Listening to Conklin cover an impressively diverse range of material, including songs by Johnny Mercer, Laura Nyro, Rodgers and Hammerstein and four contemporary items from David Cantor, is rather like being in the presence of a world-class chef let loose in her dream kitchen. On tracks like ‘Crazy Eyes’, ‘Goody Goody’ and ‘You’ll Never Get Me Out of Your Mind’, Conklin cooks up a storm, but just when the heat she generates seems ready to cause the whole thing to boil over, she slows the process to a slow, slow simmer on tracks such as ‘Mad About You’ and the quite lovely ‘Billy’s Blues’.

The lyrics of the songs and their interpretation offer sweet and sour, spicy and mild, cool and searing heat blended to create a feast for our ears. There may be only one singer but we hear two voices at work on this album; Conklin has a bright, almost sassy sound at work in the upper stave and a sultry contralto at the lower end of her range. There is a youthful, exuberant quality when she uses the soft palate which contrasts with a more mature, warmer sound when she is firmly in the chest register.

Both sounds are enhanced by faultless diction, phrasing and timing, but the brighter sound is heard at work in the songs offering a wry response to the disappointments of experience with men who have been dopes, deceivers and deadbeats whilst the darker mood is expertly created in the material where the singer’s vulnerability comes to the fore. Overall, Conklin eschews the woman as victim role, but this is no cock-eyed optimist either. This woman knows what she wants and what to do when she doesn’t get it. Interesting that the Rodgers and Hammerstein song selected is ‘The Gentleman is a Dope’ rather than ‘I Enjoy Being a Girl’.

Accompanying Conklin is a trio of consummate musicians: Bill Mays on piano, Jon Burr on bass and Terry Clarke on drums. Their artistry is never better exemplified than in the instrumental break of the breathtaking ‘Fried Bananas’, a track on which the singer’s jazz virtuosity and all-round technical excellence are also brought to fruition by Jeffrey Klitz’s expert production skills.

Some cats don’t know, sings Conklin from the Leiber Stoller song. Make no mistake, this is one cat that does.