Anyone ever asked you to list your favorite CDs for a desert island stayover? What would Tom Hanks and Wilson listen to if they had had the foresight to be prepared for their long vacation? The trouble with these desert island picks is that they can become out-of-date before they're even published. And that's the problem with Scott Yanow's book, which provides brief profiles of 521 great jazz singers.

Yanow started out with the idea that he'd tell the stories of 500 jazz singers. It's hard to do because, first, there are more than that and, second, who's to say which ones are really great? Go ahead. Try to draw the line. So, in separate chapters, the author provides another 198 jazz singers with mini-profiles, together with 55 noted musicians who sang in addition to playing an instrument, 30 jazz vocal groups, and the best of jazz singers on film.

In a smart move, Yanow defines three criteria for making the cut. A great jazz singer must have an interesting voice, a career that is significant to the jazz world, and the potential to be influential. He used his own CD reviews and in-person listening for a major part of the evaluations, did plenty of research, and received responses to his e-mail questionnaires from 300 of the 360 living singers written about.

There are problems with the book. The tiny print, the lack of an index and the subjective nature of Yanow's selection all deserve minor carps. On the plus side, the reference information provided for all the singers is of value. Black & white album cover photos also help the book considerably, and the author includes web site information as well as plenty of facts.

Many listeners would likely agree with Yanow's comment that