Nanette Natal - It's Only A Tune (2004)

Nanette Natal has long been a major singer, one whose expressive interpretations of lyrics and sharp ability to improvise have made her an important if underrated talent. On It's Only a Tune, she mostly sticks to original ballads plus a couple soulful medium-tempo pieces. Natal wrote all of the music, and her intelligent and often philosophical lyrics make a few of her tunes possibilities to become standards in the future if enough singers hear this set. Natal's interplay with the horns (each of whom are excellent even if only veteran trombonist Art Baron is well known) is playful and bluesy, adding to the appeal of this excellent set. The one flaw is the lack of liner notes, but the music itself is quite memorable.