Ivory

Teena Marie, a veteran blue-eyed R&B star, has twice the voice of most of her competition and packs twice the punch. She gets bonus points for other talents: She carries off an acoustic song, and she can even scat. Ivory is a substantial record, with star contributions from Michael Bivins of Bell Biv DeVoe (who raps on one cut) and Soul II Soul’s Jazzie B. (who produces another). B+