NEW RELEASES : Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra’s Finest Hour : **** TOSHIKO AKIYOSHI JAZZ ORCHESTRA “Carnegie Hall Concert” <i> Columbia</i>

This inspired recital, recorded last year, will regenerate the reputation of a unique yet woefully underemployed orchestra. It will also reconfirm the compositional genius of Akiyoshi. Six of the seven works are hers; she arranged the seventh, an exquisite ballad by alto saxophonist Frank Wess.

Two are extended pieces reflecting the Asian and American cultural mix that gives her orchestra much of its singular character. “Children of the Universe” starts exotically with the sonorous howls of two tsuzumi drummers, along with solo flute by Lew Tabackin, Akiyoshi’s husband and her ensemble’s principal improviser. Later passages highlight a superbly scored section of flutes and Tabackin in a fiercely emotional tenor sax foray. “Kourokan Suite,” with its broad use of tonal textures and a haunting, wordless vocal by Nnenna Freelon, again emphasizes the ethnic diversity within Akiyoshi’s scope.

Four tracks spotlight Freddie Hubbard’s trumpet on the leader’s reworkings of familiar themes (“I Know Who Loves You” is based on “Somebody Loves Me,” “How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall” on “Just Friends”). Still, aside from the underlying harmonic structure, every bar is a total reflection of Akiyoshi’s personality.

Not since Duke Ellington has there been a jazz ensemble so masterfully controlled, and not since him has there been a composer of such imposing originality. For Akiyoshi and also the immensely gifted Tabackin, this is their finest hour.

In Brief

**** Tony Bennett, “Perfectly Frank,” Columbia. In what might be called an exercise in reverse noblesse oblige, the man Frank Sinatra called “the best singer in the business” interprets 24 Sinatra-associated songs. There’s no attempt to imitate the tempos and moods (he even does “One for My Baby” in a bouncing middle beat), and no rehash of “My Way” or “New York, New York” bombast. In fact, the subtitle reads “The Torch and Saloon Songs of Sinatra.” Backed simply by pianist Ralph Sharon’s trio, Bennett is, as always, in matchless form and continues to justify the title of an earlier album: He still practices the art of excellence.

*

**** Joe Williams, “Ballad and Blues Master,” Verve. The ever-versatile Williams investigates familiar blues (the ribaldry and double talk of “Who She Do,” the ageless verses of “Cherry Red”), tender ballads (“A Hundred Years From Today”) and one obscure oddity, the ultimate schmaltz song “Dinner for One Please James” (he’s telling his butler that “Madame will not be dining”). This set was taped in 1987, at Hollywood’s Vine St. Bar & Grill, when he had his best-ever rhythm section: Norman Simmons on piano, Henry Johnson on guitar, Bob Badgley on bass and Gerryck King on drums. Even by Williams’ standards, this is an exceptional album.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four (excellent).