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Carol Weisman I Like Men - Reflections of Miss Peggy Lee Canadian pianist and vocalist Carol Welsman's focus upon the essential elements of her art is not surprising. Coming from a musical family (her grandfather was the founder and first conductor of the Toronto Symphony), she has studied in the U.S. (at Berklee College of Music) and Europe, and released seven albums since her first CD, "Lucky To Be Me," in 1995. Her numerous achievements include the receipt of four Juno (Canadian Grammy) Award nominations, and several CDN Jazz Awards. She has become well-established as an international artist, touring the world, and performing in Italian, French, Portuguese and English.

In this new collection of songs, Carol pays tribute to Peggy Lee -- a singer she has always admired -- even though, at first glance, the connection between the two appears slim. True, they are both blondes, and they both have jazz in their souls. But the physical differences are obvious, and Lee's stand-up, big band singer-based style was dramatically different from Carol's identity as an intimate, vocalist/instrumentalist. A connection, nonetheless, was established early.

Lee was the favorite singer of Carol's musician father. "He took me to see her," she recalls, "when I was 12, when she was performing in Toronto. And one of the first things I ever heard of hers was her "Beauty and the Beat" album with George Shearing, because my father loved Shearing. He liked Peggy's no nonsense, unaffected kind of singing, the subtlety of what she did. And he drew a lot of comparisons with me when I was starting out, because I never had the big vibrato, always had a cooler sound, and he thought that she was the best person to follow."

All of which virtually guarantees that this collection of Peggy Lee-associated songs -- although performed with affection for the original versions -- reflects Carol's creative view, her own unique interpretations of some very familiar material. Several of the tunes include Lee's lyrics. Some -- "Why Don't You Do Right," "Fever," "Lover" -- are classic hits from the lexicon of American pop song. But the most fascinating aspect of this compelling collection is the way each is treated as a new musical experience by Carol, as an adventure in creative imagining.