Touch

Jessica Williams lights candles, sets moods and tells her deep stories in nobody's hurry, revolving a leisurely kaleidoscope of intimate variations on Touch. She says, "Neither life nor music is a contest." No more hammering, her fine style features internal linear dynamics and remarkable voicings. Her chiaroscuro narratives waft through seductive veils of fog and smoke. Her "I Loves You Porgy" is as elegantly shaded and emotionally tidal as fine readings by, say, Nina Simone and Shirley Horn. "Soldaji" is a stately bolero; a sprightly waltz to "Rosa Parks" twinkles in the top octaves. Her genial "I Cover The Waterfront" is a Boardwalk strut, with bass lead under tight triads. "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," a salty, barrelhouse paean, echoes the Mingus piano.