Ian Shaw - Lifejacket - The Scotsman

Ian Shaw has done his time in the jazz standard repertoire as well as interpreting songs by contemporary writers such as David Bowie and Thom Yorke. He won considerable kudos for his forays into the songs of Joni Mitchell on his earlier Linn release, "Drawn to All Things", and takes the logical next step here with a set of his own nicely crafted if occasionally over-fussy compositions. His vocal style is an amalgam of jazz, soul and pop with potential crossover appeal beyond the jazz market (don't expect swing here), and the Mitchell influence is palpable on the songwriting, though he has a long way to go to approach that rarefied level.

The instrumental accompaniments feature excellent contributions from trumpeter Guy Barker and saxophonist Julian Siegel, while Thebe Liperi's percussion and Gabriella Swallow's cello add colouration to the core quartet of piano, guitar, bass and drums.