Caecilie Norby - Queen of Bad Excuses (1999)

While many pop jazz vocalists such as Holly Cole and Diana Krall are releasing great vocal jazz albums of cover tunes and standards, few are writing songs of the quality that Norby produces. Queen of Bad Excuses is probably the best contemporary pop jazz vocal performance I've heard. Caecillie's previous albums have included a few good originals (especially the excellent Snow on My Little Corner of the Sky) admidst the covers, but this album is fresh, original, and features Norby's exquisite vocals and songwriting from start to finish.
From the beautiful Forever Broken to the frantic Psyko Pippi,
Norby's voice is smooth and agile, and her piano playing solid and supportive, regardless of the type of music she's doing.
Highly, highly recommended.