Tina May's relationship with the Pitlochry-based Hep label continues to underline her position as one of the UK's finest jazz singers and one who is completely in command of her material in whatever the setting.

Producer Alastair Robertson and London-domiciled American saxophonist Frank Griffith, who provides arrangements, test May's mettle in a variety of styles - from the uptempo swing of the title track through Sergio Mendes-like bossa, a swaying calypso, the delicious string quartet-cushioned Lazy Afternoon, and the afterhours intimacy of I'm Through With Love - and May confidently flies without a safety net on every one. She's cheeky, inserting a Stormy Monday reference into A Sunday Kind Of Love and has a vocal tone that makes every line personal, be it in English or French (or both on Si Tu Partais). Working with soloists including tenor saxophonist Duncan Lamont (who contributes two lovely ballad compositions) and the sparky trumpeter Freddie Gavita, she shows herself to be a musician every bit as much as an interpreter of lyrics.

Rob Adams