Pink [Import]

Diana Panton's 3rd release "Pink" stays the course she plotted with her first two well-received albums. She's working once again with a small group, although when one of the band members is genius multi-instrumentalist Don Thompson you get a lot of bang for your musician buck. Reg Schwager is also back, accompanying with his customary artful and sensitive playing. A new addition, and a completely fitting one given Panton's languid style, is trumpet and flugelhorn player, Guido Basso. His fills and solos add rich warmth to the mix, like honey drizzled over an English muffin, filling in all the nooks and crannies. For this new album Diana has carefully chosen a collection of well-crafted songs that she can mine for lyrical gold. She is foremost a story teller - not a flashy or emotionally overwrought singer - Diana simply and deftly presents the songs so the listener can take them in without being distracted by vocal pyrotechnics.