Jimmy Scott: Next Steps

Gifted with a jaw-dropping contralto voice, this unique singer deconstructed jazz standards and rock ballads with equal articulation. He breathed unsettling new life into “Strange Fruit”, while “At Last” inhabits the other end of the spectrum, all dreamy romantic promise. Whether slipping under the skin of John Lennon's redemptive “Jealous Guy” or Elvis Costello's lonesome “Almost Blue”, Scott could reduce listeners to tears in record time.