NEW RELEASES

In Brief

*** 1/2 Dinah Washington, “Dinah!” EmArcy. Washington’s resilient alto voice was in full bloom in 1955 when these 15 tracks were recorded. Imbuing most of the selections with a steaming passion, the then-31-year-old builds to dazzling climaxes on the slow but hard-swinging “All of Me” and “There’ll Be Some Changes Made,” as well as on such torch songs as “Willow Weep for Me” and “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.” Brief solos from pianist Wynton Kelly, altoist Herb Geller and trombonist Frank Rosolino are added pleasures.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four (excellent). A rating of five stars is reserved for classic reissues or retrospectives.