It is no coincidence that Eric Gales is listed as providing "guitar and vocals" rather than "vocals and guitar" in the credits of The Story of My Life. While Gales is a competent singer, he is an excellent guitarist; what one hears on The Story of My Life and previous Gales releases is really singing in service of guitar playing rather than guitar playing in service of singing. Of course, competent doesn't mean weak or bad – and while Gales' vocal chops aren't in a class with his guitar chops, he has no problem getting his emotional points across on this 2008 release. The Story of My Life finds Gales forming a power trio with bassist Steve Evans and drummer Jeremy Colson; comparisons to the Jimi Hendrix Experience (one of the 1960s' most influential power trios) are inevitable, and there is no getting around the fact that Hendrix is a huge influence throughout this blues-rock/hard rock/psychedelic rock CD.

Los Angeles axeman Rick Holstrom, best known for his work with Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers, delivers an album full of diversity on this, his first Tone-Cool release. The 13 songs included on Gonna Get Wild play out like a catalog of guitar stylings, running from the uptempo blues of "I'd Hate to See You Cry" to the sounds of swing and early rock & roll. Holstrom is able to pull off the different styles with ease and finesse, playing in rich, clean tones without overdoing it on the distortion. That's one reason why his songs have the uncanny ability to sound both retro and modern simultaneously.

In 2000, David Coverdale was officially a full-time solo artist, but it wasn't like the former Whitesnake and Deep Purple vocalist had never recorded an album by himself – his first solo project, Northwinds, came out in the late '70s. Although not groundbreaking, 2000's Into the Light is a decent solo effort that should please those who admire his '70s and '80s output. In fact, this isn't a radical departure from the British singer's work with Whitesnake and Deep Purple. Instead of attempting to be relevant to the alternate rock scene of 2000, Coverdale sticks with the type of commercial hard rock, arena rock, and power ballads that he is best known for.

Make no mistake, Willy & the Poor Boys is a fun record, perhaps the breeziest album CCR ever made. Apart from the eerie minor-key closer "Effigy" (one of John Fogerty's most haunting numbers), there is little of the doom that colored Green River. Fogerty's rage remains, blazing to the forefront on "Fortunate Son," a working-class protest song that cuts harder than any of the explicit Vietnam protest songs of the era, which is one of the reasons that it hasn't aged where its peers have. Also, there's that unbridled vocal from Fogerty and the ferocious playing on CCR, which both sound fresh as they did upon release. "Fortunate Son" is one of the greatest, hardest rock & rollers ever cut, so it might seem to be out of step with an album that is pretty laid-back and friendly, but there's that elemental joy that by late '69 was one of CCR's main trademarks.

Trumpeter Chris Botti's To Love Again: The Duets picks up where his stellar 2004 release When I Fall in Love leaves off, with more gorgeously lush and heartfelt orchestral jazz via the London Session Orchestra. This time showcasing guest vocalists – as well as a handful of instrumental tracks – Botti takes an even more classicist approach than before and once again brings to mind such iconic jazz albums as Clifford Brown with Strings and Miles Davis' Porgy and Bess. Largely known as a smooth jazz artist with a sweet trumpet tone, it wasn't until When I Fall in Love that Botti dropped the smooth jazz synthesizers and pop-oriented compositions in favor of Gil Evans-style jazz orchestrations and an acoustic backing quartet.

Georgia-born (as in the country, not the state) singer/songwriter Katie Melua found herself atop the British charts in 2003 with her breezy debut, Call Off the Search, which sold over three million copies in Europe alone. Her laid-back blend of blues, jazz, and pop with a kiss of worldbeat drew comparisons to Norah Jones, and rightfully so. She sticks to the formula on her lush, ultimately safe follow-up, Piece by Piece. This is Coldplay for the Diana Krall crowd, a perfectly rendered slice of adult contemporary pie for a lazy summer day delivered by an artist whose beautiful voice is almost striking in how unremarkable it is.

Diana Krall is an attractive lady with a good voice who plays decent piano, but this somewhat ridiculously packaged Verve CD seems like an obvious attempt to turn her into a pop icon and sex symbol to boot. The bland arrangements by Claus Ogerman (who conducts the London Symphony Orchestra on each track) border on easy listening, while Krall and her various supporting musicians – including John Pisano, Russell Malone, Christian McBride, and Peter Erskine (among others) – clearly seem stifled by their respective roles.

Originally released in 1973 on Encounter Records, Profile's Sands of Time was produced by Bernard Purdie (a living, walking definition of soul-jazz drumming), and the album bears his signature sound. With Don Sands on organ, Dave Barron on guitar, Seldon Powell on tenor sax, Garnett Brown on trombone, Jimmy Owens on trumpet, Paul Martinez on bass, and Purdie and Butchman Bateman sharing the drum kit, with help from percussionist Norman Pride, the album catches an easy, gently funky shuffle tone from the opening track, Barron's "99 Baseball," and then never lets go. Instrumental versions of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," Isaac Hayes' "Shaft," and Jimmy Webb's (via Isaac Hayes) "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" all fall into a delightful rainy-day groove, making Sands of Time somewhat of a lost classic.

John Pizzarelli takes his nifty little act over to the folks at Telarc, and in fact, little has changed at all; if anything, the act has gotten better. The good news is that Pizzarelli shows continued improvement as a vocalist; the nasal, callow, youthful sound slowly gives way to a less naive, more rhythmically hip style in the manner of early Nat Cole. Pizzarelli was a fine, versatile guitarist from the start, and he continues to astonish at lightning tempos here. His airtight longtime trio (brother Martin Pizzarelli on bass, Ray Kennedy on piano) keeps right up, switching tempos on a dime.

If American Josh Groban can make a killing singing Italian opera so convincingly, why not this operatically trained French singer – who has actually been a huge success in Europe while steadily building a name for herself stateside. While Groban is pop-minded, however, Emma Shapplin – like newcomer Laura Turner – seems content to emote powerfully over beds of nature-enhanced ambience and soulful grooves, finding a classical crossover niche with new age crossover potential. With the help of producer Graeme Revell (a noted film scorer and orchestrator for Evanescence), who provides these soaring textures with the London Symphony Orchestra, she blends dramatic solo arias – all original compositions – with passages where she interacts with the Symphony's great choir.

Those who consider themselves Oscar Peterson completists should be aware of The London House Sessions, a generous five-LP set that focuses exclusively on the Peterson Trio's 1961 engagement at Chicago's London House. However, completists are the only ones who would want to invest in this collection; others would be better off with individual LPs of the pianist's London House performances. One such LP is the Verve Master Edition of The Sound of the Trio, which was recorded in July 1961 and contains performances of "Tricotism," "On Green Dolphin Street," and "III Wind. Although not among Peterson's essential recordings – you won't find a lot of surprises here – the material is consistently enjoyable. Peterson, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Ed Thigpen, clearly enjoy a strong rapport, and the trio never fails to swing.

John Pizzarelli's love affair with the bossa nova stretched back over two decades prior to the making of this CD, which is his salute to the legendary João Gilberto. Accompanied by his regular group (pianist Ray Kennedy and bassist Martin Pizzarelli) and augmented by drummer Paulinho Braga and percussionist Jim Saporito, along with several others on selected tracks, Pizzarelli's soft, swinging vocals and strong but understated guitar work their magic throughout the session. While most of the pieces are Brazilian works, there are exceptions. Gershwin's "Fascinatin' Rhythm" is easily adapted into a bossa nova, adding backing vocals and the potent tenor sax of Harry Allen.

Old School is Koko Taylor's first new album in seven years, and after a series of health issues that sidelined her for a while, it could be viewed as a comeback of sorts, but if so, there aren't any signs of rust here. She still belts out her trademark Chicago blues like she always has, sidestepping any 21st century recording tricks for a straightforward set that wouldn't sound out of place next to her classic Chess sides from the early '60s. It's also encouraging that she wrote nearly half the tunes here, while turning in solid covers of a pair of Willie Dixon songs ("Don't Go No Further" and "Young Fashioned Ways"), one by Magic Sam ("All Your Love") and a scorching performance of Lizzie Lawler's classic "Black Rat" that rivals Big Mama Thornton's version.

Para Além da Saudade is the third studio album bu Portuguese Fado singer Ana Moura. It was released in 2007 and published by World Village and Universal. Contains 15 tracks, with the opening theme, "Os Búzios," it became Ana Moura's most commercial single to date. The album met with favourable reviews. Rascunho gave the album a favourable review and said: "Leafing through the pages of the small book that accompanies this third record of original, never fail to jump out at you names like Faust, Amélia Muge, Patxi Andeon or Tim Reies - the latter surely the most unsuspecting strangers, but also not sounding that the oddness of names.

It's only been seven years between Just Whitney and 2009's I Look to You, not even Houston's longest time between albums, but it feels much, much longer, her glory days obscured in hazy memories of lost luster chiefly deriving from a bad marriage with Bobby Brown, chronicled in an embarrassing reality show for Bravo in 2004. I Look to You attempts to wash this all away with something of a return to roots – a celebration of Houston's deep disco beginnings, tempered with a few skyscraping ballads designed to showcase her soaring voice. Houston's rocky decade isn't ignored, but it isn't explored, either: songs allude to Whitney's strength, her willpower as a survivor struggling through some unnamed struggle – enough for listeners to fill in the blanks, either with their own experience or their imaginings of Houston's life.