Vibes Sounds 

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Shirley Horn -- You're My Thrill (Verve)

Horn's use of quiet space, her dramatic sense of timing, and her deliberate phrasing impart an alluring, reflective feel to this slowly cadenced set. Her piano comping gently pushes her trio along, with Johnny Mandel's strings and guest spots by guitarist Russell Malone adding depth on several selections. A few tunes have a gentle swing, but this disc's most striking characteristic is Horn's complete mastery of time -- she stops the world repeatedly with these softly unfolding songs to the extent that, if you're not careful, your attention will wander in her romantic repose. Recommended for anyone willing to stop long enough to pay attention. -- GH

Abbey Lincoln -- Over The Years (Verve)

Fully voiced and emotionally resonant, Abbey Lincoln's latest opens and blossoms with a delicious, deliberate beauty. Time seems to stand still as the tunes roll by, beginning with the post-war celebration of When Lights Go On Again, graced by Joe Lovano's tender tenor sax, and flowing immediately into the rapid guitar intro to Blackberry Blossoms. Tempos vary and sentiments run the gamut from joy to sorrow on this engaging set of standards and Lincoln originals. One highlight is a surprising take on Michael Legrand's Windmills Of Your Mind, which showcases the skills of pianist Brandon McCune, bassist John Ormond and drummer Jaz Sawyer, as well as a blistering solo by saxophonist Lovano. Now at age 70, Abbey Lincoln is the reigning diva of jazz, and her stature grows with each mesmerizing recording. Take this one home and savor it. -- GH

Minibar -- Road Movies (Universal)

The good news: This album contains a cover of a Whiskeytown song that hasn't come out yet -- Choked Up, from the semi-legendary lost album Pneumonia. The bad news: The eponymous Whiskeytown album is slated to come out (finally!) on May 22. The good news: There's a whole lot more here to recommend it than that fact alone.

The first single, Holiday From Myself, blends a nice Matthew Sweet-ish hook with tasteful accompaniment along the lines of a Calexico or Map of Wyoming. Other highlights include the title track, Road Movies, the banality/societal indictment Sheer Volume of Traffic, and the requisite love-gone-wrong-or-just-gone-away rumblers I Know Without Asking and Lost in the Details. This is American roots music, synthesized through British sensibilities and, as is often apt, a primer to just where this kind of music can go without diluting what made you like it in the first place; it's like George Jones and Tom Jones meeting in a bar and five hours later walking out arm in arm. -- TD

Barbara Montgomery -- Dakini Land (bjazz)

While on a slow and difficult recovery from Lyme disease, vocalist Montgomery found recurring inspiration in the music of Chick Corea's Return to Forever, and this disc is a loving tribute to Corea and the unforgettable RTF vocalist Flora Purim. Montgomery and pianist Barry Sames recast and rearrange RTF tunes such as 500 Miles High and You're Everything to suit Montgomery's straightforward vocals, and the stylistic contrast between Montgomery's earthiness and Purim's lightness is fascinating. A handful of Montgomery's Buddhist-influenced originals round out the set (dakini is a Buddhist term for sky travelers). Overall, this hard-to-find CD strikes a beautiful balance of Corea/Purim tributes and well-written and arranged originals. It's worth seeking out at www.bjazz.com. -- GH

Charlie Parker: The Complete Savoy and Dial Studio Recordings -- 1944-48 (Savoy)

Between 1944-48, Charlie Yardbird Parker changed the face of jazz and issued in the genre's modern era through the beauty, power, creativity and unparalleled artistic vision of his playing. Parker collections abound, but this is the best and most important Bird set to date. Documenting over 20 recording sessions for the Dial, Savoy, Guild, Bel-Tone and Comet labels on eight CDs, this set is a Bird fan's dream come true. The poor recording and mastering that marred earlier editions has finally received the serious remastering it so justly deserved, and the accompanying booklet is comprehensive and authoritative. This is the definitive Bird collection -- eight discs of genius unfolding in the company of Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, J.J. Johnson, Max Roach, Bud Powell and others. -- GH

Gil Scott-Heron It's Your World/The Mind of Gil Scott-Heron (TVT)

It's Your World, originally released in November of 1976, had its infancy in that year's Bicentennial celebration, and features Scott-Heron's then-regular backing group, the Midnight Band (so named, says Scott-Heron, after the first minute of the new day). The album is organized around five spans of a day, divided into groups called Just Before Sundown, Nightfall, Late Evening and Midnight and Morning, and the album's moods progress according to these themes. Sundown features the bluesy Possum Slim, featuring a growling Scott-Heron opining on the plight of a black man in this supposed year of celebration and country pride gone unchecked. Nightfall's New York City is more subdued, the ragged, little-known smoky rasp of Heron's voice infusing it with tenderness: It's home to both tramp and artist/ And dreamers from everywhere/ But most of all kindhearted people/ Whose stories ain't on the air. The Late Evening tracks begin with Home Is Where the Hatred Is and Bicentennial Blues, a powerful spoken-word performance also on The Mind of Gil Scott-Heron, before finally winding down with the Late Evening section, reminding us that The blues remembers everything the country forgot.