Modern day female jazz recommendations


We all know the classics from decades ago. What are your favorite your more contemporary female jazz singers of today?

Living close to Nashville I have the opportunity to see and hear a lot of up and coming artists. Nashville is NOT just country music by a long shot.

I'll start with Diana Krall....
dean_fuller
I'm sorry for repeating myself, but sgain Nnenna Freelon continues to be overlooked by jazz listeners. I cannot stress any more fervently what a gross oversight this is. She is simply outstanding. Of the female jazz singers out there, her voice places her among the top artists. She does not have that many recordings, true, but she is a real virtuoso and deserves to be recognized. It seems that little or nobody knows her work. Educate thyself!
Foster 9, And how would Freelon sound compared to three of my recent favorites Butler, Marie, and Stallings, stylewise anyway? If she is anything like these I'll check her out. :-)
Unfortunately Newbee I am not familiar with the singers you mention. I hope you'll check out Nnenna Freelon anyway. You can get a feel for her voice here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSqQPTtUW2o
An easy way to check out some of these recommended singers is either with the samples at Amazon or the artists' sites.

Dave
Maria Muldaur. I know she isn't really Jazz, but her Dylan Love Songs album is one of the best I've ever heard.