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When Norma Winstone released an album called 'Best Kept Secret', it pretty well summed up her status in British jazz. A singer of brilliant virtuosity and flexibility, she has generally eschewed the well-worn standards of the Great American Songbook (although when she does do them, she does them superbly well) in favour of self-penned lyrics set to compositions by the likes of Jimmy Rowles, Steve Swallow and Wayne Shorter. She is also one of the finest exponent of 'vocalese', wordless improvisational singing, that has seen her work almost as a front-line instrument in bands led by Kenny Wheeler and Mike Westbrook.