Some enchanted evening

Ask any saloonkeeper. The singer who can keep an audience rapt is a wondrous thing. Ask any singer. The magic moment when that Van de Graaff generator energy streaks from the stage to the dance floor is sublime. It simply freezes time. Janiva Magness can make this happen. Raised on Detroit soul radio, with heroes like Etta and Elmore James, Aretha Franklin and Billie Holiday, Magness is a bluesy soul powerhouse with grit and suaveness, housed in a calendar-girl frame. She’s got a husky, sensuous voice and hits her notes perfectly. Blues luminaries worldwide respect her terrific choice of material and her always-superb band. Recognition? Try a W.C. Handy Award nomination for Best Contemporary Female Artist of 2005 and a B.B. King Award for Musical Excellence. Her trademark anatomically correct rubboard is pretty rockin’ too. Check out her new album, Bury Him at the Crossroads, or see her at the Torch Club, located at 904 15th Street, on Friday at 9:30 p.m. Visit www.janivamagness.com for more info.