Claire Martin - Believin' It (2019)

Claire Martin (v), Martin Sjostedt (p), Niklas Fernqvist (b) and Daniel Fredriksson (d). Rec. date not stated From the super-fine musicianship to the beautiful recorded sound, Claire Martin's first album with her new all- Swedish trio is a towering success. Featuring new lyrics by Imogen Ryall to an Andy Bey scat solo, the title-track, 'Believin' It', crystallises all of Martin's outstanding qualities: infallible pocket, dazzling technique, lustrous timbre and phrasing to die for. If anything, Martin's reworking of Pat Metheny's 'Timeline', for which she has penned new lyrics, is even more spectacular, with her control of the rapid-fire melodic line a thing of wonder. As well as singularly beautiful versions of the Ivan Lins classic, 'Love Dance', vibist Joe Locke's Bobby Hutcherson tribute `A Little More Each Day' and the Gordon Jenkins/Johnny Mercer standard, 'P.S I Love You', there are deeply swinging takes on Curtis Lewis's 'The Great City' and Roc Hillman's 'Come Runnin' (Martin's own homages to Shirley Horn and Lena Home respectively), there are stellar re-imaginings of Joni Mitchell's 'You Dream Flat Tires', Michael Franks' Rainy Night in Tokyo', plus John Surman and Karin Krog's enchantingly folk-like 'Cherry Tree Song'. Elsewhere, to hear Martin's fine re-workings of 1970s and 1980s UK/US pop rock, head straight for `I'm Not In Love' and `Broken Wings', the latter lit up by a coruscating solo from Sjostedt. An album that unfailingly touches the heart and lifts the soul. Peter Quinn --Jazzwise