Italian-born, London-based Renzo Murrone is a welcome addition to the list of male jazz vocalists, thanks to his beautiful debut, Out Of This World. It's a collection of original songs and covers that mixes styles and genres with great success; Murrone's vocal range is impressive and he has the crucial ability to connect emotionally with the mood of the songs.

Murrone's own compositions lean towards the smooth, soul-jazz end of the spectrum: pretty, melodic and romantic but not yet blessed with the distinctiveness they need to become standards. "Moonglade" is the most impressive, a silky, slow love song with some wonderfully economical but effective piano from Alex Stanford, although drummer Marius Rodrigues' use of cymbals is overpowering at times.

"Anda La Vida," co-written with Stanford, is more ambitious, the three-piece string section adding atmosphere, while Murrone's vocals have a more operatic edge than they do on most of the songs. "Higher" is a soulful blues with a laidback feel, which benefits from Stanford's fine keyboard solo.

It's Murrone's arrangements of standards that impress the most. Thelonious Monk's "'Round Midnight" is given a new feel, thanks to Murrone and Stanford's original arrangement, with Murrone's vocal moving elegantly between hushed romance and operatic drama—perhaps a little too dramatic—plus some scat.

Murrone sings Bruno Brighetti and Bruno Martino's "Estat��" in its original Italian, reveling in the richness of its lyrics. The strings appear again and are key to the arrangement's late-night, romantic feel. Rodrigues' brush work propels the tune, and