As anyone who's had the pleasure of attending the official opening concert of the London Jazz Festival, Jazz Voice, will know, Guy Barker's consummate orchestral arrangements are very much the star of the show. Album number 15 from jazz vocalist and BBC Radio 2 broadcaster, Clare Teal, might well have been subtitled ‘Songs from Jazz Voice’ – of the 10 songs arranged by Barker on the album, most have featured in Jazz Voice at some point, including the fabulous brace of songs performed by Teal herself at the 2013 edition, ‘I’ll Never Stop Loving You' and ‘Secret Love’. But while Barker's London Jazz Festival orchestra featured some 40 musicians, Twelve O'Clock Tales sees Teal accompanied by the full might of the Hallé Orchestra, expanded for the date to 90-plus musicians with additional guest players including pianist Jason Rebello, who not only solos brilliantly but also pitches in with a fantastic arrangement of ‘La Belle Dame Sans Regret’. A barnstorming ‘Feeling Good’ is the pick of three arrangements by pianist Grant Windsor. But from the joyous album opener ‘It Might As Well Be Spring’ to the acute melancholy of ‘Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most’, this is definitely Barker and Teal's album. Enveloped by the former's luxuriant charts, Teal appears entirely in her element, transporting the listener to any number of beautifully evoked places with singing that glows with warmth and beauty.