Pianist and composer Greg Murphy's seventh album as leader, a heartfelt tribute to his late wife Nancy, is a frustrating affair. Recorded at the famous Van Gelder Studios in New Jersey, it showcases Murphy's impressive skills both on a keyboard and as a composer; his instincts for a catchy tune are unerring and five of his six originals here are terrific. The arrangements and the playing (Murphy on piano especially) are top-notch too.

So why the frustration? I think it's all down to the production and the use of vocals. The music's first rate, the sound is great, but the production (by Murphy) has a slight whiff of 1980s smooth jazz cheese – it's a terrible shame because material of this quality deserves so much better. As for the vocals, they just feel unnecessary, and inappropriate in this setting (as on a version of Dexter Wansel's 'Nights Over Egypt'); the playing is so good that additional adornment seems superfluous.

But truth is, I can't let You Remind Me go; whenever I hear the energetic Murphy tunes 'Shrimp Fried Rice' and 'Mornin'; the dancing delights of 'After Dark'; the virtuoso swagger and interplay of 'The Cure'; or the superb cover of Coltrane's 'Mr Day', I'm reminded that I'm listening to a major talent and I forget that cheesy title track.

So, You Remind Me is a curate's egg, but there is so much to enjoy and admire here that I'm willing to overlook its faults. Four stars it is then.