Kathy Ingraham: Jazz Dreams

Occasionally an album comes along that is different and original, but not contrived. It can be unusual, but somehow familiar. Jazz Dreams is that kind of recording, a blues treatment of several canonical rock tunes that evokes shades of Blossom Dearie and Nina Simone with a touch of Steve Winwood's Traffic. Kathy Ingraham—who has imagination, chops and pipes to spare—manages this alchemy, doubtlessly a big part of her talent. Putting players like Randy Brecker and Evan Christopher into the mix only adds to the intrigue. The result is fascinating, eclectic and creative, not to say, original. For once, the cliche "you really have to hear this to get it" is absolutely true. There is no other way to describe what Ingraham has done, its intensity and sheer stunning beauty.

Start with "Dream On" or "Rising Sun." Ingraham confers both mournfulness and eroticism in both. If a listener hears echoes of a Minnie Riperton recording, evoking a no less difficult, but seemingly less complicated time, tunes like "Its The Little Things" will do it. "Eli's Coming" will take listeners of a certain vintage back to the kaleidoscopic effects of The Beatles "Number Nine." Yes, it is that and more, hallucinogenic and all. Ingraham claims to be a bit of a time traveller, tracing her lineage back to the Norman Conquest of 1066. It is a plausible trip, listening to her and meditating on the Bayeaux Tapestry. That, indeed, may be the best way to listen to "Stairway to Heaven" or "Ruby Tuesday, " both of them killers.

Face it, for the metaphysically minded, Kathy Ingraham is the next best thing to a very, very good trip. Ingraham has recorded a number of superior past albums, like the jazz rock Everlasting Cool (2022). Take some time to listen to what she has to sing and join a growing number of New York cognoscenti who enjoy her many gifts.