A former attorney and lobbyist on Capitol Hill, Nailah Porter has chosen to leave the corridors of power behind to follow her artistic muse. I had the pleasure of seeing a showcase by the singer at Pizza Express Jazz Club in March, and was immediately taken with her deeply seductive tone, crystal-clear diction and intimacy of feeling. Hailing from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the singer's long-breathed lines have seen her compared to Sarah Vaughan and Cassandra Wilson. In songs such as ‘Breathe’ I also hear the burnished quality of another southern-born vocalist, Carleen Anderson. From the slow burn of album opener ‘Sacred’ to the consciousness-raising ‘Beautiful Anyway’ to the pained hymn to New Orleans, ‘Lillies & Birds’, these are captivating songs whose lyrical and melodic strength ensure that they replay themselves again and again in your mind. Featuring strong instrumental support, ConJazzNess is strongly recommended on all counts and will surely win many new friends for Ms Porter.