Had Claire Martin become a trumpeter instead of a singer, she would have been compared to Miles Davis and Chet Baker rather than Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown, or Lee Morgan. Or as an alto saxophonist, she would have had more in common with Lee Konitz and Paul Desmond than Jackie McLean, Phil Woods, or Gene Quill. Greatly influenced by the cool-school singers of the 1950s, the young British diva clearly owes an artistic debt to such greats as Chris Connor, June Christy, and Julie London -- all of whom, like Martin, favored subtlety and restraint over aggression. But her inspirations don't stop there -- born in London in 1967 and raised in a rock & roll era, the smoky, seductive Martin has also been influenced by contemporary singers ranging from Joni Mitchell to Kate Bush.