ANN HAMPTON CALLOWAY: "Blues in the Night"

Few can own a song the way Calloway does on her first Telarc disc. Her Broadway-tested, cabaret-tempered and blues-infused voice is right at home just about anywhere it wants to be. Working at times with the all-female Diva Jazz Orchestra as well as a small group anchored by bassist Christian McBride and pianist Ted Rosenthal, Calloway has everything from Bessie Smith to Barbra Streisand covered. You'll never hear "Blue Moon," "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" or the show-stopping "Blues in the Night" the same way again. Calloway's own positive-thinking style of songwriting rears its upbeat head on three tracks, with her humor saving them from the saccharine — barely. Still, to hear that alto turn into a positively burning soprano — there's nothing quite like it.