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Sweet Jazz. Leonie Smith (independent). 6.5 stars: Leonie Smith's debut album, coming after a six-year break to start a family, picks up the career of the Sydney-based singer whose experience includes a lengthy stint of gigging at everywhere from The Basement to hotels, resorts and the Entertainment Centre. She's picked a conventional set of jazz standards for this set, naturally enough for a singer's debut, and it reveals a singer with strong natural gifts beneath the polish. Though she says her lower register has improved in recent years, her upper range is still the more appealing - a light-filled voice with warmth and charm. Smith's stylishness results in moments of magic - the handling of phrase or word just so - and when she can string more of these together she will be something to behold. It would be interesting, after this re-launch, to hear her break the classical jazz singer mould and find her own way more personally - easy for me to say, but the makings are there. She has had first-rate support on this project, with Kerrie Biddell and John Morrison producing, and a classy crew of players in saxophonist Julian Gough, Morrison on drums, Matt Baker on piano, and Stan Valacos, bass, with special guest George Golla's guitar lighting up a few tracks also. Shane Nicolls Australian Financial Review