosity in a restrained setting without sacrificing either the simple feeling of his notes or the extraordinary flair of his choices. Quinichette's solos are magnificent as well, his feathery tone nearly a perfect match for Vaughan's voice. Ironically though, neither Brown nor Quinichette or Mann appear on the album's highlight, "Embraceable You," which Vaughan performs with close accompaniment from the rhythm section: Jimmy Jones on piano, Joe Benjamin on bass, and Roy Haynes on drums. Vaughan rounds the notes with a smile and even when she's steeping to reach a few low notes, she never loses the tremendous feeling conveyed by her voice. In whichever incarnation it's reissued, Sarah Vaughan is one of the most important jazz-meets-vocal sessions ever recorded. © John Bush /TiVo