With his 2009 debut release Guaranteed the singer-songwriter and pianist Anthony Strong delivered an impressive calling card of mostly originals. A five-track EP Delovely followed two years later and showcased how Strong could put an interesting twist on standards. Released on the French independent label, Naïve, Stepping Out successfully unites the two, its generous 14-track song list opening with a brilliant reworking of Cole Porter's ‘Too Darn Hot’ and closing with ‘Learning To Unlove You’, one of three excellent originals penned with lyricist Guy Mathers. Strong, who wrote all the high-spec arrangements (with the exception of ‘When I Fall In Love’ arranged by Callum Au), combines an exceptionally acute ear for textural detail with an instinctive sense of dramatic pacing – the swinging coda appended to ‘Luck Be A Lady’ is a prime example. Factor in impressive piano-vocal chops and it's clear that Strong's future looks to be very bright indeed.