Influenced by Betty Carter and Sheila Jordan, New York resident Lisa Sokolov is one of the more interesting and chance-taking jazz vocalists who emerged in the '90s. Sokolov isn't as radical as Ann Dyer -- for that matter, she isn't as left-of-center as Carter, although there are elements of Carter in her phrasing. The thing that makes the expressive, big-voiced Sokolov unusual is her ability to combine the influence of jazz's avant-garde with elements of soul and blues as well as cabaret and theater music; it isn't every day that you hear a singer who has benefited from Carter's abstraction but also has the sort of soulful grit you would expect from Patti LaBelle. Sokolov has no problem being earthy, bluesy, and down-home, but she is just as comfortable being cerebral and abstract. Sokolov's first album, Angel Rodeo (which featured tabla player Badal Roy), came out on Laughing Horse in 1993 and was followed by her second Laughing Horse release, Lazy Afternoon, in 1999. Her most uninhibited material to date was captured on her 2004 effort, Presence. ~ Alex Henderson