The last album from internationally acclaimed vocalist/songwriter/keyboardist Elizabeth Shepherd was 2012's album of standards, Rewind. It was a sweet treat, but it's pleasing that she returns, with real success, to original composition on The Signal, her fifth album. Shepherd possesses a beautifully relaxed and unaffected vocal style, one a little suggestive of Sade. She's also a fluent keyboardist, concentrating on Rhodes here, and she has made real strides as a producer. Subtle musical touches from instruments as diverse as steel pan (on "B.T. Cotton"), flute, ngoni, kalimba and horns are incorporated tastefully, while vocal samples range from the sublime (Leadbelly, Mother Teresa) to the head-scratching (Laurie Brown).