The backstory of this, the latest in a classy line of albums May has recorded for the 33 label, is told elsewhere in this issue. Briefly though, what transpires to be something of a memorial to saxophonist/composer Lamont was originally intended as a collaboration, the singer being his personal choice to interpret what is, in effect, a mini-resume of his many songs.

And there can be no better choice, surely? Having already lyricised the works of numerous other jazz instrumentalists (among them Bobby Watson, Joe Zawinul and, most notably, Ray Bryant), here May is served the complete package, Lamont penning both words and music. And what stories they tell, not only lyrically but in terms of their creation. Some of these songs began as library music or wordless pieces written for broadcasts, yet all of them bear the stamp of Lamont's mastery of his craft (not for nothing will you find glowing endorsements from the likes of Gil Evans and Johnny Mandel in the accompanying booklet).

The songs themselves, full of wit and structural subtlety, are manna from tunesmith's heaven for any singer wanting ‘new’ material, yet I doubt anyone could beat what are definitive readings by May. Indeed, such is the variety of her approach that she can handle anything from the tricky bop of ‘52nd Street’, an affectionate paean to Lamont's younger days as a musician visiting New York, through the pure-as-snow ‘English Folk Song’ (co-written with Spike Milligan) and onto the affectionate Parisian role-play of ‘Camille’. As befits the album title, each song is a chapter in itself, with even the widely known ‘Mr. Benn’ theme re-emerging as a gorgeous Brazilian-tinged groover.

I doubt that May has ever been served such apposite material before, nor do I think she's ever sounded better on record, her voice running the gamut from confessionally intimate to daredevilshly acrobatic by turns.

And as for the supporting cast of Nightingale, Pearson and company? Hand-in-glove, I'd say. A beautiful album, then, and a welcome addition to the canon of one of our finest jazz singers.