An extremely classy calling card for his songwriting talents, pianist Alex Webb’s first album under his own name has clearly been worth the wait. Featuring sterling arrangements, an array of outstanding vocalists, and any amount of fine solos, Call Me Lucky takes immediate flight with the Betty Carter-inspired ‘It’s Your Move’, beautifully sung by Vimala Rowe. The 13-song collection’s many highlights include an alluring co-write with Ayanna Witter-Johnson, ‘Winters’, driven by an Elvin Jones-style groove (hats off to Sophie Alloway), David McAlmont channelling Curtis Mayfield on ‘Me And My Crazy Ideas’, the low-key melancholy of ‘As If’ sung by Sandra Nkaké (great work here by trombonist Winston Rollins), and Allan Harris’ hard swinging delivery of ‘Enough’. A brace of songs from China Moses, ‘Bad Girls (Need Love Too)’ and ‘Nothing But A Blues’ (a co-write) are both standouts, and Alexia Gardner impresses on the 1940s swing of the title track, Webb’s paean to the Great American Songbook. Sixties nouvelle vague meets Jobimesque understatement during ‘End Of The Affair’, captivatingly sung by Jo Harrop, and newcomer (and whistler extraordinaire) Cherise Coryna delights on ‘Open The Windows (Tudo Bem)’. The album signs off on an emotional high with the majestic sound of Liane Carroll, who sounds like she’s been singing ‘Words I Never Spoke’ her entire life.