Annie Ross: Annie Ross Live in London

Midway into this set, vocalist Annie Ross revisits "Jumpin' at the Woodside (Basie/Hendricks) and her high-energy delivery is an instant encapsulation of the halcyon days when she sparkplugged the now-legendary trio known as Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. Even before the trio's success, Ross' clarion pipes, stratospheric vocalizing, and musical know-how had made fans of the likes of Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, and Dizzy Gillespie.

This never-previously-released 1965 set was recorded live in her own short-lived London club, Annie's Room, after Ross split from the trio in 1962. At times a smiling, come hither succulence in Ross' voice is reminiscent of Anita O'Day, which is especially apt on Cole Porter's "Love for Sale. But Ross is a copy of no one, as is evidenced by her playful, bluesy take on another Basie tune, "Goin' to Chicago , a gem that Jimmy Rushing co-wrote and pretty much owned. Her straight-ahead delivery, seesawing with high, high vocalese, combines into a particular instrument which can only be called "Ross.

The recording quality here is less than optimal, but it's just a night in a smoke-filled room when the sound's off—but who cares when the music's so cool.