SOUND CHECK : BASEMENT JAXX/ ``REMEDY'' (ASTRALWERKS/XL).

Savvy Brit duo Basement Jaxx (knob twirlers Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton) currently rule the dance floor as the new kings of house music. But don't let that scare you. Whether you're a rock fan or monkish techno-head, this innovative debut sustains interest and will have you returning for more.

Standouts such as the flamenco-fueled club anthem ``Rendez-Vu'' and the smoldering funk workout ``Red Alert'' prove cutting-edge dance sounds needn't be as rock-based as Fatboy Slim, head-banging as the Chemical Brothers or ascetic as Moby and Aphex Twin. With ``Remedy,'' Basement Jaxx offer infectious modern dance-pop with personality, wit and hooks to spare. Three and a half stars.

- Fred Shuster

Charlie Haden Quartet West/``The Art of the Song'' (Verve)

Supported by a string quartet, bassist Haden and his acclaimed small combo return for another beautiful album of jazz and pop standards. Vocalists Shirley Horn and Bill Henderson each sing on four songs, and Haden himself handles the vocal duties (rather touchingly) on the album's closer, the traditional ``Wayfaring Stranger.'' The pace is unhurried, sometimes to the point of monotony, with one leisurely ballad leading to another (and another). The cumulative result, though, is a graceful program of meaningful standards that feels like musical poetry, which happens to be Haden's stock in trade. Three stars.

- Glenn Whipp

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan/``SwanSong'' (Narada)

Almost two years after his death, the great singer of Sufi devotional music is presented in his last live concert recorded in his native Pakistan. Qawwali music is, at its heart, an intensely ecstatic, improvisational music best shown off on stage. The two-disc ``SwanSong'' finds the master in peak form (although the same can't always be said of the recording quality, which is sometimes marred by feedback and other aural defects), months before he was scheduled to sing with Luciano Pavarotti, Bjork and Madonna. Those sessions never had a chance to blossom, but this one did. Be glad. Three and a half stars.

- David Bloom

Julie Miller/``Broken Things'' (HighTone)

Like Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch, roots-rocker Miller makes highly personal country- and folk-based music that has the rare ability to transport. On her second solo effort, produced with help from husband and guitar dazzler Buddy Miller (plus an all-star cast of Patty Griffin, Steve Earle, Victoria Williams and Emmylou Harris), Miller ranges from folky to all-out rock, always mindful that the tune's the thing.

On an album of fine work, clear standouts include ``I Know Why the River Runs,'' ``Orphan Train'' and ``All My Tears,'' a memorable Miller song previously covered by both Little Jimmy Scott and Harris. Three and a half stars.

- F.S.

Jimmy Rushing & Friends/``Oh Love'' (Vanguard)

Longtime Basie frontman Rushing gets his due on this reissue, to be followed by three other volumes drawing from the excellent jazz/blues platters he cut for the label. Called ``Mr. Five-by-Five'' because of his round stature, Rushing stands tall as one of the great blues belters of all time, a man who exuded a joyous enthusiasm with every note he sang.

This album, which features the glorious Basie rhythm section of Jo Jones (drums) and Walter Page (bass), also spotlights legendary boogie-woogie pianist Sammy Price on half of its dozen cuts. Wonderful stuff and one of the best reissues of the year. Four stars.

- G.W.

Rizman-Muazzam Qawwali/``Sacrifice to Love'' (Real World)

Two teen-age nephews of the great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan take up the family biz (the Khan clan has been singing Sufi devotional music for five centuries) to good effect. The boys (as well as another singing nephew, Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the heir apparent who has toured widely in the United States) aren't yet at the Olympian level of their late uncle, but the rhythmic pulse of this music, the soaring and trance-inducing vocals and the fire of religious faith carry this one quite far nonetheless. It will surely be interesting to see where the boys take this music in the future. Two and a half star.

- D.B.

Harry ``Sweets'' Edison/``The Swinger and Mr. Swing'' (Verve)

The late great trumpeter Edison passed away last month at the age of 83, leaving behind a distinctive body of work that can be touched by few. The albums on this double-disc reissue were completed in 1958, just as Sweets was shining as a session man on Frank Sinatra's classic Capitol records.

Working with saxman Jimmy Forrest, well-schooled in swing and r&b grooves, and underrated pianist Jimmy Jones, Edison shows his patented blend of timing, phrasing and economy (not to mention humor) in these long-out-of-print sessions of originals and standards, which include two previously unreleased tracks. Since Edison led few dates, particularly during this period, this is an excellent chance to hear a legend in his natural habitat. Four stars.

- G.W.

Arling & Cameron/``All-In'' (Emperor Norton Records)

Wacky Dutch dancemeisters, plainly sparked by labelmates Stereolab, here dip into a pop soup of '60s and '90s influences ranging from Lalo Schifrin spy themes to chirpy synthesizers to rock guitar to goofy Japanese bubblegum. The ultra-slinky ``Voulez Vous?'' has earned airplay and is a fun, empty-headed invitation to the dance floor and beyond.

To get an idea how perfectly Arling and Cameron marry silly and sublime, ``How About the Boys?'' is being used in TV ads for the Gap. In their recent Los Angeles appearance, the Dutch boys' concert featured an ersatz bird-call lecture, complete with slides, and a Mozart solo by their Theremin-playing sidewoman! Totally whacked, but great fun. Two and a half stars.

- D.B.

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