An intimate alliance that makes beautiful music

Singer Carmen Bradford made her first breakthrough appearances in the early ‘80s with the big, brassy Count Basie Orchestra. Since then, she’s performed in numerous other big-band settings. But her latest recording, “Home With You,” takes an entirely different path, presenting Bradford in an intimate musical alliance with pianist Shelly Berg.

On Monday at the Jazz Bakery, Bradford and Berg worked through a representative collection of tunes from the album. The material was as diverse as it was high-quality -- rhythm tunes such as “Take the ‘A’ Train” and “Singin’ in the Rain,” Marvin Gaye’s hit “How Sweet It Is,” a lovely ballad by Berg and lyricist Lorraine Feather called “Home With You” and a touching wedding song written by Bradford’s mother, singer Melba Joyce.

Bradford’s voice reaches from broad, belting climaxes to softly purring, intimate sounds, and she employed it to full benefit. In many tunes she moved easily into improvisation with the ease of a jazz instrumentalist, carving out lines with well-crafted melodic inventiveness. Her better moments, in fact, often recalled the high-flying efforts of Ella Fitzgerald. Bradford did occasionally show a tendency to diminish the importance of her songs’ lyrics, and she will be an even better singer when she becomes a more perceptive storyteller.

Berg was a superb accompanist, adding several hard-swinging solo passages of his own. But the real heart of the evening was the pulsing energy and musical affection of his pairing with Bradford in a consistently rewarding creative partnership.