Patricia Barber

Patricia Barber can reconfigure standards and rock tunes. She's also a good ivory tinkler, and she has just started an association with the Blue Note label. Her self-penned, introspective songs and vocal style -- both reminiscent of Joni Mitchell -- have been winning her an audience with the Adult Alternative set. Barber, like a more pop-orientated Holly Cole, may just be a little too idiosyncratic for record company marketers, but not for open-minded listeners. Both modern jazz and rock fans -- especially those who like Diana Krall and Tori Amos -- will find plenty of common ground here.