The National Jazz Trio Of Scotland release an album, ‘Standards Vol. IV’, via the German Karaoke Kalk label.

As ever with Bill Wells projects, the current ensemble are not a trio, and not jazz either, despite Well’s background in various genres. So. there are no jazz standards on the album, and I’m not convinced there were three previous volumes either. And just in case the ‘National’ tag suggests they’re in some way funded by central government…

The lead vocalist for this release is Kate Sudgen, the album the first in a proposed series of albums to feature one singer from the NJTOS, with Gerard Black and Aby Vulliamy to follow.

Wells, of course, won 2012’s inaugural Scottish Album Of The Year award for ‘Everything’s Getting Older’ with Arab Strap’s Aidan Moffat, preceded by ‘Lemondale’, recorded with Japan-based musicians including Jim O’Rourke and Saya of Tenniscoats.

More recently he assembled a cast of musicians which included Annette Peacock and Yo La Tengo for ‘Nursery Rhymes’, an exploration of the darker side of children’s songs.

Track list:

1. Quick To Judge (Don’t Be So)
2. Anticipated Sentence
3. Move
4. Heaven Knows
5. Passing By
6. Tinnitus Lullaby
7. Summer’s Edge – Alternate Mix
8. Intro To Sog
9. Sog
10. Permanent Dream
11. A Quiet Life
12. Far From You

More at www.facebook.com/NJTOS

And here’s the video (directed by Marry Waterson) for the first single ‘Tinnitus Lullaby’.