Geoffrey Gascoyne

Bassist/arranger Geoff Gascoyne has been Jamie Cullum's right-hand man for six years, and subtle jazz variations on pop hooks are his stock in trade. Pop Bop hands classic pop material (the ­Stylistics' People Make the World Go Round, the Supremes' The Happening, Rufus Wainwright's Going to a Town, Take That's Shine and much more) to the legendary soul/jazz guitarist Jim Mullen, singer Trudy Kerr and young saxophonist Graeme Blevins, a punchy interpreter of anything funky, without sacrificing his jazz-improv flexibility.

Claire Martin concentrates on her core jazz-based strengths, delivering pithy, worldly-wise lyrics with warmth and intelligence, interacting with a sparky, vigorous band. From an exciting new arrangement of Something's Coming from Bernstein's West Side Story, to Joni Mitchell's Blue Motel Room arranged by jazz singer Ian Shaw, the album mixes jazz standards with new arrangements to create an original.