SOPHISTICATED LADIES

The quality and quantity of jazz-influenced female vocalists seems to be improving by the month. Following are some of the more interesting items among dozens received in recent weeks:

“HOW DO YOU KEEP THE MUSIC PLAYING?” Susannah McCorkle. Pausa 7195. This intelligent, richly rewarding set of a dozen interpretations will appeal to everyone concerned with the classic American popular song tradition. McCorkle’s tone, phrasing and sensitivity match her taste in songs. The repertoire crosses a 70-year bridge, from the 1916 “Poor Butterfly” to Dave Frishberg’s “Blizzard of Lies.” In between are Webb, Jobim, Legrand, Berlin, Gershwin and Kern.

Who but McCorkle could actually induce me to enjoy a version of “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” which I once listed among my 10 most abhorred songs? No Ethel Mermantics here: She treats it as a slow waltz ballad. One dozen roses to the lady just for this unprecedented achievement.

Among the other delights: Al Cohn’s tenor sax on four cuts (among them “Outra Vez,” which is sung in Portuguese), the too-seldom heard “While the City Sleeps” (from “Golden Boy”), and a sly song delivered with McCorklesque humor, “Ain’t Safe to Go Nowhere.”

This is by all odds the best-conceived and best-executed vocal album of the year to date--and I expect to repeat that claim in December. 5 stars.

“TRANSBLUCENCY.” Maria Muldaur. Uptown 27.25. If good intentions were all, this would be a 5-star set. Backed by a jazz octet, Muldaur works her way bravely through a splendidly chosen repertoire (who can argue with “Lazy Afternoon,” “You’ve Changed” or the old Nat Cole hit “Looking Back”?). She even duplicates the wordless Kay Davis vocal on the original 1946 version of the Ellington title song. But compare her “Blizzard of Lies” with McCorkle’s: She reads the lyrics without seeming to get the point. On several tracks, as in Andy Razaf’s amusing conducted tour lyrics on “Massachusetts,” her intonation is off--singing the title 12 times, she never quite hits the four notes on the nose. Still, a nice try; for the better moments, 3 1/2.

“MIDNIGHT MAMA.” Jeannie & Jimmy Cheatham. Concord 297. In every respect--diversity of moods, keys, tempos, material--this is a vast improvement on the Cheathams’ debut LP last year. Her no-hollers-barred voice and deep blue piano and her husband’s angry bass trombone deal authentically with a collection of lighthearted originals (“Finance Company Blues”) and blues legends (“C.C. Rider”). Jimmie Noone’s clarinet evokes agreeable memories of his father; Snooky Young’s trumpet, Lockjaw Davis’ tenor and Curtis Peagler’s post-Bird alto capture the spirit. Except for an anticlimactic final track with glee-club vocal and out-of-tune soprano sax solo, this is about as genuine a sample of contemporary-yet-classic blues as you will find around today. 4 1/2 stars.

“MEMORIES OF YOU.” Dolly Dawn. Dawn 2001 (212 West 91st St., New York 10024). One of the pleasantest surprises of the season is Dawn’s re-emergence as a first-rate, jazz-influenced singer. Her glowingly confident sound is applied to the nostalgic “Old Man Time,” Alec Wilder’s “Blackberry Winter” and a slow, caressing “Pennies From Heaven,” complete with the seldom-heard verse. Fine accompaniment by Phil Bodner (clarinet, flute), pianist Tony Monte, et al. 4 stars.

“SOMETIMES I’M BLUE.” Kim Parker. Soul Note 1133. Parker has that elusive X-factor, a jazz tone quality, but after her promising previous recorded efforts this is a letdown; too often she sounds shaky and ill at ease, her intonation less than perfect. Despite fine piano by Mal Waldron, the rhythm section backing is lifeless on the slow and mid-tempo cuts. Being Charlie Parker’s stepdaughter is no guarantee of success. 2 1/2 stars.

“IN THE LAND OF HI FI.” Dinah Washington. EmArcy 826-453-1. The unforgotten queen of the blues lends her tart-tongued imprimatur to “My Ideal,” “Let’s Do It” and 10 other standards. Eight bars of Miss D and you are sold; forget the string-laden, unswinging Hal Mooney arrangements. They are relieved only twice: by a brief Cannonball Adderley solo in Phil Moore’s “There’ll Be a Jubilee” and by Junior Mance’s piano in “Love Is Here to Stay,” the latter inexplicably credited not to the Gershwins but to three other writers. One star for the orchestra, 5 for Her Ladyship.

“OO-SHOO-BE-DO-BE.” Lilian Terry with Dizzy Gillespie. Soul Note 1147. Some curiosities here: “Night in Tunisia” sung in Egyptian, “Con Alma” with lyrics (by Abbey Lincoln), and Gillespie as assistant vocalist, trumpeter and jew’s harp soloist. The title track, surely the least of Birks’ works, trudges on for 10 minutes. Terry’s idea of overdubbing “Moody’s Mood For Love” and “I’m in the Mood for Love” sounds like two records played at once. Too much gimmickry and comedy, not enough use of the talent at hand. 3 stars.

“KING PLEASURE SINGS: ANNIE ROSS SINGS.” Prestige 7128. You say you want to know where the Manhattan Tranfer’s vocalese concept came from? Here are the lyricized solos of Moody, Getz, Bird, Prez, et al., on which King Pleasure is aided here and there by David Lambert, Jon Hendricks, Betty Carter and a young conductor named Quincy Jones. But Pleasure’s eight generally excellent cuts are topped by the four in which a 22-year-old Annie Ross made her spectacular record debut. Here are the original versions of “Twisted” and “Farmer’s Market,” along with her delightful ballad “The Time Was Right” and a superbly original wordless blues, “Annie’s Lament.” Four stars for Pleasure’s classics of the genre; 5 for Ross.

“THE LADY’S IN LOVE WITH YOU!” Margaret Whiting. Audiophile 207. No question, it’s a trend: Both generations--the Whitings and Dawns along with the McCorkles and Muldaurs--are involved in the classic-pop revival, with salutary results for songs and singers alike. Whiting is as definitive an artist in this field as you will find on records today. Her backing, with piano, synthesizer and arrangements by Hubert Arnold, guitar by Gene Bertoncini, is unconventional and engaging. Here are Loesser, Gershwin, Cahn, Carmichael, Sondheim and a couple of unfamiliar names among the 13 cuts. Mel Torme’s album notes are a strong bonus. 4 1/2 stars.