One of England's most unique and affecting voices, Robert Wyatt has always boasted a strong jazz influence.
Drummer with Soft Machine, the singer was part of the Canterbury Scene which helped to birth jazz-rock. Yet despite this, Robert Wyatt has always shied away from tackling well known jazz standards.
Meeting up with some friends, a recent project saw Wyatt wrap those elastic vocal cords around some familiar material. 'For The Ghost Within' boasts some lush orchestration, some challenging arrangements and a bonhomie which can only come from three close friends working together.
Released under 'Wyatt / Atzmon / Stephen' the album is a wonderful mixture of well known material and unexpected arrangements. Jazz standards are tackled, with Robert Wyatt at long last becoming the torch singer he always threatened to be.
Available now on Domino, the album finishes with a touching rendition of 'What A Wonderful World'. Sure, the track has been heard a million times before but ol' Louis Armstrong's version has rarely been bettered - until now.
Robert Wyatt adds a sense of innocence to the track, which restores its vitality amid a morass of muzak renditions. Available shortly as a single, you can listen to it now as the snow continues to gently fall...