With tracks by Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, Nick Drake and David Sylvian, Claire Martin takes a rare, and brilliant, side-step from her traditional jazz roots. Originally released in 1999, 'Take My Heart' has been re-issued as part of Linn's ECHO series which offers a second chance to enjoy the best of the label's award-winning catalogue. Claire Martin's eclectic taste, originality and flair ensures this foray into pop-crossover territory, a trend she championed long before Norah Jones and Madeleine Peyroux made this style an accepted genre, was highly successful. Claire invited Noel Gallagher to play acoustic guitar on Help! whilst other notable contributors include Paul Stacey, Gareth Williams, Arnie Somogyi. Jeremy Stacey, Jason Rebello and Mornington Lockett. Claire Martin co-wrote a few of the songs on 'Take My Heart', including Pleading Guilty which is Joni Mitchell-esque in style and Inner City Girl. Known as The First Lady of British Jazz, Claire Martin has previously won Best Vocalist at the British Jazz Awards on seven separate occasions, an award she was nominated for most recently in 2013. Claire Martin has been a driving force behind the UK jazz scene for over 25 years and in 2011 was appointed an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to music. Claire's busy schedule not only includes recording and touring but continually raising the awareness and profile of jazz as a broadcaster on the BBC Radio 3 programme, Jazz Line-Up, which she has co-presented since 2000. Claire has recently embarked on a new and unique musical adventure with The Montpellier Cello Quartet. With new arrangements especially written for her by Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Mark Anthony Turnage and Django Bates, this new chamber jazz ensemble will release their new album 'Time and Place' in autumn 2014.