Gentleman Milt Jackson pays tribute to a cross-section of female singers whom he has admired for over a half a century on this unpretentious straight-ahead CD. Moreover, Milt is enough of a gentleman not to mention any names in the booklet, presumably so as to not leave anyone out. But you can tell by many of the titles just whom he is referring to; needless to say, "A Tisket A Tasket" cannot refer to anyone else but Ella, "What a Difference a Day Made" is Dinah Washington, etc. Pianist Michael LeDonne, bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Mickey Roker make up the first-class, lightly swinging rhythm section, and Etta Jones' smoky vocals decorate three of the tunes as ambassador for her gender. Best of all is when the MJQ stalwart loosens his tie and gets to jam a bit on his own funky "Blues for Queen 'D.'"

For this quartet date, the great and innovative pianist/composer Andrew Hill performs "Here's That Rainy Day," and his powerful 25-minute opus "Divine Revelation," and three more concise originals with a quartet; an alternate take of "July 10th" was added to the CD reissue. In addition to Hill, bassist Chris White and drummer Leroy Williams, the set features a completely obscure but reasonably talented altoist (Jimmy Vass) who also is heard on soprano and flute and seemed to have really dug into the essence of Andrew Hill's complex but logical music.

Finnish melancholy death-doom metal masters SWALLOW THE SUN release their new album, "When A Shadow Is Forced Into The Light", on January 25, 2019 through Century Media Records.