Peg Carrothers - vocals Bill Carrothers - piano, vocals Chris Bates - bass Jay Epstein - drums Jacqueline Ferrier-Ultan - cello Recorded 2001 at Creation Audio, Minneapolis, MN Minneapolis Tribune, 11/16/01 Peg Carrothers, ''Blue Skies'' (Bridge Boy) From the opening notes of a stunning and personal arrangement of ''Young and Foolish,'' it's clear that this is no formulaic release targeted at retro-conscious FM radio. Carrothers might do some old familiar tunes (''Poor Butterfly,'' ''In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning''), but she has an agenda, making each tune fresh and revelatory -- not comfy. Her voice is clear and warm, flowing and trumpet-like, light but never wispy. She's no belter, yet there's just enough power in Carrothers' supple delivery to keep pace with a strong, adventurous Twin Cities band: Chris Bates (bass); Jay Epstein (drums), and her internationally renowned husband, Bill Carrothers (piano). Jazz is supposed to come with surprises, and cheerful oddities abound on ''Blue Skies.'' ''It's a Sin to Tell a Lie'' is treated as a music hall-style 1920s lark, with Bill Carrothers making his own singing debut, sounding like a Rudy Vallee crony, a megaphone man. At the opposite end of the mood spectrum is ''Geranium,'' on which the singer puts music to a poem by the late Jane Kenyon, as guest Jacqueline Ferrier-Ultan beautifully bows accompaniment. ''Geranium'' is more like European art music than post-bop. It all adds up to one terrific debut. - Tom Surowicz -