Ann Hampton Callaway
jazz
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When it comes to jazz vocalists, it's an unusual sight for the name in the songwriting credits to match the one on the cover; singer-songwriter is a term reserved for tree-hugging folkies, not elegant divas, right? While her own pieces may never became immortalized with the standards that make up her more typical repertoire, singer Ann Hampton Callaway writes with a wry, witty tone that perfectly suits her dusky alto. Numbers like "The I'm-Too-White-to-Sing-the-Blues Blues" from her latest, Blues in the Night (Telarc), make all the obvious jokes, but they're in the mix more to represent her famously bawdy nightclub act, a mix of brassy swing, smoky crooning and brash cabaret. Callaway's voice is similarly direct, a lithe instrument that can dip and soar into the extremes of her range. If the songwriter offered the singer more than comic relief, Callaway just might be able to shake up the songbook.
Fri.-Sat., Nov. 17-18, 7:45 and 10 p.m., $30, Zanzibar Blue, Broad and Walnut sts., 215-732-4500, www.zanzibarblue.com.
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