ANTONIA BENNETT, Expressions

It will always be challenging to be fully objective about jazz singer Antonia Bennett – not only because anything she’s recorded (starting with her 2010 debut EP Natural) will always be compared to and/or held to the standard set by her legendary dad Tony Bennett, but also because our enduring affection for him may influence how we feel about her one way or another.

Fortunately, since her years in the mid-2000s opening for him, she’s truly established a career all her own, driven by a vocal style very different from Tony’s. Over the years, her voice has been compared to Billie Holiday, Rickie Lee Jones, Betty Boop (!), Jane Monheit and Nellie McKay.

Since this is Antonia’s first non-holiday album since his 2023 passing, it feels most natural to start listening to her stylistically eclectic, beautifully arranged and produced 13-track collection Expressions backwards, starting with her haunting original closer “See You on the Other Side” (a soul-stirring piano vocal duet with the great Christian Jacob) and her wistful take on Cole Porter’s “After You,” which, though written about lovers, finds her pondering just how to find someone who could change her tears to laughter.

Besides her distinctive, sultry and powerfully rangy vocals, this is the other way Antonia sets herself apart from her dad’s legacy – by writing songs so emotionally compelling (the high-spirited torch tune “Do You Still Think of Me,” the breezy, elegant charmer “Baby”) that they fit in with her spins on standards he also he also once sang like “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and “Hushabye Mountain,” the latter which features a dreamy, wistful Randy Brecker trumpet solo.

Other gems on this winsome set include a sweet waltz through Porter’s timeless “True Love” and her sultry take on the French language classic “Vous Qui Passaz Sans Me Voir.” It’s inspiring to hear Antonia carry on the family legacy with such grace, poise and vocal magic.