Editorial Reviews

By the end of the last century, a dirty little secret started to seep out: Rock and pop performers also enjoyed jazz. Today, it comes as little shock when both aging and -- in the case of emerging new artists like Jamie Cullum -- younger popsters record jazz-inspired projects. We Get a Kick Out of Jazz collects prize performances from the rich Verve Records catalog. (While A-listers Diana Krall, Van Morrison, Aaron Neville, Linda Ronstadt, and Cullum all record for the label, Sting, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and Tom Waits are represented as guests on various instrumentalists' albums.) Handling such chestnuts as "How Long Has This Been Going On," "The Man I Love," and "I Fall In Love Too Easily," as well as the occasional contemporary selection -- Lizz Wright with James Taylor's "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight," Krall's sassy take on Tom Waits's "The Heart of Saturday Night" (a Barnes & Noble exclusive track) -- the pop artists all exhibit comfort with the material and high style. Surrounded by noted jazz musicians including Herbie Hancock, David Sanborn, Roy Hargrove, and John Scofield, among many others, the vocalists rise to the occasion, each valuing the chance to bite into a quality song. William Pearl, Barnes & Noble

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