“The combination of Gina Harkell’s highly expressive voice and her evident concern to bring out the nuances of lyrics, make compelling listening indeed, and the experience is enhanced by the nicely judged contributions of Bob Stuckey on piano, Tony Barnard on guitar, Geoff Gascoyne and Andy Cleyndert on bass and Ian Thomas on drums. And on four tracks there’s the added magic of Tony Coe on soprano or clarinet.”

“Her clear open voice and unaffected delivery make Gina Harkell something of a rarity among current jazz vocalists. The choice of material is fascinating, with her own compositions acting as ironic commentary on a series of well-known standards. The accompanying band, featuring the clarinet of Tony Coe, is superb.”

“This is Harkell’s second album and it has been an unjustifiably long wait and I am delighted the waiting is over. Harkell’s voice is coolly poised, her articulation immaculate as she delivers winning accounts of the standards. Of the original material, two are musical settings by Harkell of poems (Granny and Fisherman), the other four having words and music by the singer herself. The quality of these raises by a few notches the already good impressions created by the first three songs on the album. Add to this the superior instrumental playing by all and the result is a CD that really is very good indeed.”