Linn can be proud of this one. Having established Carol Kidd as a recording star, the Glasgow sound-kings now launch another star jazz singer. Her voice is soft and gentle in the slowest of ballads and punchy at fast tempos, able evn to scat when the tune demands it. The ballad which shows off her sheer stylishness is This Funny World. The final track, is a cabaret-type number: The Key To Your Ferrari, a witty romp with a remarkable winding-down by the accompanists, as if they didn’t want the song or the session to end. Conventional jazzy swingers are represented by You Hit The Spot, a typical Revel and Gordon song from a forgotten 1930′s film called Charm School. Another proof of the singer’s versatility is the title track, very modern and difficult. Star musicians back her, the notes are by that elitist of crossover, Richard Rodney Bennett, and the recording earns its star.

Claire Martin is a singer. This, her first album, previously available in Europe, presents a gifted interpreter of songs, with a wonderful sense of repertoire. She has clearly thought through each tune very thoroughly, finding musical moments on which to leave her imprint: these moments usually serve to focus her approach to the song, bringing lyric, tune and supporting quartet into meaningful relationship.

Meaningful relationships drive the set: it’s the inspiration (sometimes ironic) for much of the material here, and clearly applies to the way Martin relates to the quartet led by Jonathan Gee… Her set ranges from well-chosen standards to offerings from the likes of Joni Mitchell, Thomas Dolby, and Martin herself; the sage advice of Betty Carter’s aptly titled Tight, and a simmering reading of Lieber and Stoller’s Some Cats deserve special mention.

…blessed not only with a wonderful voice but also the rare ability to use it with style, intelligence and wit.