By Michael Hamersly/McClatchy Newspapers

Due in stores Tuesday:

—Mindi Abair, “Stars” (Peak Records). Smooth-jazz saxophonist shows her pop side.

—Clay Aiken, “On My Way Here” (RCA).

—Barenaked Ladies, “Snack Time” (Desperation Records). Alt-rock band has fun with 24 original children’s songs.

—Elvis Costello & the Imposters, “Momofuku” (Lost Highway).

—Craig David, “Trust Me” (Warner Bros.). U.K. R&B star.

—Gavin DeGraw, “Gavin DeGraw” (RCA). Second album from “I Don’t Want To Be” singer features the single “In Love With a Girl.”

—Neil Diamond, “Home Before Dark” (Sony). More stripped-down tracks from the legendary songwriter in the vein of 2005’s excellent “12 Songs.”

—The Last Shadow Puppets, “Age of the Understatement” (Domino). Side project of Arctic Monkeys singer Alex Turner and the Rascals drummer Miles Kane.

—Johnny Mathis, “A Night to Remember” (Sony). Crooner takes on romantic standards including “Walk on By” and “Always and Forever.”

—Luis Miguel, “Complices” (Warner Music Latina).

—Chris Sligh, “Running Back to You” (Brash Music). “American Idol” really does open doors.

—Armin Van Buuren, “Imagine” (Ultra Records). Artist album from trance DJ was pushed back two weeks.

Craig David, “Trust Me,” (Warner Bros.)

By Melanie Sims/The Associated Press

“Trust Me” isn’t just the title of British artist Craig David’s fourth studio album. The two-word combination might best serve as instructions for listening to the disc.

The 26-year-old, who made a splash in the United States with his 2001 platinum debut “Born to Do It” but then fell off the radar here, exudes soul. His voice is sweet and sincere on the delicate, slow-moving track “Awkward,” with its earthy mix of guitar and organ.

But creatively, David isn’t so easily labeled. Perhaps it’s because he escapes the usual boundaries of those in his musical genre — going full-throttle with sounds some artists only dabble in.

The tempo, the drums and the electrifying horns on “6 of 1 Thing” and “Don’t Play with Our Love” boast Cuban influence. The lead single “Hot Stuff (Let’s Dance)” starts with a ‘50s-era drumbeat and continues with a sound culled from the days of disco.

There are tracks, such as the folksy “Top of the Hill,” that might seem out of character, but the guy sounds good, nevertheless. For those who choose to follow David’s directions, “Trust Me” is easy to enjoy, even if the selection of tracks doesn’t mesh seamlessly together.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: David comes off super smooth on the reggae-driven “She’s on Fire,” and even shows off some exciting rhyming skills.

 Dianne Reeves, “When You Know” (Blue Note Records)

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY/The Associated Press

Dianne Reeves has an effortless, graceful style that makes anything she sings sound as sweet as nectar — you can’t help but drink it all up.

Expect to get full off of her latest effort, “When You Know,” her first CD in five years. Once again, the jazz vocalist tackles songs that are already part of pop’s musical library, but instead of just old standards, she mixes in newer classics, such as The Temptations’ “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me).” Whether its that Motown gem or Minnie Ripperton’s “Lovin’ You,” Reeves infuses each with an elegant vibe, but her vocals are varied, becoming playful and sensual on “I’m in Love Again,” while singing with a foreboding tone on the dramatic “In the Midnight Sun.”

But the best track of the album is its only original tune, the juke-joint groove “Today Will Be a Good Day,” written by Reeves herself. An ode to celebrate life as it comes, Reeves goes for rollicking instead of refined, belting out her lines with the sass one can sometimes forget that she has.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: Plenty of singers have tried to put their stamp on Ripperton’s karaoke classic, and failed — but Reeves does an admirable cover here, and even hits the high note (though, not as high as the glass-breaking level that Ripperton reached).

BY GLENN GAMBOA/Newsday

Estelle isn’t a worrier.

When her label seemed confused about the direction the British rapper/singer wanted to go in for her new album, she calmly went to see the execs and said, “Let me go, please.”

“I believe that if the music is good, the rest will follow,” she explained, calling from a tour stop in Washington, D.C. “I thought, ‘If this deal doesn’t work, I’ll get another one somewhere else.’ I was writing the album with John Legend and he said, ‘I’ll sign you.’ He made it happen.”

The result of their collaboration is “Shine” (Home School/Atlantic), a collection of hip-hop, old-school soul with bits of reggae and pop thrown in for good measure. The first single “American Boy,” which teams Estelle with Kanye West, has already topped the British charts and is now making its move in America.

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