Ann Hampton Callaway © Bill Westmoreland

It was Cyndi Lauper who rode the pop tune "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" in the early eighties but Chicago born songstress Ann Hampton Callaway is one of New York City's bright lights in 2006 and she is the one having all the fun. The lady with the effervescent personality and fabulous vocals often refers to herself as a lover.

"I was just born to be a lover," says Callaway. "I think that sense of love immediately draws people in. I am so glad that I can sing because all of that stuff can come out. I think everyone is a lover. I think music is the most powerful way to refresh that identity of being a lover and getting in touch with your heart. (You can) really feel things and feel safe enough to feel things," she says.

Draw you in she does as the sultry voiced Callaway melts even the staunchest male ego with her rendition of Richard Rogers' and Lorenz Hart's "Blue Moon". The Diva Jazz Orchestra's horns sizzle and blow some torrid notes as they perform on the torch tune. Callaway and Andy Farber added their own arrangements to "Blue Moon" and the result is an outstanding performance.

Big Apple Jazz & EZ's Woodshed is a daytime destination for those interested in jazz history. This is a first stop venue for all jazz fans looking for the real deal daily in Harlem. It's a jazz day club open to all in a ridiculously welcoming atmosphere. The love of New York's jazz history and current scene pours out of every corner of the place. Open from 10:30AM - 8:30PM with free live jazz daily: 2 bands a day starting at 2 and 5:30. Jam session on Sunday at 2PM. Gift shop and art gallery and jazz tours of NYC round out the experience.

Big Apple Jazz & EZ's Woodshed is located on a historic strip of Harlem's Jazz District. This street, once known throughout the jazz world as "The Corner," hosts the ghosts of Louie Armstrong, Fats Waller, Eubie Blake, Duke Ellington, Bird, Diz, and Miles, as well as Count Basie's Club, Well's Chicken and Waffles, Connie's Inn, Clark Monroe's Uptown House, Small's Paradise, the Lafayette Theater and legendary Tree of Hope. They can show you where Billie Holiday was discovered and where Bird used to jam in the 40's.

They celebrate New York City Jazz both past and present with cd's recorded live in all the historic and current night spots; and they sell the city's only collection of indie cd's by our outstanding pool of local talent seen on the scene nightly in hidden jazz haunts along the Big Apple Jazz tour route. Call for info. 212 283-JAZZ.