The sticker on this limited-quantity CD proclaims 'Celebrating the Triumphs of Women in the Arts' -- and this sounded so much like our own purpose, we had to listen! Rachel is an amazing jazz pianist and composer; she has collaborated with such greats as Ron Carter and Wayne Shorter, and musicians like Chick Corea are singing her praises. She's accompanied on this 1996 release by Regina Carter on violin, Tracy Wormworth on bass, Cindy Blackman and Terri Lynn Carrington on drums, and others. On some selections she wows you with her beautiful melodies and harmonies, and on others she blows you away with her technical virtuoisty and awareness of musical spaces -- when to fill them and when to leave them open. Each song is dedicated to a woman who has influenced her: Virginia Wolfe, Zora Neal Hurston, Billie Holiday.

Rachel Z