When Rachael Sage was 4 years old, telephone books came in handy. That is when she first sat down at the black and white keys to learn to play the piano. She got stage experience by participating in talent competitions and school plays. She had ballet, theater and singing lessons and this education paid off, paired with a healthy dose of talent. School stages were replaced by those in clubs, and Sage gathered even more fans.

As winner of the Lilith Fair Talent Search in 1999, she collected as many prizes as she put out albums. It's worthwhile to take a look at the list of prizes, as it reflects the musical variety of this pianist, singer and songwriter: sometimes her genre is folk, then Indie, rock, pop ballads, R&B, Jazz, or Gospel.

We imagine that Rachael Sage sits on a swing attached to the limb of a tree that signifies the oscillation between Pop and Jazz. The fifteen songs on her seventh album "The Blistering Sun" are somewhere in between...

The lineup is damned long: with two drummers, guitarists and cellists and three bassists one can get confused. Then there are five more musicians beyond that... can they all fit in the same space? The answer is loud and clear: yes!

All the musicians here fit perfectly into Rachael Sage's universe. Conrad Korsch has played bass for Madeleine Peyroux and Rod Stewart, among others. Todd Sickafoose is Ani DiFranco's bassist, and Ben Butler and Jack Petruzelli have many albums under their belts, as does Julia Kent (Sheryl Crow, Rufus Wainwright, Norah Jones).

This album is a glamorous piece of music. Expressive lyrics wrapped up in wonderful sounds, sometimes upbeat, occasionally poppy, sometimes jazzy or mellow. "The Blistering Sun" is a brilliant example of how a gifted independent musician can superbly put her thoughts and feelings to words and music. To cherry-pick here would be throwing pearls before swine, because on this album there are 15 marvelous compositions.

Outside of "Anything, Anywhere" (Melissa Ferrick) our protagonist wrote all the songs, and another small, yet moving exception is the text of "93 Maidens", which was based on the letters of Chaya Feldman. Not as well known as the diary of Anne Frank, along with 92 other girls Feldman chose suicide rather than submit to the Nazis:

Mama where are you, where have you gone
I need you with me to drink the poison
For I'm nobody's martyr, only a daughter
I'll reach you when I reach heaven

Frothy feelings are turned on their ear in this uptempo number, particularly as shown in the quoted refrain. Accompanied by strings and accordion, this song is and remains poignant and affecting.

While there is much variation in the instrumentation of the pieces, one element remains constant in the foreground, and that is Sage's voice. On the tracks that I particularly like, it leans toward jazz, for example on "Hit Song", which is a spoken-word piece on which trumpeter Russ Johnson can really go nuts. Conrad Korsch is on upright bass, and he improvises through almost all the close to three minutes.

The American convinces not only as a singer. She is also a perfectionist on the piano. She really knows her way around and must have been at this for a really long time. But her age is cloaked in secrecy.

"Lonely Streets" has a classic groove, she sets a scene with her piano playing and there are also jazzy parts here.

Her music isn't the only thing that's moving. In order to read all the lyrics in the booklet you have to turn it over and around, particularly with "Violet or Blue", a mellow intense ballad featuring Petruzelli's wah-guitar. And that's just what's in the margins...

Tori Amos is a household name. Rachael Sage should — no, needs to be.

"Burning Witch" has a jazzy twist and Russ Johnson, who is simply a stunning trumpeter. It also has (almost) no backing vocals. Her voice is gripping enough. For this kind of music the only thing missing is a piece with just Sage solo. Just her and her piano. Too bad, that would've been fabulous.

"The Blistering Sun" is a fitting title for a magnificent album with a shitty cover. (Sorry, but it's a matter of taste.)

Rachael Sage gets 8 out of 10 stars for a CD filled with very good timeless music.