Vanessa Rubin - Pastiche (1993)

Throughout this well-planned date, Vanessa Rubin sounds like an able successor to the more jazz-oriented sides of Nancy Wilson, Lorez Alexandria, and Ernestine Anderson. Rubin's soulful voice and subtle variations blend in well with the solos of the various horns even if she is not really an improviser herself. Assisted by a fine rhythm section and such sidemen as trumpeters E.J. Allen and Cecil Bridgewater, trombonist Steve Turre, and (on one song) tenorman Houston Person, Rubin expertly interprets the lyrics with both honest emotion and swing, occasionally scatting in unison or in counterpoint with the horns. This disc offers a good example of her talents.