Walk into a bar or restaurant and come across without knowing anything about her or knowing even her sound a jazz singer like KJ Denhert you won't believe your luck.

With a sound on this studio album that reminds us of René Marie a good deal and yet the American singer's particular all round schtick is a different way with her fine originals to Marie's that stand out here in a mix of familiar pop and standards from the singer who for many years was a fixture at the 55 Bar in New York's West Village and who collaborated with Lynne Arriale on 'Chimes of Freedom'.

The swinging covers - and pretty good they are too - of Lennon and McCartney's 'Blackbird' and 'Eleanor Rigby' (best of all), Lerner and Loewe's 'On The Street Where You Live', etc, are more than OK. But it's the Denhert tunes that make this more unique including KJ's 'Esmerelda' and best of all the poignant 'Postcard From Paris,' a song about chatting to her late mother on the phone when away from home in which the lyric ''distractedly watching the evening news'' is contained. With KJ on the album are a very empathetic band, also called The Evening News, always in the pocket, of guitarist Mark McIntyre, bassist Adam Armstrong and drummer Eric Halvorson plus Nicki Denner on keys.

So without banging on, next time you are out bar-hopping and become bored senseless by the local fare in your hometown when acts play the same old covers from the same old top 40 pop hits and country tunes of today, dream of how much better it would be if the venue owners had the wit and savoir faire to put on a real singer like Denhert yes singing anything here on The Evening News. For once the news ain't at all bad.

Out on 29 March. 'Esmerelda' Spotify link added in a 10 March update; and 'Postcard from Paris' added on 26 March