Take a Bow

The most celebrated figures in jazz tend to play one of a limited set of instruments: piano, trumpet, saxophone, a few others. The most celebrated instrumentalists in jazz also tend to be men, with women, for the most part, relegated to finding fame as vocalists. Regina Carter breaks the rules: she's a female instrumentalist, not a singer, and she plays the violin, which, although it has a long history in jazz, is not considered by all fans to be a core jazz instrument. However, for Carter, her violin is her voice--soaring, sighing, demanding, convincing. Carter's previous album, Something for Grace, was a smooth-jazz, easy-listening affair. Her newest release, Rhythms of the Heart (Verve), swings harder, aims higher and cuts deeper.

The Detroit-born Carter, who studied classical music as a child but switched to jazz in high school, has played backup for some of the top performers in jazz, including Wynton Marsalis. In this album she steps into the spotlight. Her sound has echoes of the jazz-violin greats of the past: the melodic instincts of Stephane Grappelli, the sweet swing of Stuff Smith.

On Rhythms of the Heart, Carter creates music that is wonderfully listenable, probingly intelligent and, at times, breathtakingly daring. On one track, Papa Was a Rollin' Stone, she cheekily combines classic soul and traditional jazz, with Cassandra Wilson supplying the vocals. It's the high point of a CD filled with peaks: voice and violin, darting and duetting, taking the listener into the future of jazz.