Brandi Disterheft was born in Vancouver and now calls Harlem home. She has released three albums prior to this gem and has won a Juno. She studied for a time with Oscar Peterson, who said that she had “the same lope or rhythmic pulse as my bassist Ray Brown.” She has also studied with Don Thompson, Ray Brown, Rufus Reid and Rodney Whitaker. The lessons were well learned.

Blue Canvas is a flawless piano trio record on which Disterheft plays bass and cello and sings. She is joined in this endeavor by the drum master Joe Farnsworth (Pharoah Sanders, Benny Golson, Diana Krall) and piano legend Harold Mabern, now 81 years old. A mixture of originals and classics -- from Bobby Timmons and Jon Hendricks (“Dis Here”), Clifford Brown (“Daahoud, which Mabern recorded in 1970 with Lee Morgan), Tadd Dameron (“George’s Dilemma”) and Ann Ronell (“Willow Weep For Me”). There’s not an original that doesn’t cry out for that same classic status. Opening with a spirited take on “Dis Here,” Disterheft solos gorgeously. On the following original pieces, “Prelude To The Crippling Thrill,” on which she plays a gorgeous bass solo, and “The Crippling Thrill,” on which she sings,” The crippling thrill of your love/running wild in my heart,” as the full band comes in. On the title tune she stretches on the bass and sings, “Footloose fancy free/ freedom sits down next to me/asks me to paint his canvas blue/I accept with nothing to lose,” revealing a beautifully full voice and first-class songsmithing. The pattern continues throughout this amazing album. Her playing and singing are captivating, as is the jaw-dropping performances of Mabern and Farnsworth. This is a contender for the Jazz Album of the Year.