Album: Wyatt / Atzmon / Stephen, For the Ghosts Within (Domino)

The mockney Chet Baker sound of Robert Wyatt singing standards ("Laura", "Lush Life", would you believe "What a Wonderful World"?) to the taut yet tender backing of the Sigamos String Quartet was the inspired idea of violinist Ros Stephen.

And that would be enough. But what takes this beyond, into a characteristic Wyatt-world where the personal and political are fused is the context of Palestine, reflected in Alfreda Benge's lyrics and the presence of Gilad Atzmon, who produces and plays. Amazing.