NEW RELEASES

CLEO LAINE

“Blue and Sentimental”

RCA

* * * 1/2

The Dankworths, Cleo and John, are both represented as songwriters here (“Primrose Colour Blue,” “A Cryin’ Shame”) along with two other brilliant Britains, Carroll Coates (“Afterglow” with Gerry Mulligan soloing, and “Love Comes and Goes” with George Shearing), plus Duncan Lamont’s “Not You Again,” also with Shearing. Joe Williams’ guest shots on two tunes further strengthen this mainly low-key set (but it ends boisterously with Bessie Smith’s “Soft Pedal Blues.”) Cleo’s sumptuous contralto does a splendid spot of overdubbing on the title tune.

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