From his superb debut, It's For You, through live recordings such as Live at Smalls, Vinson has maintained the golden touch of being able to write and perform challenging music that is also vividly accessible. Now, with his debut on 5Passion, even though for the first time with overdubs, voice and a more through-written approach, Vinson's ability to cut through to the emotional heart of a song is all the stronger. Indeed, the richer texturings only enhance Vinson's passionate edge. The most obvious addition is the string quartet: the heart stopping intro to ‘Limp of Faith’ sets off Vinson's keening tone, and is a lovely contrast to Rubalcaba's suspended and sustained chords. The quartet also underwrites the eerie terseness of ‘Desolation Tango’ (echoing Gilad Atzmon's use of a quartet), but they can sing too as on the long lush lines of ‘Skywriter’, which also subtly features Lawry's pure vox. And Vinson can funk it up too, as on ‘Stiltskin’, with its nod to the Breckers, while a perky Ballard sets up the boppish tang of ‘Upside’. But it's on those broken blues, like ‘Willoughby General’, and most notably the superb title track, gorgeously poised over Penman's sonorous tones, that Vinson excels, each sighing note perfectly in place.