With a warm, clear voice reminiscent of Sandy Denny, Sidsel Endresen started out as a traditional Norwegian folk singer but became a cutting-edge avant-garde improviser. Inspired by the music of Japan, the Middle East, and elsewhere, Endresen created a personal vocabulary of attention-grabbing phonetic disruptions, ethereal pulsations, and background insinuations. She knows her way around a verse, for sure, but her dark and playfully lyrical vocalese in many different collaborative contexts sets her far apart from the cabaret set.