To Cole, a change is unregrettable

TO hear Natalie Cole tell it, her recent decision to make a musical about-face -- turning her back on her last 15 years as a multiplatinum-selling adult contemporary superstar and one of the premier jazz festival headliners in the world -- was a no-brainer. Even if that meant the singer had to butt heads with her label, Verve Records.

“They were like, ‘You’re the best jazz singer around. You can do another jazz album with your eyes closed,’ ” she recalls. “That’s exactly why I don’t want to do it again. I’m getting a little bored here. I sing jazz, but I’m not a jazz singer. There’s a difference.”

Forgoing the musical niche she tapped into with “Unforgettable With Love,” 1991’s tribute album to her father, Nat King Cole, has resulted in “Leavin’,” an album of interpretive songs spanning country, blues, soul and even Euro-pop due in September.

Among the songs: Fiona Apple’s “Criminal,” country firebrand Shelby Lynne’s “Leavin’ ” (the album’s title track redone doo-wop style) and an open-throated take on Neil Young’s warbly signature song “Old Man.”

“Old Man”?

“I always kinda liked that song,” says Cole, 56, reclining in a leather couch at a Hollywood recording studio where she was putting finishing touches on the album with help on guitar from blues singer-songwriter Keb’ Mo’. “This is a collection that I thought, ‘Hmm, maybe I could mess with that a little bit.’ Most covers have a tendency to be straightforward. They sound like the original so much, you can’t enjoy it.”

Produced by Grammy-nominated hip-hop/R&B; hit maker Dallas Austin (TLC, Boyz II Men, Michael Jackson), the album leans more toward a pop sound than Lite FM. The 12 that made the CD (including songs from Sting, the Isley Brothers, Kate Bush and Aretha Franklin) were culled from some 500 songs originally under consideration.

“We started off by saying, ‘We know we can’t afford to do an original record right now because it costs too much money,’ ” Cole explains. “We’re doing a contemporary urban record on a jazz budget.”

What to make of Cole’s sudden embrace of country music?

“I have a little country in me -- I wouldn’t have admitted that a couple of years ago,” she says. “I like the things they’re talking about, the chord changes. I love that wild and crazy girl Gretchen Wilson! She gets in your face, talks about whatever she wants and makes no apologies.”

Which, in a way, is similar to how Cole has treated Verve.

“They’re freaking out,” she says of label executives. “They’ve never done a record like this. They’re watching this with great expectations.”

*

Cristal and rap? He’s not bubbly

LARGELY as a result of the drink’s ubiquity in rap lyrics and videos over the past few years, the Cristal champagne has become synonymous with hip-hop -- the Gatorade of the genre.

But according to an article called “Bubbles & Bling” in the Economist magazine, the managing director of Louis Roederer Cristal, Frederic Rouzaud, apparently isn’t thrilled about the association of rap with his company’s pricey tipple -- even if it is great for sales.

“What can we do?” he said. “We can’t forbid people from buying it. I’m sure Dom Perignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business.” In response, rapper Jay-Z announced he will stop serving Cristal in his upscale sports lounge, the 40/40 Club, and that he plans to lead a boycott against the champagne in hip-hop.

Rouzaud might want to take note that rappers including Da Musicianz, Bubba Sparxxx, the Ying Yang Twins and E-40 lately have taken to name-checking Patron tequila in their songs.

*

You’re virtually at the festival

TIME was when not having a concert ticket or living nowhere near a concert or festival venue was enough to prevent fans from attending rock shows. Not so anymore, thanks to the geniuses of the Information Age.

This year’s Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn. -- the country’s second-biggest alt-rock music fest after California’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival -- is being streamed live and free at the AT&T; Blue Room: blueroom.att.com.

The sold-out Bonnaroo Festival kicked off Thursday. Today’s acts include Sonic Youth, Bonnie Raitt, and Matisyahu.