Expertly produced by Claire Martin and beautifully recorded by Chris Traves at Soup To Nuts Studios, London, and in part by James MacMillan at Quiet Money Studios, Hastings this 12-track debut from singer-songwriter Sarah L King presents eight of her originals plus imaginative arrangements of a quartet of covers. The latter includes a song which celebrates the seventieth anniversary of its first release next year, Bob Dorough and Terrell Kirk’s ‘Devil May Care’, Billy Strayhorn’s ‘Lush Life’, and Oliver Nelson’s ‘Stolen Moments’ (with Gail Fisher’s lyrics) in which McMillan on flugel and Chris Traves on trombone add welcome heft and textural interest.

And, pick of the bunch, if Donald Fagen had reimagined Gamble and Huff’s ‘Show You The Way To Go’ – a Philly soul hit for The Jacksons in 1977 – and included it as a bonus track on The Nightfly, you suspect it might have turned out in a similar way to the swinging version heard here. There are some fine originals too. ‘Holding On To Love’ possesses a Steely Dan-esque smoothness, with Laurence Cottle’s octave pedal providing some potent bottom end. The heartfelt, confessional ‘Born Yesterday’ lingers long in the memory, and with its 6/4 rhythmic lilt, harmonic surprises and mellifluous backing vocals courtesy of Martin and Ian Shaw, ‘Mystery Ride’ exudes a Burt Bacharach richness.