Claire Martin - He Never Mentioned Love - The Herald

Claire Martin has never made any secret of her admiration for Shirley Horn, the late singer-pianist's breathy delivery and poise providing inspiration that has guided Martin into the UK's jazz singing elite. Now, almost two years from Horn's final coda, Martin revisits some of her greatest songs and, without imitating her heroine, captures her essence beautifully. The ballads are terrifically intimate. The effectively bossa-fied Everything Must Change and Ian Shaw's scene-setting Slow Time highlight Martin's sensuality, and LA Breakdown, which comes with the added attraction of guitarist Jim Mullen's blues thumbprint, is showstopping.