Etta James - Blue Gardenia (2001)

Putting her age-deepened voice to another set of small-group versions of jazz and pop standards, Etta James makes Blue Gardenia a personal statement of mellow truth. Again in the company of pianist Cedar Walton, James inhabits "These Foolish Things," "Cry Me a River," and nearly a dozen others with her blues-drenched, hard-lived sensibility. Ever hopeful and apparently still a deep-dish romantic, James comfortably yet intently engages with the classic material--right down to her occasionally punctuating a lyric or a lick with a knowing "yeah." While most of the album has the feel of a last set in a dark club, she acquits herself well with the single left-field entry, growling her way through a samba arrangement of the '60s soul hit "Love Letters" with aplomb. Other than that, there are few surprises here. The feeling is the point, though, and it's fine. --Rickey Wright