Rating: NNNNN
Before you start groaning about “yet another jazzy standards album,” keep in mind that this is an Andy Bey session, and if he’s singing, it’s definitely not going to be just another cheap cash-in. Among the most creative and moving song stylists alive, Bey doesn’t so much render a song as inhabit it. You may have heard Never Let Me Go, Speak Low, Angel Eyes, Lush Life and Satin Doll a million times before, but not the way Bey lives those songs here, letting that indecently rich tenor of his flow effortlessly over the deft orchestrations of Geri Allen. If you’re not already hip to Bey’s brilliance, here’s the place to start.