While some debut albums can occasionally be guilty of shoehorning in more fillers than a Christmas stocking, a track list of seven songs and a playing time of just 31 minutes seems to be taking things to the other extreme. Having said that, Rachel Sutton’s A Million Conversations scores highly for its five finely crafted originals, co-written by Sutton and pianist Roland Perrin, plus two judiciously chosen covers. With its pleasing modulations, the first of the originals, album opener ‘When Love Was New’, showcases Sutton’s ability to sing right through the melodic line, while the tender piano-vocal title track with its bittersweet reminiscences similarly shows a fastidious attention to phrasing. Guest trumpeter Stuart Brooks dials up the atmospherics on the Depression-era anthem, ‘Brother Can You Spare A Dime?’, a song whose timeless message has ensured its longevity and one which serves to highlight Sutton’s fulsome tone across her entire range. Penned by Lionel Hampton and Leonard Feather, and famously recorded by the great Dinah Washington, Sutton invests ‘Evil Gal Blues’ (“I’ll empty your pockets and fill you with misery”) with an engaging tonal warmth. In addition to Perrin, the singer’s accomplished band features bassist Michael Curtis Ruiz, plus Nina Simone’s erstwhile drummer, the ever- versatile Paul Robinson.