Katherine Davis, a seasoned, husky-voiced singer in the tradition of Carrie Smith, walks the fine line between blues and jazz on Dream Shoes (Southport/Katy “D” S-SSD0071; 48:19), the first release on her own Katy “D” Records. On tunes like her catchy original “Blues and Bulls” (a new anthem for the city of Chicago) and bits of Bessie Smith-inspired double entendre like “Press My Button” and “You Can’t Ride My Train,” Davis deals convincingly in deep blues. Her renditions of more sophisticated, jazzier fare like “Try a Little Tenderness,” “I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart,” “Honeysuckle Rose” and “What a Difference a Day Makes” are affecting, if not in a straight-up blues bag. But as she maintains on “You Choose,” “The sound is jazz, the sound is blues, why should anybody have to choose?”
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