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RANDY CRAWFORD AND JOE SAMPLE
“No Regrets”

(PRA Records)

It was the 1979 hit “Street Life” that brought singer Randy Crawford together with the Crusaders and their pianist, Joe Sample.

Crawford and Sample reunited first in 2006 with the jazz crossover CD “Feeling Good.” On this CD, she sounds more like a jazz singer, though there’s still a healthy bit of crossover — from blues to gospel to pop — as one might expect from Sample and producer Tommy LiPuma.

Crawford is a bit of a mystery. She’s got solid chops and the ability to convey emotion, but hasn’t broken through.

This set doesn’t solve that problem, but it shows Crawford and Sample in accessible form.
Working here with bassist Christian McBride and drummer Steve Gadd — as on the 2006 set — she maneuvers through “Every Day I Have the Blues” like a jazz chanteuse. She shows some gospel earnestness on “Respect Yourself,” which gets maddeningly repetitive by the end, and squeezes some folky soul from Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel.”

Sample is, as always, a versatile collaborator. The title track, a soulful remake of an Edith Piaf-associated tune, makes for a gentle encounter.

—Karl Stark, The Philadelphia Inquirer

PHIL WOODS
“The Children’s Suite”

(Jazz Media)

Saxophonist and composer Phil Woods has tried since the early 1960s to get the rights to put A.A. Milne’s verses in a jazz setting. He finally succeeds here, and the results, with a narrator, two singers, and an 18-piece orchestra, are fun and even uplifting.

Woods, who cofounded the Delaware Water Gap Celebration of the Arts in northeastern Pennsylvania, taps players who have played there over the years or gone to one of his camps. Singer Bob Dorough delivers some slinkiness on “Pinkle Purr,” while Vickie Doney sings Christopher Robin’s words in a fresh fashion.

The charts are done in a boppish way, and Woods’ alto still sears after all these years. The cutesy singing gets overdone, but Milne fans ought to appreciate this unusual tribute.

—K.S.