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NANCY LANE Let Me Love You Self-produced

1. Let Me Love You

2. I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me

3. We're Together

4. Tout Ce Que Veut Lola

5. Every Time I'm With You

6. Cry Me A River

7. Everything I've Got Belongs To You

8. All Of You

9. You Took Advantage Of Me

10. What Is This Thing Called Love ?

11. Just Say I Love Him

Nancy Lane – Vocals

Lara Driscoll – Piano

Kenny Bibace – Guitar

Mike De Masi – Bass

Dave Laing – Drums

François D'Amours – Tenor sax (tracks 2, 6, 7)

Aron Doyle – Trumpet, flugelhorn (tracks 3,4, 10)

There are so many gifted musicians around at the present time that it takes genuine quality for any jazz artiste to stand out from the crowd. The singer Nancy Lane, who hails from Montreal, has managed to do just that on this debut album. The songs she has chosen are all standards, though some of them are less well-known than others. She proves to be an impeccable performer, equally at home with up-tempo numbers or slower, at times languid, material. There is a verve and zest about her, especially on songs such as Everything I've Got Belongs To You, that puts me in mind of the ebullient Anita O' Day in her prime. The musicians in her supporting group weren't previously known to me but provide fine accompaniment for her. I was especially taken by the performance of Lara Driscoll on piano. The final track, Just Say I Love Him, for instance, is a lovely ballad which Nancy Lane explores with sensitivity and which gives Driscoll space for a moving and delicate solo.

There are numerous highlights elsewhere on the disc. Tout Ce Que Veut Lola is a sultry version of the show-tune Whatever Lola Wants, sung in French. Every Time I'm With You is a swinger, with witty lyrics, featuring some nimble guitar from Kenny Bibace. Cry Me A River will be forever associated with Julie London. Lane gives the song enough of a tweak, though, to make it her own, ably assisted by the resonant Mike De Masi on bass and the soulful tenor sax of François D'Amours. There's an interesting arrangement of the great Cole Porter song, All Of You, where De Masi again makes his mark. You Took Advantage Of Me provides a further opportunity for Nancy Lane to show her versatility as a vocalist. There's some nifty drumming here from Dave Laing, in addition.

This album provided a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience and Nancy Lane is a real find. I understand she comes from a musical family and it shows! She seems to have absorbed the jazz vocal tradition, to exceptional effect. I look forward to much more from this talented chanteuse.

James Poore

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