BELTING IT IS A CINCH FOR ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer

She's written songs for Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli and Michael Feinstein, penned the theme for TV's ``The Nanny'' and is among the most dependable cabaret acts on the club circuit.

And Ann Hampton Callaway's profile is about to get even higher. The singer will shortly make her Hollywood screen debut in Robert De Niro's ``The Good Shepherd,'' singing the Johnny Mercer standard ``Come Rain or Come Shine.''

Very versatile

Callaway is a maverick spirit in an entertainment world divided into the tiniest niches. Known in jazz, pop and cabaret circles and highly regarded for her Tony-nominated performance in the hit Broadway dance musical ``Swing!'' she does a variety of things exceedingly well.

``I've always appreciated all sort of things beyond jazz singing,'' said Callaway, who opens a four-night run at Catalina Bar & Grill on Thursday with the Benny Green Trio. ``There are many ways and places the voice can express emotion. But singing jazz in this climate is a little like being a salmon swimming upstream -- you just have to get used to being a salmon.''

There's nothing fishy about Callaway's new solo CD, ``Blues in the Night'' (Telarc), which pays tribute to her Chicago roots with arrangements by Tommy Newsom, Johnny Carson's longtime musical director on ``The Tonight Show.'' The gutsy set mixes American songbook classics and Callaway's witty originals, backed by an all-star cast including Christian McBride, Lewis Nash, and Sherrie Maricle and her all-female Diva Jazz Orchestra.

Carrying a torch

Along with her lyrical way around a torch song, Callaway's sense of humor comes through on the current disc, which includes ``The I'm-Too-White-to-Sing the-Blues Blues,'' a comical sendup of her name being confused with her would-be relatives Lionel Hampton and Cab Calloway.

``Almost all of my favorite singers are black,'' Callaway, 47, said. ``I used to ask myself all the time: `Why was I born with this skin color?' It's a very common feeling among musicians.''

Callaway, whose sister Liz Callaway is the Tony-nominated Broadway star of ``Cats,'' ``Miss Saigon'' and ``Baby,'' was asked by De Niro to appear in his forthcoming ``Good Shepherd'' film, which tells the true story of the birth of the CIA. Along with De Niro, the cast includes Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie and Joe Pesci.

``I was asked to sing, and the next day I got a call saying Bob wanted me (to act) in the scene,'' Callaway said. ``The next day, I was shooting at the Brooklyn Armory. It's really surreal when someone as famous as Angelina Jolie comes up and says, `Hi. I just wanted to say I know more about you than I know about me.'''

Fred Shuster, [phone]

[e-mail]

ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY

Where: Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood.

When: 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets: $18 to $30. [phone]; catalinajazzclub.com.

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Photo:

(color) Ann Hampton Callaway