Six of the Best Marnell Music***

For his recording debut, veteran pianist Brendan Marnell set out to indulge his passion for Nat King Cole with singer Cormac Kenevey, but creditably, when he heard the backing group that producer Dave McCune had assembled, he revised his plans, and the result is two albums for the price of one. The first features Kenevey’s soft, unaffected vocals on 16 classics from the great American songbook, and very fine it is too – if some five decades too late. The second is almost entirely instrumental, and what was essentially an exercise in nostalgia turns into something more original. Saxophonist Brendan Doyle, with excellent support from guitarist Hugh Buckley and bassist Damian Evans, delivers a masterclass in saxophone playing that is fresh and full of surprises but imbued with a deep appreciation for the classic language of jazz. See facebook.com/sixofthebest