A graduate of the University of Northern Colorado and named Undergraduate Vocal Soloist of the Year by DownBeat in 2018, this debut album from Cali-born, Prague-based vocalist, songwriter and teacher Allison Wheeler presents a gorgeous, varicoloured collection of imaginatively crafted songs, performed and sung with enormous heart by singer and band. The latter features Czech pianist Daniel Bulatkin and his trio partners, bassist Max Makagonov and drummer Petr Nohavica, who support Wheeler with great sensitivity. Additional guests, guitarist David Dorůžka and sax/clarinet player Luboš Soukup, add further textural weight and interest. Opening and closing with a pulsing middle C in the piano, the title track ushers the listener in to Wheeler’s lyrical sound-world. If ‘Something Good’ hints at the rhythmic fluidity of Gretchen Parlato, ‘Ophelia’ reveals Wheeler to be a composer of great sonic imagination. ‘The Hazel Wood’ sets the famous WB Yeats poem ‘The Song of Wandering Aengus’, which tellingly vibrates between the physical and mythical worlds, and is one of two tracks that features a beautiful string arrangement by Jonathan Zuniga. The sweeping melodic lines of ‘Nose Dive’ sees Wheeler employing her own stacked up backing harmonies to great effect, while the rippling impressionism and sudden harmonic shifts of both ‘The Giant’ and ‘Dawn’ release an intense communicative power.