It’s not every jazz singer who’s danced flamenco professionally before finding their way to the mic stand. Prior to releasing her debut jazz album, Caravan, in 2018, Andy James danced her way from Australia to Madrid (not literally – she probably took a plane between the two). But that early training no doubt had an impact on her musical development. ‘Flamenco is based on feeling complex offbeat and synchronized rhythms, and I think that prepared me for singing jazz melodies,’ James has reflected.

Anyway, on her latest release, Let Me See Your Heart, James smoulders affectingly amidst an impressive array of collaborators, mixing originals (the title track, ‘Let’s Try’) with jazz standards (Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ‘Bali Hai’, Paul Desmond and Carmen McRae’s ‘Take 5’), and stretching to take in Billy Joel’s ‘New York State of Mind’ and ‘Danny Boy’. James’s voice has a smoky quality and a delivery reminiscent by turns of Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee. The arrangements, mostly by Jon Cowherd, are disciplined and lush, and help make Let Me See Your Heart an admirably ambient companion.