Tammy Weis: Where I Need To Be (Boomtang Music)
This young Canadian-born singer launched this album at Ronnie Scott’s last night. It’s substantially made up of her own songs, mostly co-written with pianist Tom Cawley, and the band also includes Al Cherry on guitar, Arnie Somogyi on bass and Sebastiaan de Krom on drums. There are also some illustrious guests, like Julian Joseph on piano for one track and pedal steel genius B J Cole on a few others.

Weis has a fine approach to singing, placing the stress on being natural and relaxed. It’s really the only way to go… The result is conversational, unstrained, very easy to live with. And Cawley’s sensitive harmonizations work a treat.

Of course, there is always the risk when throwing in one classic composition amid one’s own originals, that the classic will overshadow the new, untried, unweathered tunes. It’s a danger here, partly due to the strength of the Lennon/McCartney solid goldie, Help, partly due to how fine Weis’s reworking of this evergreen is. She slows it, and the familiar chords are re-voiced a treat.

But, in time, I’m sure we’ll all begin to like all the other tracks just as much. They certainly reward repeated listening. In a market full of new young jazz singers, Tammy Weis is certainly worth a serious listen. She’s named after Tammy Wynette, after all!