“Just sometimes, I catch a glimpse of something in a stranger,” is the way Norma Winstone begins Stories Yet To Tell.

These words on ‘Just Sometimes’, a song of regret, longing, knowing and wondering are typical of many of Winstone’s lyrics on the album, delivered lingeringly, a quality that lends itself especially to the contemplative studio environment of this album.

A record of introspection certainly, Stories has a compelling force that lends itself to a quiet undistracted listen. You need to concentrate with Winstone, a quality that on stage, as at the Barbican last month at the London Jazz Festival when she appeared with the musicians from the album Italian pianist Glauco Venier and German reedsman Klaus Gesing, can be like an intrusion for the listener as her intimacy seems as if it's out of place, a private music in a public place.

Winstone has a natural affinity with slow tempi and hers is a psychologically-inclined jazz, her lyrics interpreting an inner life that combined with her ability to soar and swoop into the strong lower reaches of her range give her songs a serious intent. Gesing, who has also worked extensively with pianist Gwilym Simcock and whose songs and arrangements here (including the standout track ‘The Titles’) are in keeping with the pensive qualities that no doubt attracted Jazzwise writers to the album, is Winstone’s perfect sparring partner, while Venier delivers a studied poise that Winstone so needs.

– Stephen Graham