Kelly Dickson - Vocal Point (2004)

Singer Kelly Dickson is a recent Leeds College graduate who has made a rare debut for a newcomer in recording a launch disc with a classy US swing group that includes the fine saxophonist George Garzone. Subtle UK pianist Nikki Iles also appears, and the quality of the playing on this all-standards set is, unsurprisingly, impeccable.

Dickson is a thoughtful singer with a lustrous tone, and she handles the slow ballads maturely - notably I've Never Been in Love Before, alongside a deliciously Stan Getz-like Garzone. However, she sounds as though she needs to listen to more albums and bounce off a few more improvising partners before she gathers the resources to be relaxed and spontaneously free in open spaces. But she's a straightahead artist, with promise. ~John Fordham