Meet the house band of the updated deluxe Ronnie Scott's Club, an exceptionally versatile outfit which supports the international stars and frequently shares the bandstand with them. It's led by James Pearson, a two-fisted swinger of the Oscar Peterson school yet equally aware of other piano styles, including Monk and Garner. His themed performances have recently ranged from ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ to a brilliant enactment of the classic Oliver Nelson album, The Blues and the Abstract Truth. Singer Natalie Williams, heard on all these tracks, is a dynamic and similarly versatile performer. Post-Aretha soul is her main thing – her band, Soul Family, has a monthly residency at the club – but she delivers Ella-ish straightahead swing very capably here, scatting away fearlessly on ‘Bye Bye Blackbird’ and injecting the line “I have often walked down Frith Street before” into ‘On the Street Where You Live’. Her version of ‘For All We Know’ is a little strident in places but she simmers down in time to win over the crowd with a tender finish. Tenorman Alex Garnett, who frequently augments the group and joined them for their successful US trip last summer, plays with admirable fluency and gusto. His tone and attack recall the early Sonny Rollins, except for ‘One Day I'll Fly Away’, where he goes into Trane mode à-la-A Love Supreme. My only quibble regards the title of the album, very few of whose enjoyable standards (and certainly not ‘People are Strange’, or ‘Wonderful World’) can be described as jazz classics.