The Massachusetts-born, NYC-based vocalist, composer and lyricist Lauren Henderson returns with her eighth album as leader. Daringly conceived and beautifully executed, Musa subtly weaves together jazz, flamenco and Afro-Latin music – sung in both English and Spanish – to create her most singularly personal collection to date. Released on her own label, Brontosaurus Records, Henderson's imaginative approach to standards is heard in album opener ‘I Concentrate On You’, where the telling presence of flamenco guitarist Paco Soto taps right into the heart of the album's explorative aesthetic. Henderson brings both an intimate delicacy and a quietly transformative power to a further trio of standards, ‘Forget Me’, ‘Wild is the Wind’ and ‘The Sweetest Sounds’, in which her silken tone and fluid phrasing combine to make the songs sound entirely her own. The album features the key presence of Henderson's long-standing musical collaborator, pianist Sullivan Fortner – a constant presence since Henderson's self-titled 2011 debut album. Whether in the joyous chorus of ‘Corazón, No Llores’, the hyper-romantic ‘Luz’ or the deliciously rolling groove of ‘Leeward’, Henderson and Fortner appear to be completely alert to each other's musical intentions. Underpinned by the incredible pocket of Wheeler and Dyson, Musa is an album in which the material, musicians and approach are in perfect harmony.