Ruthie Foster Let It Burn (Blue Corn Music): Like her fellow Texan wonder Gary Clark Jr., Foster’s musical output has been all over the place—and that’s to our benefit. She’s a lauded folk musician as well as a Grammy-nominated blues artist. But on Let It Burn, Foster once again tests her comfort zone, recording the album in New Orleans with some of the Crescent City’s finest musicians, including members of the Funky Meters and saxophone wizard James Rivers William Bell.

A mix of slow burning covers and originals, the collaboration with the Blind Boys of Alabama—on the Foster original gospel-inflected “Lord Remember Me” stands out along with a smoldering take on Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain,” which—if possible—exudes more passion and soul than the original. Foster is a rare talent, one who freely moves between genres but always maintains and exacting level of quality. Add Let It Burn to her stellar repertoire.

www.ruthiefoster.com