ELLEN ANDERSSON

All hail Ellen Andersson, the best sort of blasphemous resurrection. The audacious Swedish jazz singer with the voice of tissue paper enrobing a jewel is probably the best representation of new jazz coming out of Europe and a more than fitting successor to Billie Holiday. On her new album, I’ll Be Seeing You, with guitarist Anton Forsberg, bassist Hannes Jonsson, and drummer Sebastian Brydniak, Andersson surpasses Lady Day’s unconventional, contrarian style. Those who found Holiday’s later affectations — the oddly placed, exaggerated upturns in an otherwise depressing set list — a bit much will find the right mix in Andersson, a noticeable improvement. Andersson doesn’t merely cover jazz standards note for note, or self-indulgently rely on posturing to get away with pages of morose wailing. She flexes her own intuitive, smart standards on nine mixed tracks made famous long ago by famous jazz people. from www.axs.com