On Patricia Barber's debut on Concord Jazz, the imaginative pianist, vocalist and composer continues her crusade to retrieve the ground that jazz musicians long ago ceded to pop and rock: the realm of the intelligent and committed singer-songwriter.
With a new band and a dozen new compositions, she tackles even familiar subjects (like love and loss) with a nuance and depth beyond the limits of the Great American Songbook. Audiophiles should know that Smash reunites Barber with recording engineer Jim Anderson.