Malaya Blue

I think that this might piss off the Blues police – no bad thing – as Malaya Blue encompasses jazz, soul and Blues in her music without seeming to have any concerns as to what style or pigeonhole she is in.

Much as I was a fan of her last album ‘Bourbon Street’ I think she is more confident here and the music suits her voice better. Her heart was in ‘Bourbon Street’ but she seemed to be trying a little too hard: ‘Heartsick’ is effortless and she is coming over as a mature and very talented singer – this could be the album that catapults her into the next level.

The album opens with a rocker – the title song – but her voice is all about Blues and sultry feelings with great keyboards from Paul Jobson underlining her voice and a cracking lead and solo guitar from Dudley Ross. That leads into a wonderful swing number ‘Hunny Little Day Dream’ featuring a sweet harp solo (Paul Jones!).

She can ‘do’ soul ballads like ‘Colourblind’ or Blues ballads such as ‘Let’s Reinvent (Love)’ which features the mighty Paul Jones on harmonica but whether she is singing Blues or soul or jazz she sounds emotive and passionate and sexy as hell.

Every track has charms, the playing is stunning and the rhythm section of Stuart Uren on bass and Andrew McGuinness on drums is spot on for drive and a delightfully light touch, but the real strength here is Malaya’s vocals and the songs themselves,

This is properly mature music, suitable for any moods and any weather and just a good listen every time.