Jude Johnstone grew up in Maine but moved to Los Angeles when she was 19. Despite being out of tune with the disco scene of that time she slowly established herself as a songwriter of note.
Her songs have been covered by an impressive list of artists including Emmylou Harris (Hold On), Stevie Nicks (Cry Wolf), Bonnie Raitt (Wounded Heart), Jennifer Warnes (The Nightingale), Bette Midler (The Girl is On To You), Trisha Yearwood (Hearts in Armor), and Johnny Cash (Unchained), the title track to his 1997 Grammy-winning album.
Mr Sun is her fourth solo album and consists of eleven songs of love and loss with a strong mainstream jazz flavour. It draws a lot of inspiration from the records she heard her Dad playing when she was a kid - artists such Glenn Miller, Sarah Vaughan or Tony Bennett.
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The line "love is such a lonely game" from a track called 'Baby don't you call my name' sums up the main theme. Track titles like 'Don't tell me that it's over', 'Echoes of blue' and 'Winding back my heart' are largely self explanatory.
The overall mood is wistful and overly subdued. The emotional content of these torch songs is as muted as Daniel Savant's trumpet playing which features on the title track.
Alongside a very chilled backing band, Johnstone sings and plays piano. She has a sweet yet sophorific voice so the one paced mellow feel of the album will appeal only to those seeking an easy listening cure for insomnia.   Â
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