It is generally bad taste to refer to longevity when discussing a woman’s talents and achievements, but it is amazing how much jazz vocalist Barbara Lea sound on this 2006 recording to the way she sounded on her first LP, A Woman in Love, recorded in 1955! That is not to say there have been no advances in her capacity for getting the best out of a tune in the ensuing years, but there are certain very familiar things about Lea’s singing, most notably perhaps the sense that she means every word.

It’s also worth noting that although she has always had a wonderful way with a ballad, she was and is a genuine jazz singer, a fact underscored by some of the choices on this recording, “Dr. Jazz,” “Jazz Me Blues,” and a version of “Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?” that includes the almost never heard opening verse. For variety, there are several songs that the liner notes tell us were suggested by producer George Buck because “nobody does them anymore.” “My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time,” “My Ideal” and “I Couldn’t Sleep A Wink Last Night” all sound a lot better in Lea’s capable hands than the saccharine versions that made them all the rage in the World War II years. Let’s be happy that they finally wound up being done by someone who can really sing.

The present recording fits that mold well, with a first rate mostly hometown New Orleans jazz group including trombonist Bob Havens, trumpeter Charlie Fardella , Tom Fischer, clarinet, Steve Pistorius on piano, Tom Saunders on bass and Hal Smith, drums. They’re a good match for Barbara Lea and vice versa, which means a recording they can be proud of and for which we can all be grateful.