The piano-playing singer Patricia Barber has quite a pearl of 12 standards on Nightclub with three stellar trios, including three tracks with Charlie Hunter's eight-string guitar. The incomparable bassist Marc Johnson also adds supple support on a few tunes and has a very tasty solo on "Yesterdays." And speaking of soloing, because Barber's vocal phrasing, rhythm, and timbre are so unique, it's easy to overlook her brilliant improvisations on piano. Despite their surface similarities, Barber seems worlds apart from Diana Krall in her presentation. Putting out an album of standards after the ultrahip Modern Cool challenges Barber with a different concept, rather than an attempt to capitalize on the tremendous success of other mainstream jazz vocalists (Krall included). In fact, if there's a problem here, it's that the sardonic wit displayed on Barber's previous releases is missing. On the other hand, it's mightily refreshing to report that a great American jazz singer who established herself on her own material has succeeded at an album of standard tunes. It's a chain of events that most vocalists can't claim. On Nightclub, Barber creates a dark, smoky atmosphere where, like any good impressionistic artist, she brings listeners into her world and lets them enjoy art from her side of the creative pane. Quite an accomplishment. --Mark A. Ruffin