Vocalist Deelee Dubé made history when she became the first British winner of the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition in 2016.

Originally released digitally by Concord Records and now available on physical media for the first time, this debut album triumphed in the ‘Best International Jazz Collaboration’ category at the 2021 Mzantsi Jazz Awards in South Africa.

Recorded between New York, Vienna and London with a stellar cast of musicians and produced by the US-based, Grammy-nominated Venezuelan pianist, Benito Gonzalez (Kenny Garrett, Pharoah Sanders), the Donny Hathaway/Leroy Hutson-penned opener ‘Tryin' Times’ reveals a vocalist with a rock-solid relationship with the pulse and a gorgeously rich timbre. There’s a dazzling version of ‘On A Clear Day (You Can See Forever)’ from the 1965 musical of the same name; a nod to Carmen McRae’s exceptional 1990 album Carmen Sings Monk in ‘Ugly Beauty (Still We Dream)’'; bracingly virtuosic takes on ‘500 Miles High’ composed by the late, lamented Chick Corea (superb soloing here from Gonzalez) and Rodgers and Hart’s ‘Thou Swell’, plus an alluringly languorous ‘Lazy Afternoon’ cast here as an intimate duet between Dubé and guitarist Russell Malone. There’s also an impressive original, ‘Still Trying’, co-written by Dubé and Alex Webb, and a spoken word, ‘Still We Try’, featuring words by Dubé and music by Gonzalez, which channels the neo-soul of Jill Scott. A warm welcome to the singular pleasure that is Trying Times.