Tim Lapthorn won early plaudits for his skills as an accompanist to singers of the calibre of Ian Shaw, who commended him as “one of the most emotional piano players in Europe.” That warm, open-hearted quality is very much in evidence on this new release from the acclaimed former Guildhall School of Music student, which sees him supplementing his composing/ arranging palette by including a string quartet on four of the eight tracks, and guitar and (discreet, wordless) vocals on another cut, the low-lit blues/gospel number ‘Fo-Ray’. It's a beautifully executed disc that reaches deep emotionally without ever straying into overstatement or searching for effects. The strings undeniably add a certain cautious lushness to tracks such as opener ‘The Dreamer’ and the Brazilian-tinged closer, ‘Swings &Roundabouts’, but Lapthorn's resonant reserve at the keyboard results in a richly felt fullness that's never marred by flash. The album is also serving a good cause: after a friend was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Lapthorn played a fundraising gig for the MS Society. [Apparently the friend in question did a parachute jump to raise money but in his own case Lapthorn thought a gig would be safer!] A proportion of proceeds from album sales will go to the same cause.