Fri., December 16
While most jazz vocalists rely on the “American songbook” to make up their set lists—which often makes for very repetitive nights in which “Fly Me To The Moon” is played for the zillionth time—Andrea Wolper goes a little further by adding some of her own compositions into the mix along with ballads by the likes of Van Morrison. In the meantime, she makes her songs her own by giving them lively renditions, as can be heard on her recently released CD, The Small Hours (Varis One Jazz).

Due to the fact that she gives the songs her own cool feel, the mixing of classics and originals sounds seamless, and you almost can’t tell that songs like Rodgers & Hart’s “Dancing On The Ceiling” and Wolper’s own independent woman statement “Not Sleeping in Your Arms” hail from completely different eras. In fact, she is such a gifted songwriter that she might as well perform an entire set of her own music—but then again, that might scare away the classic song-loving crowd who always expect to recognize the songs that are being played. Still, whenever there is space for improvisation, she goes for it. In her “Rendezvous in Providence”, she takes advantage of the sparse accompaniment to allow herself to be playful, doing the same on “You And The Night And The Music.”

On Friday, she will be performing alongside Michael Howell (guitar) and Ken Filiano (bass), who have been regularly playing with Wolper since 1998. 55 Bar, 55 Christopher Street (near 7th Ave.), 212-939-9883; 7-9 pm, free.