Jackie Allen - Tangled

Since moving to Chicago from Milwaukee in the early '90s, Jackie Allen has been one of the Windy City's least-peggable jazz singers, maintaining an independence of spirit even as she mined standards. So while the eclectic pop turn she takes on Tangled, her Blue Note debut, may catch some fans by surprise, it isn't as much of a departure as it may seem. Recorded in Chicago with a cast of excellent local players including pianist Laurence Hobgood (Kurt Elling's creative partner) and guitarist John Moulder, it cohesively showcases Allen's fresh approach to classics (including a slyly broken-down treatment of Rodgers & Hart's "Everything I've Got Belongs to You"), her sultry way with ballads (one of which was written by her husband, bassist Hans Sturm) and her literate songwriting gifts. While the album may make its strongest commercial connection with her churchy, Norah Jones-ish reading of Van Morrison's "When Will I Ever Learn" and its yearning cover of Randy Newman's "Living Without You," it is more strongly defined by its originals, which encompass moody folk-rock, horn-fed funk, jazz-rock fusion and samba. As a kind of bonus, Tangled includes the first recording of Donald Fagen's nightcrawling "Do Wrong Shoes," which brings out the sassiness in Allen. --Lloyd Sachs