Wait for Me
This Boston-bred blueswoman's follow-up toJust Won't Burn, which earned her a Best New Artist Grammy nomination in 2000, trades its predecessor's bar-band bluster for a sensual, soulful approach. By slowing the tempos, Tedeschi is able to make the most of the warm, middle range of her voice, pouring honey all over sweet ballads and making the Memphis funker "Alone" jump like a lost Hi Records nugget. Although her guitar-star husband,Derek Trucks, adds fire to two numbers, includingPaul Pena's classic "Gonna Move," Tedeschi herself dishes out some fat-toned, terse solos that sting with the style of the lateJohnny "Guitar" Watson.Also here is a haunting take onBob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice," which fits perfectly with Tedeschi's own songs about mature romance. And she teams with Handy Award-winning country-blues duoPaul RishellandAnnie Rainesfor the spare and touching acoustic tune "Blues on a Holiday."Wait for Memay not win Tedeschi the attention her last album drew, but it's far better, and it marks her arrival as a full-grown artist.--Ted Drozdowski